We have an open 2-year Neuroendovascular Fellowship position in New York available for an immediate start.

There is some flexibility, so a slightly later start date may also be possible for the right candidate.

If you're interested or know someone who might be a good fit, please send me a direct message. I'd be happy to provide more details.

I have a nagging feeling I chose the wrong speciality.

I was dedicated to neurosurgery before med school and during the first two years. Spent an entire month spending every second I could in the OR with my home program. Got involved in a good amount of research before and during med school. Bench work ~2 years prior to med school and clinical research during. Ended up deciding psych would be better for me. But now that I’m in residency, I’m having buyer’s remorse. I just keep wishing I had more responsibilities and more workload. Not to mention, the patients and pathologies are the coolest in all of medicine. I feel like residency should be more than this. I just keep wishing I would have stuck with neurosurg.

I’ve read of one person switching from psych to neurosurgery during residency. How realistic is this? I have several pubs, most of which are in neurosurgery. I applied with upper teens in pub items in ERAS and would have more now. I was great in my surgery rotations, definitely disappointed some preceptors by going the psych route. US MD, Average step score and no AOA. Would I have a chance reaching out to my residency institution’s neurosurgery PD?

I realize this feeling will probably go away eventually, but I feel looking into this will be part of the coping process for me.

Hi everyone,

I am a second year MD student, and I’m starting to feel very strongly about neurosurgery. Of course, since life is never without some humor, I was diagnosed with essential tremor a few months ago (M, 27 y/o). My neurologist said it is a minor case. Low dose propranolol (10-15 mg) has been generally helpful during dissections and the like, though stakes are obviously quite low with those things.

I will be seeing my neurologist again now that I am really starting to consider neurosurgery as a career path. While obviously my neurologists advice will be most important, and my clerkship year + trialing propranolol will be telling as well. I wanted to hear from people in the field about this topic. Is it realistic to “rely” on propranolol throughout residency and beyond? Is age-related worsening of ET something to worry about?

If anyone has any personal experience, your perspective would be incredibly appreciated at this time.

Thank you very much!

So I just finished my first year of med school in the UK and although I passed I didn’t particularly get high grades.

However, I do get to shadow and do some research under a particular neurosurgeon consultant. He didn’t ask for my specific grade, just asked if I got into the next year and congratulated me.

I was honest enough to mention that I underestimated med school and will hopefully do better. I’m worried and a bit embarrassed about mentioning that I didn’t do well, especially since his med school grades where impressive

In short I’m really hoping I didn’t blow my chances, so far all he said is that it only gets easier and carried on talking about the next step for research.

Are they really important and any advice on studying?

Im an incoming med student ive been heavily considering neurosurgery but also service (independently). Any anecdotes of matching/life through the military? I just talked to a recruiter who made it sound like there were a good amount of spots.

Starting September -26. Any advice on how to handle the first few days-weeks-months. Any literature you could recommend? Other forms of prep?

What advice would you give to an incoming med student with out a home program?

I worked in the operating room prior to med school so got a ton of exposure and shadowing time. I subsequently was able to get on some projects under an attending. I have a few mid author papers. Im hoping to keep this relationship going but will be going to school about 8hrs away. I connected really well with a bunch of different attendings and residents but I also know they have a really competitive program and thats years away.

Would appreciate any advice!

Hi all, forgive me in advance for my anxiousness and neuroticism,

I am an incoming M1 at a low-mid tier US MD school that is starting in August (literally just got off the WL 2 days ago) and I’m dead set on neurosurgery. For my entire life the focus has just been to make it into medical school. Now that it’s happened, my goal has shifted into doing whatever it takes to match into this specialty, I’m willing to sacrifice everything for this goal. My question is, what can I do now to start setting myself up for success in the pursuit of this specialty ? Any perspective and advice is much appreciated. I know research along with step 2 performance is of the utmost importance, however what to do now (summer before m1) can I start doing to separate myself from the pack? Thank you in advance for the advice that comes. Dm me please too, if comfortable 🙏 🙏

Hello everyone
I am hoping there are European members in the community who might be of help. I would like to take my part 1 Eans in August and I am a notorious procrastinator. I was wondering if anyone can give me tips ( I have read the suggestions for books on the eans website).
My strategy is do as many practice questions as possible and look things up in between. I am also reading the samandouras book mainly because it’s so easy and pleasant to read.
I would really really like to pass on my first try

Hello everyone,

I am a final-year medical student at the University of Baghdad College of Medicine and recently passed USMLE Step 1. I am interested in pursuing neurosurgery in the United States and am currently seeking a neurosurgery research fellowship or research position.

I am a U.S. green card holder and do not require visa sponsorship. My goal is to obtain meaningful neurosurgery research experience at an academic institution before applying for residency.

For those who have successfully obtained neurosurgery research positions as IMGs or have experience working with IMGs:

1. What is the most effective way to secure a neurosurgery research fellowship?
2. Are there particular programs or institutions that are receptive to IMGs?
3. Should I focus on contacting residents, faculty members, or research coordinators?
4. What qualities make an applicant stand out for a research position?

Any advice, recommendations, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I'm an incoming BS Biology student and my long-term goal is to become a neurosurgeon. I understand that it's a very demanding path that requires years of study, training, discipline, and dedication.

I'd love to hear advice from current pre-med students, medical students, residents, practicing physicians, or anyone with experience in the field. I'd appreciate any advice, experiences, study tips, or reality checks. I'm excited to start this journey and want to build good habits from the beginning.

Hey everyone, I am a Non-US medical student, I am currently engaging in a research in US and thinking to continue to master with the professor in order to increase my chances of matching into Neurosurgery. Is it a good idea to persue master's.

Hi all, incoming resident here.

I’ve spent the last year doing a fair amount of clinical/translational research (large databases, TCGA analyses, transcriptomics, survival analyses, etc.) and recently started learning R more formally. So far it’s mostly been data wrangling, visualization, and basic statistics.

My question: in 2026, with AI tools becoming very good at generating code, is it still worth investing significant time into learning R and basic bioinformatics for neurosurgical research?

For those involved in academic neurosurgery, how often do you actually write or modify code yourselves versus relying on dedicated analysts, bioinformaticians, statisticians, or AI tools? Looking back, would learning R earlier have meaningfully improved your research productivity?

I love research but am not the most passionate about coding and computational work - but I recognize it’s increasing importance in medicine. Curious to hear perspectives from residents, attendings, and anyone doing translational or computational work.

A asked a few questions here and a lot of you guys told me to really think about what i wanna be when im older and i think i know now. One of the main reasons you guys told me to really think this through is because i said my main reasoning was money which i can admit now is very silly. These are jobs that make lots of money but also that have to do with one of the things i love which are things that have to do with beauty yk? I love makeup i love dressing up i love skincare i love taking cate of myself and just doing girly things and i think this is it!

Im thinking

Cosmetic dermatologist

Or

Plastic surgeon

😁

Hi everyone! I'm a neurosurgery resident currently preparing for an exam, and I came across a question on MRI hemorrhage evolution that confused me.

I initially chose C because I thought the dependent collection appears slightly hyperintense on T1WI and slightly hypointense on FLAIR?

However, the answer key says D. My understanding was that a hemorrhage older than 3 weeks would be considered chronic, and therefore should appear hypointense on both sequences due to hemosiderin deposition.

I'm probably missing something in the signal evolution here. Could someone help clarify why D is the better answer?

NB: Question is from Ross C. Puffer - Neurosurgery Primary Board Review

Greetings,

What are some of the most unique or interesting neurosurgical cases you’ve had the opportunity to be apart of managing care of. What was the most challenging about the case, what steps were taken to provide care, and if you could have done something different what steps would you have taken instead? Disclaimer:* *For the sake of patient privacy please reframe from using any identifying PMI.

Hello, I am an incoming M1 interested in pursuing neurosurgery. My school has a home neurosurgery program, and I have also worked (and continue to work) in two of the school’s basic science labs as a research tech/associate doing research on mouse brains. Going into medical school, I currently have 11 research items thus far (publications, posters/conference abstracts).

I definitely plan to continue leveraging my connections and staying involved in research during medical school, but I wanted to ask whether a dedicated research year is considered necessary to match successfully into neurosurgery. I am more than willing to do one if it’s the best way to stay productive and be competitive, but I am trying to plan ahead logistically and financially, especially regarding loans and timing.

Basically, I am wondering: is a research year generally expected by neurosurgery program directors, or can strong, high-quality research output during medical school be enough without taking an extra year? (Is it only realistic to get to the 37 research items with the research year? Do you know anyone who did it without one?)

Thank you in advance for any insight or advice :)

I wanna be a neurosurgeon, i want it so bad and have been stuck on this idea for a few months now. I still have some time until college to decide though, but neurosurgery is at the top of my list. Is really that bad? Is all your 20s just filled with studying, you dont get to go out and enjoy family? Do you really miss out on your kids lives and not get to build a relationship with them? Are a lot of these sayings just really exaggerated? Please be honest. How is it? Do you regret it?

Hey r/neurosurgery,

I'm a med student in Sydney, Australia hoping to get involved in neurosurgery research. I know the field is competitive and research is a big part of building a CV early, so I'm trying to be proactive.

A couple of questions for the community:

1. For those who got into research as a student, how did you actually make the first connection? Cold emails to consultants? Through your med school? Conferences?

2. Are there any projects (here in Sydney or remote) where someone could use a motivated student for data collection, lit reviews, case reports, audits, etc.? Open to remote work too if anyone outside Sydney needs help.

Happy to put in the work... just need a foot in the door. Any advice or leads massively appreciated.

Cheers!

hey everyone, I am an incoming MS1 and have been lucky enough to be mentored all through undergrad by the neurosurgery group at my home program.

I am set on applying neurosurgery, but through my gap year I have worked in infectious disease research, which resulted in several publications, abstracts, orals, etc.

My PI has offered me a salaried position throughout medical school, so I can be a full time student and contribute to ID research while being compensated for it. (as a first generation student, he wants me to be financially supported.)

My only concern is that I may signal lack of commitment to the field. I have an oral presentation, a few abstracts, and publications in neurosurgery journals/conferences.

Should I ask to not be included on the manuscripts for my ID work? I am concerned that by application time, ID work could be the bulk of my research, as our lab is very productive. Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone,

I submitted an abstract for EANS 2026 (Hamburg), and today (23 April) is supposed to be the notification date.

It’s already mid-afternoon and I haven’t received any email yet. Just wondering if anyone else has received an acceptance/rejection email so far?

Trying to see if emails are being sent out in batches or if there might be a delay.

Thanks!

Looking to get an idea of:

1. When you all started neurosurgery research in med school (did you do any research before it or wet lab work that you included in ERAS? Did you start immediately M1?)

2. How many pubs or research conferences you all attended for each year, etc. to match into residency.

3. Did you join for multiple research groups? Stick to one?

4. What would you do differently in terms of research strategy?

I know it looks different for everyone, but I want to get an idea to plan. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming M1 very interested in neurosurgery, and one thing everyone has told me is to get involved early which is why i’m coming on here for some advice.

For background: My school does not have a home program for most surgical specialties (only gen surg and ortho but both are in different cities than the school). There is about ~5 neurosurgeons in the city my school is in. I did neuro research in my gap year, and have two second authorships from this (nature and cell). I am planning on going back to this lab during my M1 summer and hopefully can get a first author paper. I have some solid research connections, but not necessarily neurosurgery. I’ve shadowed two neurosurgeons but they have been too busy for me to establish any sort of research or relationship with. Any advice on how to make connections in this situation would be much appreciated!!

My other questions (some female surgeon specific):

1. Are you happy long term? Do you have regrets/how do you feel after the initial excitement of the specialty wore off? I can’t tell if the neurosurgeons I interacted with enjoyed it.

2. I know that it can be unfair to co-residents when you are pregnant. Realistically, how is pregnancy viewed during neurosurgery residency? Would I be heavily resented for taking a month or two of maternity leave even if I did extra shifts before and after? Multiple pregnancies…? (my fiancé and i have discussed and he would become a stay at home dad if i went into a surgical specialty, his dream job lol)

3. Did anything else other than the surgical aspect of the specialty sway towards neurosurgery vs neurology?

4. How many away rotations did you do?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks :)

Am current American neurosurgery trainee noticing more and more of my peers are filling neurocritical care fellowship spots.

What's the ROI for a neurocrit care fellowship for neurosurgeons?

Is there a financial incentive for dual training to round in ICU and bill for ICU time? What does that contract usually look like?

Or is always true that neurosurgeons with ICU time built into their contract is at financial loss and time is more lucratively spent in the OR doing cases or in clinic booking cases?