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Hey guys, soon to be M4 here (US DO) looking for some advice. I hope everyone is staying safe and I just wanna say thanks to all of you busting your ass in the COVID fight. I posted this on the reddit-residency sub but figure this is a good place too:
For the last 3 years I've worked hard to build a resume that would make Neurosurgery a possibility. I've understood from day one though that matching isn't guaranteed, even with the best scores and research. This is evident in the most recent match, where it looks like only 3/18 DO's who ranked NSG programs matched. Obviously I don't know their resumes or whatever, but the 4-5 NSG residents I've talked to say that a back-up plan is absolutely necessary for anyone applying. Originally that plan was to scramble into a prelim surgery spot. I know it starts with how bad I want to be a neurosurgeon. I love studying the brain, but general Neurology didn't cut it. The ability to be a lot of folks' last hope, operate on and treat all aspects of the nervous system both brain and spine, as well as build relationships with sick patients, do research and teach, get into biotech and AI, and work globally are all reasons for why I want to do NSG. I'm willing to do research after graduation or prelim years, but it seems that still may not cut it.
I know connections are of the utmost importance and I was going to have to depend highly on sub-internships at away institutions because my school doesn't have a hospital system, let alone a home NSG program. I was planning on doing at least 7-8 sub-I's. Now, with all the coronavirus stuff and all my rotations being canceled, I'm having to re-evaluate my plan. Currently, I do not have any NSG letters. I've been doing research at a large academic MD institution nearby and have thought about asking for a letter there, but I'm still building that relationship and am unsure how much it'd help because they can't attest to my clinical and surgical skills.
I've been in a major funk trying to figure this out. I'm down to three potential paths and thus have two questions. I really appreciate any advice in advance, since my school is ill-equipped to provide guidance for my particular situation. This is under the assumption that I'm unable to get NSG letters before ERAS. Maybe things will change, but we gotta make decisions with limited info and I'm just trying to plan ahead in case they don't.
Path 1: Stay the course, apply with little optimism of matching with no departmental letters, and then do a prelim surgery year and just apply NSG again next year. Do whatever sub-I's I can this year and blow their socks off.
Path 2: Apply NSG with DR as a backup and go the neuro-interventional radiology route. I'd still have to do the prelim year and if I'm just absolutely hating the DR/IR route for whatever reason, try to find a NSG spot later.
Path 3: Apply NSG with Neurology as a backup and go the interventional neurology route. This appears to be an emerging field with less fellowship opportunities than the radiology route, but I'd be focused on neurological disease from day one.
Question 1: I've thought about it long and hard, and after 3 unsuccessful matches I'd probably say F it and go another route. The DR-ESIR or Neurology routes are easier to match into it seems and I'd hate to give up multiple years when I could have been doing something I'd potentially love. Can anyone speak to whether a neuro-interventional career can satisfy these goals?
Question 2: Let's say I keep the NSG dream alive but decide the international neurology/neuroradiology route checks off enough boxes. Considering I want to work on the nervous system and have relationships with my patients, does Path 2 or 3 make more sense?
For reference, I got a 26X on Step 1 (step 2 tbd), am top 10% in class with honors in all clinical rotations, doing a dual degree MBA and have 10+ abstracts, pubs, posters, etc. with a few of them in NSG. No first-author pubs in NSG but a couple are in the works.
Sorry for the long post, but any help at all would be just fantastic let me tell ya.
For the last 3 years I've worked hard to build a resume that would make Neurosurgery a possibility. I've understood from day one though that matching isn't guaranteed, even with the best scores and research. This is evident in the most recent match, where it looks like only 3/18 DO's who ranked NSG programs matched. Obviously I don't know their resumes or whatever, but the 4-5 NSG residents I've talked to say that a back-up plan is absolutely necessary for anyone applying. Originally that plan was to scramble into a prelim surgery spot. I know it starts with how bad I want to be a neurosurgeon. I love studying the brain, but general Neurology didn't cut it. The ability to be a lot of folks' last hope, operate on and treat all aspects of the nervous system both brain and spine, as well as build relationships with sick patients, do research and teach, get into biotech and AI, and work globally are all reasons for why I want to do NSG. I'm willing to do research after graduation or prelim years, but it seems that still may not cut it.
I know connections are of the utmost importance and I was going to have to depend highly on sub-internships at away institutions because my school doesn't have a hospital system, let alone a home NSG program. I was planning on doing at least 7-8 sub-I's. Now, with all the coronavirus stuff and all my rotations being canceled, I'm having to re-evaluate my plan. Currently, I do not have any NSG letters. I've been doing research at a large academic MD institution nearby and have thought about asking for a letter there, but I'm still building that relationship and am unsure how much it'd help because they can't attest to my clinical and surgical skills.
I've been in a major funk trying to figure this out. I'm down to three potential paths and thus have two questions. I really appreciate any advice in advance, since my school is ill-equipped to provide guidance for my particular situation. This is under the assumption that I'm unable to get NSG letters before ERAS. Maybe things will change, but we gotta make decisions with limited info and I'm just trying to plan ahead in case they don't.
Path 1: Stay the course, apply with little optimism of matching with no departmental letters, and then do a prelim surgery year and just apply NSG again next year. Do whatever sub-I's I can this year and blow their socks off.
Path 2: Apply NSG with DR as a backup and go the neuro-interventional radiology route. I'd still have to do the prelim year and if I'm just absolutely hating the DR/IR route for whatever reason, try to find a NSG spot later.
Path 3: Apply NSG with Neurology as a backup and go the interventional neurology route. This appears to be an emerging field with less fellowship opportunities than the radiology route, but I'd be focused on neurological disease from day one.
Question 1: I've thought about it long and hard, and after 3 unsuccessful matches I'd probably say F it and go another route. The DR-ESIR or Neurology routes are easier to match into it seems and I'd hate to give up multiple years when I could have been doing something I'd potentially love. Can anyone speak to whether a neuro-interventional career can satisfy these goals?
Question 2: Let's say I keep the NSG dream alive but decide the international neurology/neuroradiology route checks off enough boxes. Considering I want to work on the nervous system and have relationships with my patients, does Path 2 or 3 make more sense?
For reference, I got a 26X on Step 1 (step 2 tbd), am top 10% in class with honors in all clinical rotations, doing a dual degree MBA and have 10+ abstracts, pubs, posters, etc. with a few of them in NSG. No first-author pubs in NSG but a couple are in the works.
Sorry for the long post, but any help at all would be just fantastic let me tell ya.
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