Neurosurgical Mentor Questions

[phantomx87]

Hey everyone,

I will be starting medical school this coming August at a school with no real neurosurgery program. There are many PP NS that work in the general hospital and the affiliated childrens' hospital, so I don't think that finding a mentor should be too challenging. I've been in contact with several former students that have matched into NS (PGY-2s right now) from my school, and they've both been extremely helpful.

There are several questions haven't been fully answered, though, and I'm hoping for some clarification: What exactly can I expect from a mentor?

More specifically, what are the expectations that I should have of a mentor? Also, what expectations will the mentor have of me? What does the mentor - mentee relationship actually entail (i.e. is it just shadowing? Regular meetings? Advising?)?

For your reference - I did 1.5yrs of research/shadowing with NS back in Philadelphia, 2yrs with Neurology/Pain Management

Thanks for any and all feedback!

~phantom


PS - I did do a search in the forum for mentor advice, but anything that did come up didn't really answer my questions (so don't hate )

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[greymew]

I had/have a mentor, but it wasn't as structured as you seem to want. I looked through the list of neurosurgeons who graduated from my medical school, then checked out their current practice situations online, research, surgical interests, age, etc.

Based on that information, I chose one who seemed most similar to what I hoped to become. I called him and we spoke for about 1.5 hours that first time. He invited me to operate and spend time in clinic with him when I had time.

I'd say I spent a couple weeks with him for each of my four years in medical school. He wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for neurosurgery residency, and has even suggested I join his practice when I get done.

So that was my experience. Really you just have to find someone you click with and go from there. I would think that if they want to make it a structured thing, that's fine. But this was my experience and it worked out pretty well.

Good luck and feel free to PM or email with additional questions.

-Jason
[email protected]

 

[kitsunepixie]

At my school, we had to pick an "academic adviser" during our 3rd year who was responsible for writing our Dean's Letter & approving our 4th year rotations, so it was kind of formal. It was not required that our academic adviser be someone from the specialty to which we were applying, but most people did for obvious reasons. The only hitch was our academic adviser could not write a recommendation letter for us. I picked a young neurosurgery attending who was extremely accessible to be my adviser and she was terrific and went beyond my expectations--she found research opportunities for me, papers to get my name on, presentations to give on her behalf...and she also gave me an open invitation to pop into her office or OR at any time to watch/assist on cases and ask her questions. I was also able to use our chairman and program director as "unofficial" advisers and got rec letters from them. Good luck to you in your search for a mentor--the earlier the better to find one who meets your needs.

 

[phantomx87]

Really appreciate the feedback! Unfortunately, our school (EVMS) doesn't have a neurosurgery program... There are no academic neurosurgeons, but a plethora of private practice surgeons in the adult hospital. Additionally, there are 3 neurosurgeons at the children's hospital on campus. My plan is to wait until after I complete the cranial dissection portion of anatomy before I start approaching any of the surgeons... That way I will have not only gotten through the most relevant block of anatomy, but also will (hopefully) have established some good study habits.

Any more thoughts / suggestions? I really appreciate all the advice... It's really great!!!

 

[kitsunepixie]

Really appreciate the feedback! Unfortunately, our school (EVMS) doesn't have a neurosurgery program... There are no academic neurosurgeons, but a plethora of private practice surgeons in the adult hospital. Additionally, there are 3 neurosurgeons at the children's hospital on campus. My plan is to wait until after I complete the cranial dissection portion of anatomy before I start approaching any of the surgeons... That way I will have not only gotten through the most relevant block of anatomy, but also will (hopefully) have established some good study habits.

Any more thoughts / suggestions? I really appreciate all the advice... It's really great!!!

Sounds like a good plan. Have one of the PP/peds nsg be your mentor, and take advantage of all the great programs in your general area by doing sub-Is at them (like University of Virginia--a letter from Dr. Jane is like gold).

 

[Excelsius]

The recommendation that is usually reiterated is that it is better to chose a school that has an NS department than none. Without a department, you'll get less exposure to neurosurgeons and they won't know you well enough to write the best letters possible. So given a choice, it seems that a somewhat lesser known school with NS department is much more helpful.

 

[phantomx87]

I know about the recommendation, and I realize that that's probably the way to go... If you read my first (and subsequent) post, I am not going to a school with a NS department, so your advice isn't really relevant.

I'm looking for advice from residents and/or attendings with experience on the matter.

 

[mmmcdowe]

For me I basically just talked to neurosurgery residents until one of them took me under his wing and introduced me to another resident who did the same and then introduced me to an attending who did the same. Now I have three people that I consider mentors. I work with them on projects and they in turn provide me with access to whatever I am interested in. As far as finding one and establishing a relationship, you situation is a little different but I recommend finding one who is doing something that you can be useful with. Make yourself useful and, in general, I've felt that the neurosurgery folk reciprocate and appreciate you.

 

[phantomx87]

Awesome, thanks for the response... I was just actually in contact with my mentor back home (with whom I did research). One of his old residents is practicing in the area, so he's going to put me in contact with said new attending. From what I remember, he's pretty proactive with writing up case reports (always looking), and he likes teaching.

 

[phantomx87]

bump... Anyone else with any insight or advice?

 

[kenneth.c.liu]

bump... Anyone else with any insight or advice?

During the summer between 1st and 2nd year (or earlier), I'd contact an academic medical center with a neurosurgical residency program (UVA or MCV for you, I guess) and see if you can spend the summer doing research for them and shadowing residents and such. The earlier you get hooked in, the better off you'll be.

I wouldn't wait until taking cranial anatomy before making contact. As long as you demonstrate a strong interest and work ethic and a knowledge base congruent with your level of training, you'll be fine.

 

[phantomx87]

During the summer between 1st and 2nd year (or earlier), I'd contact an academic medical center with a neurosurgical residency program (UVA or MCV for you, I guess) and see if you can spend the summer doing research for them and shadowing residents and such. The earlier you get hooked in, the better off you'll be.

I wouldn't wait until taking cranial anatomy before making contact. As long as you demonstrate a strong interest and work ethic and a knowledge base congruent with your level of training, you'll be fine.

Kenny, do you mind if I PM you with some specific questions / scenarios? Thanks!

 

[kenneth.c.liu]

Kenny, do you mind if I PM you with some specific questions / scenarios? Thanks!

Feel free.