Neurosurgery?

Question

This may sound like a stupid question, but.. on a scale of one to ten, how difficult is neurosurgery and the medical courses required for it? And, could a person who gets A's and B's (but mostly B's) have a good chance at becoming a neurosurgeon?

Answer 1

Mostly B's doesn't get you into medical school, much less a neurosurgical residency.  You'll be competing for med school spots with people who get mostly A's in the most difficult courses.

Fortunately, nobody will look at your high school grades.  If you can get mostly A's in tough college courses, you'll have a shot at medical school (which, on a scale of 1-10 is about a 12. Not so much for difficulty, but for the sheer volume of information presented in a short time)

Answer 2

A neurosurgeon goes to med school like every other MD/DO does. Naturally, your performance in med school will reflect on your ability to secure a neuro-surgical residency. More so is your overall appeal to residency programs. If you do well in med school and fit the niche the residency program is looking for, you can begin the lengthy training.

It is not for the faint of heart. Neurosurgery, cardio thorasic surgery all of those highly specialized programs require a lot of skill and hard work.

My neighbor started out as a neuro surgery resident. He has since moved over to internal med. He couldn't cope with the immense work load and dedication needed to succeed. Plus he had his first child and didn't want to be at the hospital for 100+ hours per week required of him.

Answer 3

Neurosurgery is a residency, not something you do in medical school.  It doesn't require coursework as such, but it's a very competitive residency.  Med schools don't give A's and B's as a general rule--maybe some of them do--but mostly they are honors/high pass/pass/fail.  To be competitive when you apply for residency, you would want high grades regardless of how they are scored, though.  What your undergraduate grades are may influence whether you're able to get into med school at all, of course, but residencies won't care all that much.  Anyway--worry about getting into med school first.

On a scale of one to ten, I hear it's about a fifteen.  It's one of the longer residencies--seven years plus any fellowship years--and it's extremely long hours and hard work.  It requires intelligence, manual dexterity, an incredible amount of dedication and commitment, and a willingness to do very little else for a very great portion of your life.  If you have all that, and are willing to do all that, you have a good chance at becoming a neurosurgeon.

Answer 4

As other posters have alluded to, becoming a neurosurgeon is a multiple step process.  Assuming you're in the US, to be any type of physician you have to go to medical school.  There are two major types of medical schools in the US - allopathic, which confer MDs and osteopathic, which confer DOs.  Your odds of getting into neurosurgery following medical school are much, much better if you attend an allopathic school, which are generally more difficult to get into than osteopathic schools.  To get into medical school, you'll want your college GPA to be in the 3.8 range ideally, with your best grades in the science prerequisites.  An MCAT score of 30 would at least get you in the running at most schools.  It is possible to get into medical school through other routes, like getting a master's degree before applying, for example, if your grades or MCAT score isn't as high as you'd like.

In medical school, everyone takes pretty much the same curriculum through the first three years regardless of what kind of physician they want to become.  At most schools there's a little more flexibility in the fourth year and you can tailor your rotations to your interests. If you want to do neurosurgery, you should do a neurosurgery rotation at your own school and then one or two at other schools as well.

At the end of medical school you apply for a residency position in neurosurgery.  The two most important things in your application are your USMLE Step 1 score (first part of the medical licensing exam) and letters of recommendation that you will have gotten from neurosurgeons at your school and from the away rotations in the neurosurgery departments of other schools.  Your grades are important, but don't mean as much as the word of another neurosurgeon that you are going to be a good resident.  

Obviously your chances of success with moving on to each new step are best if you do very well along the way, but if it's something you really want to do, there are alternative paths to keep trying.  My grades in college were okay, but not great and I did reasonably well on the MCAT.  I got into med school through a special program where I took half the first year curriculum, then continued on based on how well I did with those courses.  I did well in my class, but was not at the top.  I scored in about the 85th percentile on the USMLE step 1 (first part of medical licensing exam), which helped.  Most importantly, when it became time to do aways, I did 3 away rotations and got good letters of recommendation from each place, and now I'm a neurosurgery resident.  So, I took a rather unusual course to get where I am, but I'm proof that if it's what you really want to do and you work hard enough at it, you can make it work, even if you don't have a 4.0 or finish at the top of your class.

Answer 5

9...and if your in high school with B's? Well you have a 48% chance of getting in a actual college. It also depends if your what classes your taking. And that 48% is if your taking honor classes. (AP). But if your in college and you would like to get into nerosurgeon, well its still very difficult, but you if take the rights classes, and score good, its very possible of you getting in. Stay persistant!!! Dont give up. I admit, it will take a lot of hard work.

Answer 6

It is a very difficult field. Physically and mentally very demanding. B's will not get you near a Medical school, so don't worry. If you are near the top of your class in Medical School, (very near) and are willing to put in the long hours of study and generally long hours of work any time, day or night, you could perhaps get accepted. I was in the 98th percentile on the exam mentioned, and had letters saying I could walk on water to get a good Residency in Neurology.

The routine was so tough that some Neurosurgery residents dropped out and went back to a Field Hospital in Vietnam, because it was so much easier.