Career Questions From an Aspiring Neurologist

Question

I am trying to get more information on a career I am very interested in going into. I would love it if someone in a medical field even close to Neurology would be kind enough to answer these quick questions for me, thank you.

1. How difficult was the schooling you went through?
2. Are there limited internship opportunities available or are there many?
3. What is the most difficult aspect of your job in your opinion?
4. What is your favorite part of your job?
5. What does your typical week look like?
6. Are there any extra courses to take in college that you would say would give someone an extra edge in this career?
7. What kind of environment do you work in? Office? Laboratory? Etc.
8. If someone went to school and took the same classes you did, are there any other paths they could have taken besides Neurosurgery? In other words, are there fields similar to this one that you can choose by taking similar classes? 
9. Do you get any time off? When I think of neurosurgery I think of working 60 plus hour weeks.
10. Does this job require a lot of continuing education, and if so, how much.

Answer 1

Hey there I am a Family Medicine resident physician who's just finished medical school and would love to give you some insight on these questions. I mentor a lot of students through medicine and related fields, so if you're interested do not hesitate to reach out and we can chat about this. As far as your questions go i'll try to be as concise as possible.

How difficult was the schooling you went through? 4 years of undergraduate study, 4 years of medical school, 3 years of residency training in neurology (paid around 50-60k/yr). Medical school is difficult, but definitely do-able, but consider it a full time job.

Opportunities? Many, and lots of choose from, specializing into a niche neurology field like stroke or headache... etc. Difficulty/best part- varies person to person but generally its an enjoyable field where you're really wearing a thinking cap.

Typical week- I can't really answer this because there's a a lot of variety, but you can work a steady schedule in a clinic or work in the hospital setting, or a hybrid of both where you get to do both things.

Most of your learning would be coming from medical school and residency, not much from extra courses during undergrad. The environment you'd generally work in would be clinic/office or hospital, you could also be involved in a research but that would be clinical research, generally not "wet lab"

Paths- So during medical school you get to decide what field you want to go into, it can be any specialty. Neurology, Neurosurgey, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Any surgery specialty, pathology, the list goes on forever. Whatever you choose to do your residency in is what your specialty becomes.

Neurosurgery and neurology are very different fields, a neurosurgeon works lots of hours and does lots of work very very early in the morning whereas a neurologist usually works less hours. You have to consider that surgery can sometimes be an emergency situation so that is why hours for a surgeon are generally more erratic and spontaneous but some people enjoy the work enough for that lifestyle. generally an emergent.

With any field of medicine, you're going to be continuing education. Because you are the specialist, people rely on your knowledge so you will generally be keeping up to date with the new research that comes out and the new treatment guidelines and new medications, etc.

I know this was a lot but I hope this answers your questions. Medicine is a great field for a lot of reasons and there's lots of specialties with very very different styles of work and learning. If you have any questions we can always setup a time to chat.