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Hi all,
I'm sure this question has been asked ad nauseam on this forum, but I felt it would be better to ask it from my personal situation instead of trawling through several somewhat related questions.
I am a second-year medical student at the University of Cambridge. For those of you who are unaware, UK students enter medical school straight after high school and study there for 5-6 years. I got a 1st class grade in my first year and am strongly predicted to graduate with a 1st class. I'm also on track to getting a 1st class in my Master's (Cantab) in Neuroscience, which involves a period of graded research under the supervision of a professor of the university (with a possibility of publication). My current research experience includes an extended independent project (outside of a lab but managed to get to the national finals of a prestigious competition), 4 weeks in Manchester and 8 weeks in Beijing (cardiology + stem cell fields).
My question is this: what further steps can I be taking to increase my chances of getting a neurosurgery match? I'm planning on spending all of my summers doing research placements, either in Cambridge or elsewhere. I have a guaranteed neuroscience research placement in the US and I'm going to see if I can organise something alongside my 3 years of clinical rotations.
Any insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated. The sheer competitiveness of this field, especially for IMGs, keeps me awake at night. I honestly shudder just thinking about it. Thank you all in advance!
P.S. I won't be doing my USMLE Step 1 for at least 2 years and I won't graduate for 4.5 years.
I'm sure this question has been asked ad nauseam on this forum, but I felt it would be better to ask it from my personal situation instead of trawling through several somewhat related questions.
I am a second-year medical student at the University of Cambridge. For those of you who are unaware, UK students enter medical school straight after high school and study there for 5-6 years. I got a 1st class grade in my first year and am strongly predicted to graduate with a 1st class. I'm also on track to getting a 1st class in my Master's (Cantab) in Neuroscience, which involves a period of graded research under the supervision of a professor of the university (with a possibility of publication). My current research experience includes an extended independent project (outside of a lab but managed to get to the national finals of a prestigious competition), 4 weeks in Manchester and 8 weeks in Beijing (cardiology + stem cell fields).
My question is this: what further steps can I be taking to increase my chances of getting a neurosurgery match? I'm planning on spending all of my summers doing research placements, either in Cambridge or elsewhere. I have a guaranteed neuroscience research placement in the US and I'm going to see if I can organise something alongside my 3 years of clinical rotations.
Any insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated. The sheer competitiveness of this field, especially for IMGs, keeps me awake at night. I honestly shudder just thinking about it. Thank you all in advance!
P.S. I won't be doing my USMLE Step 1 for at least 2 years and I won't graduate for 4.5 years.
