Best highschool/college/medschool path?

WayOutWestMom
Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:05:29 +0000

@BananaLover101

1. You cannot major in neurology in college. Neurology is medical specialty that you can only begin to train in after you’ve completed medical school. (Training is called residency.) Neurology requires 1 year of general medical training (internship) after med school, followed by another 3 years of neurology residency.

Time to become a neurologist–

4 years college + 4 years medical school + 1 year general medical internship + 3 years neurology residency = 12 years

If’ you’re interested in a neurologic sub-specialty, that could add another 1-4 years to the 12 year minimum.

[Neurology Residency Roadmap](Neurology - Residency Roadmap)

2. it’s extraordinarily foolish to pick out a specialty before you start medical school, much less college. You have no idea exactly what a neurologist does, what their day-to-day practice is like, if you’d like what they actually do, or whether you will even qualify (have the necessary grades & test scores) to specialize in neurology.

Most med students change their minds several times (3 on average) about their specialty during med school.

Wait until you actually get into medical school and have completed the first 3 years before you start planning your medical career. (All med students spend 4-8 weeks working in various specialties during their 3rd year of med school, including family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, pediatrics, Ob/Gyn, surgery & anesthesia.)

3. The things you’re talking about re: virtual reality really are not within the purview of a neurologist. These fall more into the field of [neuroscience[/url] or more probably [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_engineering]neural engineering](Neuroscience - Wikipedia).

FYI, neurologists don’t treat aneurysms–those require the intervention of an neurosurgeon. Neurologists may treat the symptoms of any lasting, organic brain damage resulting from the aneurysm or the interventional treatments a patient receives, but they do not treat the aneurysm itself. Neurologists typically do not treat AHDH; that is done by psychiatrists. Neurologist do manage epilepsy.

But…if you want to go to medical school, this is what you need to do:

High School

Take challenging (honors or AP/IB) math & science classes during high school. A strong preparation in chemistry is especially important for future med students, but you will also need classes in biology, physics, and math through calculus or at least pre-calculus during high school.

Develop your people skills-- teamwork, active listening, leadership, empathy, altruism, service to others. Work on developing good oral and written communication skills. All of these are highly valued in medical school applicants.

College

Pre-meds can major in any field (really!) they choose so long as they also fulfill medical school admission requirements:

2 semesters biology w/labs
2 semesters general chemistry w/labs
2 semesters organic chemistry w/labs
1 semester biochem
2 semesters physics w/ labs
2 semesters of college level math (calculus 1 and statistics or biostatistics)
2 semesters of composition/college writing
1 semester sociology
1 semester psychology

Some medical school have additional requirements for things like genetics, human anatomy & physiology, medical ethics, Calc 2, 3 + linear algebra, upper level social sciences, public speaking.

So if you want to major in comp sci and think you can earn top grades in your CS classes–go for it. (One of my daughters was a math & physics double major; she’s now a doctor.)

Your college GPA and MCAT exam score are very important. Those 2 things are used by med schools to screen applicants. Last year, the average GPA for matriculating medical students was 3.8. The average MCAT was 512.

During college, you will need to get involved in a number of activities that demonstrate your desire to work in the service of human kind and demonstrate that you understand what the life of a physician is like. Expected ECs-- community service with the vulnerable populations/the less fortunate; physician shadowing; clinical volunteering; demonstrated leadership activities; and bench or clinical research.

One more thought–gaining an acceptance to medical school is a very long and very challenging path, and you will face plenty of competition.

75% of college freshmen who say they are pre-med will never get to the point of actually applying to medical school. Of those who do persist and apply to medical school, 60% will be rejected at every school they apply to. Make sure that you always have a Plan B career in mind in case you don’t get accepted to med school.