Neurosurgery

ucd_guy · 09-02-2008 6:16pm #1

I'm quite keen on the doing neurosurgery. I liked neurology ok, but definitely want to do surgery.

The speciality appeals to me because it has the right mix of intellectual pursuits, actual surgery and cutting edge techniques. It looks like it has a great future, and there are loads of American websites detailing this.

Thing is, I'm training in a hospital that has no neurosurgery dept., and I know next to nothing about the training here in Ireland!

(A) Is Beaumont the only place you can practice? i.e. if I want to be a neurosurgical consultant to I have to live in Dublin forever?

(B) What's the training like, anyone know? The attrition rate, etc. Does anyone know if the SHO or SpR slots are insane-o competitive to get into? Any advice you'd give a medical student going for a career in the speciality?

Any other comments welcome too!

Vorsprung · 09-02-2008 6:54pm

There's neurosurgery in Cork, and people are trying to set up a unit in Galway. Maybe Belfast too, not sure.

Chunky Monkey · 09-02-2008 7:17pm

Ooh

I can't answer your questions but I'm going to ask a few, I hope you don't mind.

Do you think neurosurgery is going to become one of those surgical specialities that'll mainly use robot arms (if it isn't already)?

What's the difference between neurology and neurosurgery- would neurologists try to use drugs and mind exercises whereas the surgeon just cuts?

How about going to London? UCL is apparently the world's forerunner in neuroscience research, perhaps there'll be interesting cases in the local hospitals there (or perhaps that's a silly question if they're completely unrelated, I'm not sure).

tallaght01 · 09-02-2008 10:39pm

There's lots of neurosurgery units in the UK, where you might be able to get an SHO job at some point.

However, what i would do is go somewhere like south africa for a bit.

I did trauma in Johannesburg, in one of the busiest emergency departments in the world. The amount of head injuries you'll see is phenomenal. The neurosurgeon was almost resident in our dept.

See if you can get a job there, or cape town, doing neurosurgery. won't help you with the tumour/epilepsy side of it etc, but you'll be in a good position for a reg job if you've had some experience somewhere that no-one else has. Anything that helps you stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive specilaty is a good thing.

Traumadoc · 10-02-2008 11:01am

Neurosurgical training is very hard and very stressful- the jobs are very few and far between - I know of at least six Irish neurosurgical consultants in the UK- your chances of getting a public appointment are very poor ( that may change with the new contract but I doubt it)- you will have to go abroad to train. That said the guys who do it love it and it can be very rewarding. It must be very stressful though.

Chunky Monkey · 10-02-2008 11:33am

Traumadoc wrote: »

That said the guys who do it love it and it can be very rewarding.

No female neurosurgeons?

Stepherunie · 10-02-2008 1:20pm

I don't think there is a female Neurosurgery consultant in Ireland.

I've worked in both CUH and Beaumont and never heard of a female consultant.

DrIndy · 10-02-2008 6:32pm

me neither. there is very few and it is so hard to transfer people to beaumont as well its awful - especially because they are all critically ill.

The state of neurosurgery services in ireland is woeful - its no fault to the units or the staff who work in a state of ridiculous affairs - but there is just not enough beds, not enough consultants and not enough registrars. It is by far the toughest surgery job out there in ireland - second only maybe to the liver transplant team in vincents.

One of my friends did the liver job and in 2 weeks, he only slept in his own bed 3 times. He only has every 6th weekend off and its grinding.

Traumadoc · 10-02-2008 11:15pm

No cant say ive met a female neurosurgeon, probably the only speciality like that.

Aoibheann · 11-02-2008 12:08am

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

No female neurosurgeons?

...Yet.

Y'know, provided I actually get through the course, and don't fall in love with another side to medicine along the way!

Chunky Monkey · 11-02-2008 3:50am

If I met Mr Mum, I'd be tempted to go for it though at this stage saying that would only be to prove a point, admittedly

I'd say operating on the brain would be pretty darn interesting though.

I looked up the situation in the US earlier. Apparently there are only about 200 female ones there at the moment. The first one (can't remember her name) graduated from Stanford in the sixties, I think it was, and almost resigned at one point because she was sick of the sexism she had to endure.

Why is neurosurgery so tough? Is it technically more difficult than the other specialities or is it because there are few jobs so intense competition and very long hours?

Robbiethe3rd · 11-02-2008 5:19pm

Widest range of conditions to treat many of which are the sickest patients, the fact that the majority of the diseases/procedures are not fully understood, there is a very narrow range between success and total failure in surgery. It is very technically demanding in some cases and some operations are of a very long length but it is mainly the high cost of failure which makes it so high pressure.

Traumadoc · 11-02-2008 7:33pm

The high pressure of the job often shows in the dealings others.

ucd_guy · 11-02-2008 8:21pm

Don't know too many nice neurosurgeons then TraumaDoc?

Traumadoc · 11-02-2008 11:04pm

No I have some great friends who are consultant neurosurgeons, Although not in Ireland. They are great to socialise with, they work hard, play hard. But the job has huge pressure.

tallaght01 · 12-02-2008 9:53pm

I don't know if neurosurgery is the most "difficult" surgical specialty, is it? I think it's horrendous because it's so busy.

I would sometimes refer kids with blockedVP shunts tot he neurosurgeons. I remmeber one neurosurgical registrar in glasgow telling me one saturday night that he'd taken 70 referral calls int he last 2 hours!!!

I'm not sure it's any more difficult that neonatal surgery, or transplant or whatever (but I'm no surgeon so I can't be sure) but I think their workload is pretty horrific.

Neurosurgery

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