Path to intervention

[MedWings]

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So I'm a third year DO student and am solidifying my interest in neuro. I finally tucked away the surgery hard on i had for a while, and realized I liked the neurosciences too much to stay away from neurology. So now I am considering a track that can open up major options for interventional neuro. My question is should I be trying to gain residency at programs that have neurointerventionalist to set up connections, or should I be focused on getting to a good program to get the best training i can get? Also, what programs would i be competitive for with 232 step 1, top quarter at my school, first authored a paper, and now peer reviewer for a major journal. ?

 

[typhoonegator]

There is a thread just a few posts down on neurointervention paths. I feel like it is all we talk about these days.

Neurologists in general have an uphill battle to NIR, and as a DO you will likely face even more discrimination. Because the fellowship field is so variable from program to program, you really need to do your homework ahead of time. Personally, I would say if you are dead-set on NIR, then you should put yourself in a position to get noticed early and often with someone who can get you in. So you want to look at programs that not only have NIR, but have neurology-friendly NIR. There are a few of those out there, which others can probably help you with. Picking a program with NIR that only looks at neurosurgeons (there are plenty of those) will likely not help you, because you aren't going to change their minds about who belongs in the field.

 

[burs0028]

I agree with typhoonegator and will add that as a DO, I feel that if you are coming in with such a strong academic background--especially if your publication experience is in the neurosciences--you should easily be able to bypass any anti-DO sentiments you might encounter.

Mentioning a "hard on" anywhere won't get you far though. There's thousands of medical students who also think they want to be an interventionalist; any indication of unprofessionalism--even slight as in your post--could potentially blow your chances.

 

[Darktide]

DO's have a shot... but it's slim, with few NeuroIR programs that take Neurologists in general, paired with the DO world having good ties with even less.

Where I just matched (Mich. State/Sparrow) has a stroke-->intervention fellowship that takes neurologists (DO's at that- Just graduated one last year, actually)... just an example.

 

[MedWings]

Thanks for all of your help. Just one more thing. If I am planning on doing a rotation in NIR, what would be some major pieces of literature I should certainly read up on before start date? Are there any big Clinical trials or reviews that would be broad enough for a student to gain some significant insight to the field via EBM? Or are there any that are simply interesting and pivotal for NIR?

And burs0028, thanks for the reality check. I've only begun to use SDN and have been used to other informal forums in the past.

-K

 

[hartbot]

Don't thank burs0028. He's an anal stiff. This is an anonymous forum, use whatever vernacular you want.

 

[Mattchiavelli]

I think the real reason for everyone asking about NIR is it's the first thing anyone ever hears regarding "neuroscience" and "doing something"/procedural and everyone flocks to it. I think the real question that should be asked is "why am I dead set on this extremely long and competitive training program and if I don't do it/can't do it/get sick of it what will I be doing instead?" There are many many MS3s for which NIR tickles some kind of itch and IMO it's not because everyone wants to stamp out the berry aneurysm...