NeuroEng Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 So I am a second year med student who is thinking of surgery as a career and particularly Neuro. I just think it's a fascinating area and I had a great time shadowing a surgeon as well. I don't have a background or PhD in neurosciences, though I'm trying hard to find a research job in Neuro for the summer (I'm in Toronto), but so far, no luck. My goal is to do residency in British Columbia (I'm from there), and I know they only take 2 residents a year. I would appreciate any advice or knowledge from anyone who is further along than I am as to electives that would be beneficial (besides neurosurg and neurology), people in BC or elsewhere I should try and do electives with, or basically anything I should know as I pursue my goal. My mind is open! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenfive Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 For whatever reason, Neurosurg is not quite as competitive as other specialties - I think last year there were a few spots left open. Don't worry at all if you don't have research/graduate degrees. Most people don't - you can still be very competitive. If you want to do neurosurgery research -that's great. Just email a bunch of docs, the more you email, the more likely that one of them will get back to you with something. This is a very do-able thing, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding something. Also - and probably just as important - get some clinical/surgical experience. Get as much as possible so that you are ready for clerkship - where you will really shine. Also - when you are contacting docs, be sure that you specify that you have "neurosurg", and not "neuro" (ie. because neuro is clinical, not surgery). good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted February 5, 2007 Report Share Posted February 5, 2007 Hi there, Neurosurgery might not seem as competitive as some other surgical specialties because of a number of factors including: 1) the residency is one of the toughest available; 2) the US recently closed its doors to Canadian-trained Neurosurgeons. In any case, if you're interested in Neurosurgery research and doing some in Toronto, send me a PM as I know a number of folks there and would be happy to give you some names. Neurosurgery is a small field and if you do a great job with the surgeons you meet in Toronto then they will certainly put in a good word for you elsewhere. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted February 6, 2007 Report Share Posted February 6, 2007 Hey there, I'm currently doing a neurosx elective. Not sure how I can help you, but feel free to ask me questions, either here or by PMs. Later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Check your PM box. NeuroEng. By the way, considering how BC gets 1 spot left unmatched on the first iteration of CARMS basically every year, I wouldn't really worry about getting a residency spot there (or anywhere else for that matter, except maybe Toronto), if that's really what you want to do for a living. It seems that electives in neurosurgery are quite important when it comes to matching. In the end, there are more spots than serious applicants to the discipline (and that's quite easy to understand why, yet I'm still completely sold to the field), so I really wouldn't worry about matching... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaS3D Posted March 31, 2007 Report Share Posted March 31, 2007 Hey, I sent you a PM. I'm trying to figure out who you are....0T9 UofT right? Theresa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippie Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Hi there, 2) the US recently closed its doors to Canadian-trained Neurosurgeons. Is there a way to go around this? Is having a fellowship later as crucial as it is for general surgery to be able to work in an urban center? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Is there a way to go around this? Yes, some places in the USA are willing to accept non board-certified canadian neurosurgeons. That's what I've heard from 2 attendings who did fellowships there in the past 5 years or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray's Anatomy Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Hi there, Neurosurgery might not seem as competitive as some other surgical specialties because of a number of factors including: 1) the residency is one of the toughest available; 2) the US recently closed its doors to Canadian-trained Neurosurgeons. Could you expand on #2? What prompted the US to close its doors to Canadian-trained neurosurgeons? It's not as if we're churning out neurosurgeons in droves and threatening the job security of US neurosurgeons. Furthermore, how exactly did the US close its doors to Canadian-trained neurosurgeons? Are Canadian neurosurgeons no longer allowed to take US qualifying exams? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsteen Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Hi there, I'm not up on why or how the US closed the neurosurgery door. I only know that they did and do happen to know one of the last Canadian neurosurgeons who moved to the US before they did so. There is another thread that's currently active which is addressing this topic as well. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylem29 Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Could you expand on #2? What prompted the US to close its doors to Canadian-trained neurosurgeons? It's not as if we're churning out neurosurgeons in droves and threatening the job security of US neurosurgeons. Furthermore' date=' how exactly did the US close its doors to Canadian-trained neurosurgeons? Are Canadian neurosurgeons no longer allowed to take US qualifying exams?[/quote'] There was a 2003 article published in cmaj that discusses this issue, and it it posted in a thread here somewhere - hunt it down! In it, I think it mentioned something about the US itself graduating so many neurosurgs that the neurosurg market was saturated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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