Neurosurgery after neuroscience phd...chances?

[bennybrak]

Hi y'all, i'm an img from Ghana. Currently in my 5th yr in a 6yr program. Wanted to be a neurosurgeon since high school. I enjoyed my NS rotation more than any other and i'm very convinced that's my place. Haven't taken the USMLE yet bcos of the intense program we have here..i'll not have adequate time to prep for it and get the stellar grades i need if i rush and take it. I appreciate the intense competition i will face if i apply directly after med sch as an img. Although i believe i am capable of getting very extra-o scores on the boards, i don't believe in taking stupid risks and end up not matching anywhere. I would have considered doing residency here if i were shooting for internal medicine, but considering the dynamic nature of NS and the rate at which it is evolving with technology, i don't see the point in training here because of the dearth of modern resources.

Ok, so is it fine if i go for a neuroscience phd in the US, in order to make my chances of matching brighter afterwards? Or wud the time spent out of clinical practice as a phd student go against me. Seiously, i need advice bcos as much as i love NS, I'd rather be in clinical practice in any field, than use the neuroscience route and be trapped in a lab in case i dont get matched?

Thanks

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[rhodesman]

"Currently in Ghana, with a population of 20 million, there are 8 neurosurgeons (3 of whom are close to retirement)."

Please get stay in your country, get educated at the Residency Training Program in Neurosurgery in Ghana (University of Ghana Medical School?), and help your country. Your people need you much more than people in America.

Each year about 13 of the 173 students who match NS are IMGs so the chances are not good at all unless you are a stellar candidate.

Why would even think about doing a PhD in Neuroscience? PhDs are for people who want to intergrate research into their profession. MD/PhD students mostly do the PhD a) for free tuition or b) bc they absolutely love research and want to enter academics in the future....from what I see you don't

Why would you even consider coming to the US to do research in the first place? Aren't you graduating from medical school? Why don't you just practice in your country first and if things don't work out with the match just stay there? Either way you would be helping a greater cause (a much greater one in Ghana)!

Or is this just about finances because you think Neurosurgeons in American on average make the most money of all doctors in the world?

 

[bennybrak]

"Currently in Ghana, with a population of 20 million, there are 8 neurosurgeons (3 of whom are close to retirement)."

Please get stay in your country, get educated at the Residency Training Program in Neurosurgery in Ghana (University of Ghana Medical School?), and help your country. Your people need you much more than people in America.

Each year about 13 of the 173 students who match NS are IMGs so the chances are not good at all unless you are a stellar candidate.

Why would even think about doing a PhD in Neuroscience? PhDs are for people who want to intergrate research into their profession. MD/PhD students mostly do the PhD a) for free tuition or b) bc they absolutely love research and want to enter academics in the future....from what I see you don't

Why would you even consider coming to the US to do research in the first place? Aren't you graduating from medical school? Why don't you just practice in your country first and if things don't work out with the match just stay there? Either way you would be helping a greater cause (a much greater one in Ghana)!

Or is this just about finances because you think Neurosurgeons in American on average make the most money of all doctors in the world?

Interesting post rhodesman. I get you, but i believe if you had read my post well, you would have noticed that i said i don't mind staying in my country for any non-surgical specialty but would want to study(not practice) in the US because of the dynamic nature of NS and because the US lead in cutting surgical breakthroughs. Believe me, i just want to have the best possible education. If the best happened to be in Rwanda, i wouldn't think twice about going there. If money was my drive, i wouldn't have gone to med sch in the first place.

Yes my people need me, but they also need the best caregivers...

And yes, neuroscience because i believe it will give more grounding to my practice and also in research. The fact that i'm interested in clinical practice does not mean i detest research work and academic medicine. I said i just don't want an entire career in a lab.

Can i please get an answer to my question now?

Thanks