Women in NSGY

[BrainPains]

I'm a recently matched female headed to neurosurgery residency in June. I have served as a mentor for a handful of females interested in neurosurgery, but wanted to offer to answer questions in this format as well. Pretty much all the advice I give is gender-neutral (spoiler alert- being a female doesn't really change much), but there is a dearth of female role-models at a lot of programs and occasionally questions come up that require one.

Keep in mind, I haven't started residency yet. Questions about what life is like in residency or while practicing will be based on my limited observations thus far as a medical student, so I am probably not the best resource for those!

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[SeamlessForFood]

Appreciate your willing to share! Why you choose the field? What reservations do you have (both gender related and just in general)? Did you find those around you to have been supportive of your decision to pursue something that is generally perceived to be particularly intense? Did you find being a woman helped you stand out during the interview process?

Congrats on setting forth in your journey and best of luck!

 

[BrainPains]

1. I chose the field for a number of reasons. I came into medical school being interested in neurosurgery based on my experiences in neuroscience research in college. Knew I was looking for a specialty to beat it, and it never happened! I was sure I wanted to do something surgical or procedural, and something that would continue to provide evolving challenges throughout my career. I also found myself really comfortable with the residents and faculty mentors I found, and knew it was "my people" after working with them over the years.

2. The reservations I have are pretty similar to most of my friends who are heading to neurosurgery (or most residencies). Namely, that residency will be rough, and you choose a specialty with as much confidence as you can based on several months of rotations. There is always a chance you'll find out you don't like your specialty as much as you thought you would. Luckily, this is still rare, and most people are happy in their specialty and program. On top of that, there is plenty of associated anxiety about being a REAL doctor in a few months. Yikes. Hopefully that will dissipate as we all get settled

3. I would say the support has been mixed. From my family and close friends, the support has been incredible. They all expected me to do something intense, it just fits with my personality and what I've enjoyed over the years. Those in neurosurgery have largely been incredibly supportive, even with working as hard as they do, most seem to genuinely love their careers. The most disparaging remarks I have heard are from those in medicine, but not in neurosurgery. Attendings on my medicine rotations loved to tell me what a dumb decision neurosurgery is, but you to each their own!

4. This is a fantastic question, and I think something that has changed (and will probably continue to change) as more fantastic women graduate from medical school. Medical schools in the US are now >50% women. So, if you want to get the best and brightest in your specialty, odds are a lot of them will be women. Neurosurgery has really struggled to remarket itself as a palatable specialty for women, and the length/rigor of the residency can deter those hoping to have a better work/life balance. That being said, if you decide to take the plunge and pursue neurosurgery, there are a lot of programs who really want women, and are trying to create a more gender-balanced program. Some programs have been more successful at this than others. I definitely got the impression that my being a female made me a very appealing applicant this year. With that in mind- being underqualified will in no way be compensated for by your gender (the women I know who matched this year were BEASTS)!

 

[mpdoc2]

I'm a recently matched female headed to neurosurgery residency in June. I have served as a mentor for a handful of females interested in neurosurgery, but wanted to offer to answer questions in this format as well. Pretty much all the advice I give is gender-neutral (spoiler alert- being a female doesn't really change much), but there is a dearth of female role-models at a lot of programs and occasionally questions come up that require one.

Keep in mind, I haven't started residency yet. Questions about what life is like in residency or while practicing will be based on my limited observations thus far as a medical student, so I am probably not the best resource for those!

How do you serve as a Mentor in a field that you haven't even started?

 

[Ironfist]

How do you serve as a Mentor in a field that you haven't even started?

M4's mentor lower-level medical students interested in a particular specialty all the time. They're the closest to the process and can give very useful advice regarding some of the things that attendings and residents have forgotten. e.g. Who to choose as a mentor, what away rotations 'fit' the best, financial logistics, etc. It tends to be institution-specific, but there's value in her experiences regardless.

 

[mpdoc2]

M4's mentor lower-level medical students interested in a particular specialty all the time. They're the closest to the process and can give very useful advice regarding some of the things that attendings and residents have forgotten. e.g. Who to choose as a mentor, what away rotations 'fit' the best, financial logistics, etc. It tends to be institution-specific, but there's value in her experiences regardless.

Yes but you really have no grasp of any field until you've done residency.

 

[BrainPains]

M4's mentor lower-level medical students interested in a particular specialty all the time. They're the closest to the process and can give very useful advice regarding some of the things that attendings and residents have forgotten. e.g. Who to choose as a mentor, what away rotations 'fit' the best, financial logistics, etc. It tends to be institution-specific, but there's value in her experiences regardless.

This essentially nails it. Without being redundant, I think I stated my limitations pretty clearly in the original post in terms of what I can and cannot speak on. I've had several mentors who were medical students and junior residents, and their assistance has been invaluable to me. The process of choosing a specialty, finding research in a department, deciding aways, and going through the application season successfully demands all kinds of resources. I'm simply trying to provide an additional one.

 

[Merely]

Why did medicine docs tell you it was stupid decision?

This essentially nails it. Without being redundant, I think I stated my limitations pretty clearly in the original post in terms of what I can and cannot speak on. I've had several mentors who were medical students and junior residents, and their assistance has been invaluable to me. The process of choosing a specialty, finding research in a department, deciding aways, and going through the application season successfully demands all kinds of resources. I'm simply trying to provide an additional one.

 

[witzelsucht]

Why did medicine docs tell you it was stupid decision?

b/c they want to justify their lame nerdy specialty for nerds

 

[BrainPains]

Why did medicine docs tell you it was stupid decision?

Largely because their assessment of the specialty is based upon the historically paraded stereotypes (males with god-complexes who couldn't pick their own children out of lineup). You will hear the same sentiment from a lot of individuals on SDN. I think it is important for students to spend as much time with individuals in a specialty to make up their own minds. Neurosurgery is absolutely a demanding field, and requires sacrifice in a lot of other aspects in your life. That being said, there are plenty of examples of attendings who have struck an impressive balance between work and family, or work and other priorities. Only when you spend enough time with people in a specialty can you make a decision if you could love the work enough to make it worth sacrifices. For example, dermatology would have offered me a traditionally better work/life balance. My lack of interest and passion for this field wouldn't have made it a good fit for me regardless of this fact. The medicine attendings giving me advice largely loved their jobs, and just thought I would too!

 

[kitsunepixie]

I'm about to graduate Neurosurgery residency and enter a pediatric fellowship. I don't get on here much but I'd be happy to be a resource on this topic, since there wasn't much that I could find when I was in your shoes...

 

[browneyes124]

Hey thanks for doing this! I have 2 questions. Do you think what med school you go to affects the kind of residency you get? Like if you go to a less competitive medical school would It be harder to get a neurosurgical or plastic surgery resident spot?
Also do you have kids and when do you think would be the 'best' time to have kids for someone going into neurosurgery?

 

[kitsunepixie]

Wedgedog answered your first question very well on the other thread--I don't think that the school itself matters so much, but it is definitely a plus if they have a Neurosurgery department as those connections can be critical.

I'm currently pregnant with my first, and didn't find residency to be the optimal time for me or my family to have a child. Several male colleagues have had children, especially during their research time. As one of my attendings (he has 5 kids) said to me, "it's never a good time to have a child." I've not really had any female mentors in my position to ask so I've been kind of trailing my own path, and so far everyone has been supportive. One of my jrs had 2 kids before she started residency, so I've certainly been using her as a resource.

 

[browneyes124]

Wedgedog answered your first question very well on the other thread--I don't think that the school itself matters so much, but it is definitely a plus if they have a Neurosurgery department as those connections can be critical.

I'm currently pregnant with my first, and didn't find residency to be the optimal time for me or my family to have a child. Several male colleagues have had children, especially during their research time. As one of my attendings (he has 5 kids) said to me, "it's never a good time to have a child." I've not really had any female mentors in my position to ask so I've been kind of trailing my own path, and so far everyone has been supportive. One of my jrs had 2 kids before she started residency, so I've certainly been using her as a resource.

I read that sometimes the male attending and residents get kinda irritated if you have kids during your residency because they have to pick up the slack. Have you found this to be true ? And if you could do it over would you have had kids before residency like at the end of med school or during the research years?

 

[kitsunepixie]

I read that sometimes the male attending and residents get kinda irritated if you have kids during your residency because they have to pick up the slack. Have you found this to be true ? And if you could do it over would you have had kids before residency like at the end of med school or during the research years?

Well, for my personal situation, my husband and I weren't ready to have kids until now anyway. Having them during research would be nice, and that's what my male coresident did. I couldn't imagine being pregnant during the heat of residency nor leaving extra work to my one co-chief. My attendings and coresident have been happy and enthusiastic, but my due date is also not going to affect their workloads in anyway.

 

[neuronerd17]

I'm a recently matched female headed to neurosurgery residency in June. I have served as a mentor for a handful of females interested in neurosurgery, but wanted to offer to answer questions in this format as well. Pretty much all the advice I give is gender-neutral (spoiler alert- being a female doesn't really change much), but there is a dearth of female role-models at a lot of programs and occasionally questions come up that require one.

Keep in mind, I haven't started residency yet. Questions about what life is like in residency or while practicing will be based on my limited observations thus far as a medical student, so I am probably not the best resource for those!

What were your stats in undergrad and your step scores in medical school? I understand if you don't feel comfortable giving specifics. Thanks!

 

[Blusky#1]

Congratulations, I am looking for a mentor