typical day as a neurologist

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drboris

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Hi everyone,

I am going to be an M1 in July. Although I have plenty of time to choose my specialty, I always like to get a head start and be prepared in whatever I do. So, that being said, I would like some help from all the neurologists or soon-to-be neurologists out there.

I have taken several personality and medical specialty tests (northwestern med school site and virginia med school site) and both of them claim that my wants and needs match me into the field of neurology (interesting?). So, I have done many searches in this forum and have learned a lot since then. However, I have constantly read about a lack of treatment and a low salary for neurologists, and also that they are the geeks of medicine (I am not sure if that means they are very smart or just anal).

Anyway, sorry for the long story, but if anyone has time can you describe a typical day as a neurologist working in private practice in the midwest (I am and will stay in Chicago suburbs). What kind of patients do you see, how many in a day on average, what do you treat them with, how often do they come back for follow up, and what kind of breakthroughs in the next ten years will improve treatment. If you guys can give actual cases, diseases, and micromanagement treatment scenarios that will really help me fully understand the field. Finally, how big are most practices in my area and how is call and salary?

Thank you very much in advance for all of your responses!

Boris
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shadow a neurologist both in private practice and academic settings and you will have a much better idea about the typical day of a neurologist....it's much useful than having people describe to you what their perception of neurology is. I am sure most neurologists would love to have aspired future colleagues to shadow them. There is lack of curative treatment in neurology....there are plenty of symptomatic treatments.
 
isn't anyone going to reply???
 
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Hi,
i just wanted to highlight another aspect of neurology.
Many neurologic diseases do not have curative treatments as of now. But many treatments are in various stages of development.
Neurology is one field in which symptomatic treatments have significant importance.
CNS is the most critical organ system , so it will have greater mortality and morbidity. But the experience of improving the lives of the most critically ill patients can be very gratifying.
Example - epilepsy , most of it is medical treatment and also other things as vagal n stimulation etc. As long as you can control seizures , the patients is happy and has normal life.
The number of epilepsy patients requiring surgery is very less.
Many patients are middle aged to elderly. So if we can provide symptomatic treatments during their period of life expectancy , it is significant in making their life normal or near normal. The better the symptomatic treatment , better is the life and satisfaction.
With many new modalities in clinical trials , the treatment options will also increase.
Infact , the nineties have seen many new medications being available to neurologists.
The use of TPA has been a significant advancement in managing acute stroke.
If you want to feel ' adrenaline rush ' in neurology , then a fellowship in stroke and critical care is a good option.
Regarding scope : There is immense scope - there are 700,000 new cases of stroke every year in the US. In fact stroke is the most common cause of debility and the third biggest killer in the US ( after MI and cancers).
If you want a relaxed life , then a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology, dementia or movement disorders is for you. It all depends on your interest and kind of life you want to pursue.
Lastly , the image of neurology as a field with all diag and no treatment is mainly because of the situation in eighties and before. This is changing significantly , mainly because of the work done in the nineties. The nineties were called the ' decade of the brain ' . So the fruits of all the money pumped and hard work done has started showing now.
 
Dr. Boris,

Can you include think link for those online interest tests? That would be interesting for me.

Thanks,
YF
 
Drboris:

Hey, thanks for the test link, it is pretty cool.
I did the Virginia test and neurology came up 3rd (not sure if this is good or bad, since I am, in fact, a neurologist).
#1 was rads, and #2, for some reason, was GI (I can't imagine what it is about me that would make them think I'd enjoy looking up people's a55es for a living).
I'd really encourage all the med students out there to give this test a try. I wouldn't base my whole life on it, but it may at least make you think about certain options more seriously than others.

By the way, in response to your other post, I'd say the typical neurology personality is "detail oriented" (you can take it to the extreme of "anal" in some cases). I think the specialty attracts this type because of 1) the emphasis on neuroanatomy and 2) the emphasis on detailed history taking.

Some neurologists are absolute friggin' geniuses whose boots I am not worthy to lick; others seem to me to be complete boneheads. Most fall somewhere in between. Just like in every other specialty.

For some reason, a disproportionate number of them seem to like wearing bow ties. I never have figured that one out. Perhaps our psychiatry friends have some thoughts on that.

As far as a "typical day," kasimagore had the best suggestion: shadow a couple neurologists in a couple different settings (academic, private practice, hospital-based) and see what they do. Practice can vary enormously depending on location and subspecialty, if any.
 
Thanks a lot to everyone who replied.

Neurologist, when I took the virginia specialty test radiology also came up as one of the top specialties I should go into.

I think the reason may be it is one of those lifestyle specialties that may be more similiar to neurology than other surgical or uncontrollable lifestyle specialties (this is just my guess)

Thanks!
 
I did the Northwestern test and it gave a pretty accurate picture of what specialties I was considering after Year III. It's much shorter than the 130-item test too...
 
When I was an undergrad, the pre-professional advising office had very specific instructions for attire to wear to medical school interviews. One of the rules was NO BOW TIES. According to the advising office bow ties meant:

1. You were a little odd.
2. You were very proud of being a little odd.

This also applied to suspenders, also a popular neurologist fashion accessory.

The first things I will buy next year after the match are a red bow tie and a telescoping babinski or queen square hammer, the longer the better. What can I say? I am a little odd.
 
That was pretty interesting. Here my top 5.

1 dermatology
2 radiology
3 neurology
4 neurosurgery
5 pathology
 
4 of 5 are lifestyle specialties...told ya
 
Yah, having a life outside of my workday is important to me.
 
Which one of those tests is more accurate?

My results:

Virginia:
1. Neurology or Radiology
2. Rhematology
3. Pathology
4. Allergy and Immuno
5. Nephrology


Northwestern:
1. Preventative medicine
2. Pathology
3. Adolescent Med.
4. Family Practice
5. Pediatrics

These results are really weird. The only consistent one is Pathology?!!! Totally unexpected. I have no interested in this field. However, I am seriously considering neurology so I am wondering if the Virginia test is more accurate.

What do yo think? Post your results!
 
GopherBrain said:
When I was an undergrad, the pre-professional advising office had very specific instructions for attire to wear to medical school interviews. One of the rules was NO BOW TIES. According to the advising office bow ties meant:

1. You were a little odd.
2. You were very proud of being a little odd.

This also applied to suspenders, also a popular neurologist fashion accessory.

The first things I will buy next year after the match are a red bow tie and a telescoping babinski or queen square hammer, the longer the better. What can I say? I am a little odd.
Click to expand...

Whatever, suspenders are money! It's old school class. Seriously, whenever I wear a suit I get a ton of (seemingly genuine) compliments on the suspenders and it sets me apart without being incredibly eccentric. I'm a believer.
 
matt481 said:
I've found this test to be a little more informative than the other two. It's pretty quick and takes many more factors into account.

http://medweb.usc.edu/pathways/intro.htm
Click to expand...


All three tests had the same top three specialties although in different order...

Thoracic Surgery
Vascular Surgery
Neurological Surgery

And since I am interested in Neurosurgery...I guess this means I am going to be doing SOME sort of surgery at some point...lol. As a first year this puts alot of pressure in my mind to do well on my surgery rotation. J/K I am also interested in Trauma Surgery and Emergency Medicine...

Hopefully I am not limiting myself too early...:)
 
Northwestern
1) Radiology
2) GI
3) Phys Med & Rehab
4) Neurology

Virginia
1) Radiology
2) Nuclear Med
3) Urology
12) Neurology

Pathway
1) Radiation Oncology
2) Dermatology
3) Phys Med & Rehab
5) Neurology
42) Radiology

These seem to be all over the place. Interesting how Radiology comes out #1 in two tests and last place in the third. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on these tests!
 
sacrament said:
Whatever, suspenders are money! It's old school class. Seriously, whenever I wear a suit I get a ton of (seemingly genuine) compliments on the suspenders and it sets me apart without being incredibly eccentric. I'm a believer.
Click to expand...


Only with a matching belt I hope.
 
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