Hello all,
I am currently geared up for an ophthalmology residency, 245 step, strong letters and 5+ ophtho pubs with more to come from a year off of research between years M2 and M3.
However, after this year I have become more and more set in going all in for Neurosurgery instead.
I am curious as to whether any of this ophtho research (Retina if that helps
will translate over to help me with a NS app or is it more of a red flag to switch away from one field into another that requires even more dedication....
I can make peace with the fact that because of this sudden switch I should not expect to be competitive any of the top academic NS residencies. But would a mid to lower tier residency acceptance provide any other problems in my future job market (including geographic preference) outside of joining an academic institution? I am not very keen on setting apart another year off to demonstrate my dedication, but I will if enough people believe it is really necessary.
This decision is not an easy one to make, and I am certainly losing sleep over it simply because it is hard to throw away a strong application into one field into a mid to low tier application into another (far more interesting) field. I would really appreciate your answers, comments and critiques.
Tx!
I am currently geared up for an ophthalmology residency, 245 step, strong letters and 5+ ophtho pubs with more to come from a year off of research between years M2 and M3.
However, after this year I have become more and more set in going all in for Neurosurgery instead.
I am curious as to whether any of this ophtho research (Retina if that helps
will translate over to help me with a NS app or is it more of a red flag to switch away from one field into another that requires even more dedication....I can make peace with the fact that because of this sudden switch I should not expect to be competitive any of the top academic NS residencies. But would a mid to lower tier residency acceptance provide any other problems in my future job market (including geographic preference) outside of joining an academic institution? I am not very keen on setting apart another year off to demonstrate my dedication, but I will if enough people believe it is really necessary.
This decision is not an easy one to make, and I am certainly losing sleep over it simply because it is hard to throw away a strong application into one field into a mid to low tier application into another (far more interesting) field. I would really appreciate your answers, comments and critiques.
Tx!
