How to Become a Neurosurgeon? All about this Career

Are you thinking about becoming a Neurosurgeon? Many questions come to our mind when we decide which path to take in our professional lives. And if neurosurgery is calling your attention, read carefully because we're going to give you some answers that may help you in this article. 

What is a Neurosurgeon? Let's be clear about this first. A Neurosurgeon isn't just a brain surgeon. A Neurogen is a medically trained specialist who can also help patients suffering from back and neck pain. And other illnesses ranging from trigeminal neuralgia to head injury and Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, Neurosurgeons provide the operative and non-operative management of neurological disorders that include prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, critical care, and rehabilitation. Other specialists can also call them for consultation. 

Now you know what a Neurosurgeon does, how to become one? According to the Oregon Health & Science University, to be a Neurosurgeon, you must follow these steps: 

1st. Graduate from an accredited medical school. 

2nd.Complete a one-year surgical internship in the Department of Neurological Surgery. 

3rd. Complete seven years in the neurosurgical residency program accredited by the American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Seems like a lot? During this residency training time, neurosurgeons learn all aspects of neurosurgery, including the cerebrovascular system, the spine and spinal cord, trauma, tumors, pain management, and pediatric surgery. Residents complete a minimum of 60 months of training in the neurological sciences. At least 36 of those months are devoted to clinical neurosurgery and a minimum of 3 months dedicated to clinical neurology. This education continues with annual meetings, conferences, scientific journals, and research.

If you're still convinced to become a Neurosurgeon, you must be curious about how much a Neurosurgeon earns. In the United States, the average yearly salary is $275.000. However, it all depends; neurosurgeons on the lower spectrum make roughly $154,000 a year, while those on the top make $492,000. Another critical aspect is location. Alaska, Idaho, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington provide the highest Neurosurgeon salaries. 

Suppose moving isn't a problem and you're looking for a well-paid job. In that case, you should consider Alaska, Idaho, and South Dakota, as these three states offer the highest salaries throughout the U.S. for Neurosurgeons. Quite the opposite of that list is the lowest paying states, which are Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida.

Becoming a Neurosurgeon like any other career has its pros and cons you should take into count. The Neurosurgical Atlas remarks as advantages of being a Neurosurgeon the chance to help the sickest patients, technically challenging operations on fascinating and complex anatomy, motivated and passionate colleagues, and endless research opportunities. And as disadvantages the extensive training path, schedules are often inflexible, potential personal sacrifices in terms of relationships, family, and hobbies and emotional discomfort of witnessing incredibly sick patients suffer. 

After all of this information you’re still convinced but when sharing the news be prepared for people saying not to do it! Students are usually told by friends, family, peers,and even Neurosurgeons, that they should pursue another field. As with all pieces of advice, be sure to assess the context and the intentions of whoever gave them. In general, advice from someone who is not in the medical field regarding which specialty you should choose can be taken less seriously than, for instance, a surgeon who has sacrificed a great deal and provides the advice from hopefully relatively objective experience. The best advice is the one that most accurately applies to your life circumstances. Take your individual situation into account and remember that others’ experiences will almost always be different from your own.

So you’re sure about Neurosurgery as your career path, who should you contact? This depends on whether or not your medical school owns a Neurosurgery residency program. If your medical school owns a Neurosurgery residency program, the best place to start would be to contact the chairman of the department and/or neurosurgical residency program director for a short introductory meeting. Either before or after this meeting, getting connected with residents at the program is incredibly useful, as they will be one of the best sources of research projects and mentorship regarding the application process.

Hopefully, the questions you had at the beginning might be solved so far, or at least a few of them. If you want to keep learning about Neurosurgery, check our blog posts and remember, you can always contact us on our website www.jvaleriomd.com. We'll be happy to serve you!