How to Become a Brain Surgeon

The brain, with all its millions of neural connections, weighs just 3
pounds. Cutting one open requires nerves of steel, guts and intellect.
If you think you've got the right stuff--and the patience to train for
14 to 20 years--read on.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Ask yourself whether you have what it takes to do the job before you commit to decades of training. Brain surgeons not only need skill, stamina and dexterity, but also have to keep their cool in highly emotional situations. Interview several neurosurgeons.

2. Get into the best school you can (see 150 Get Into a Top College or University) and earn a four-year pre-med degree. Some medical schools require only three years of pre-med studies, but most applicants have a bachelor's or advanced degree. Excel in biology, chemistry and mathematics.

3. Prepare for fierce competition when applying to medical school. Schools look at transcripts, letters of recommendation and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, as well as extracurricular activities. Find out from medical students what to expect in your interview with a medical school's admissions committee. See 151 Ace the College Admissions Tests and 155 Get Into Grad School.

4. Go to medical school. (A few schools combine pre-med and medical school into a six-year program, but usually you face four years of undergraduate study and four years of medical school.) In the first two years, you will take classes and begin to examine patients. In the second two years, you will gain real-life experience under the tutelage of practicing physicians.

5. Complete six grueling years of residency in neurosurgery, your chosen specialty. Finally you've attained a paid position. If you're like many brain surgeons, you'll spend another year or two doing advanced study in neuroscience.

6. Pass a licensing exam in any state. Many--but not all--states allow reciprocity, which means you don't have to get licensed again if you move to a new state.

7. Become board certified in neurosurgery. This involves studying for and taking a rigorous professional test. It isn't necessarily required to get a job but may be expected later.

8. Find a job through your professional network. Ask the program director of your residency program to spread the word that you're looking for work. Network at meetings of professional societies and look at the employment ads in professional journals. See 201 Make a Networking Plan.

Tips & Warnings

• Unless you're independently wealthy, look into major financial assistance. Only 20 percent of medical students get through school without borrowing money. (See 234 Organize Your Financial-Aid Package.)
• Even after two decades of training, you'll keep studying. To deliver the best care, you need to stay on top of medical advances throughout your career.
• Surgeons earned a median annual income of $255,438 in 2002.
• Fifty years ago, half of brain surgeries were fatal. Now it's less than 10 percent.
• Brain surgery is physically as well as mentally demanding. You need stamina to stand still for hours, performing minute surgical moves.
• Expect to pay an outrageously high price for malpractice insurance. Premiums have risen so much in recent years that some surgeons have gone on strike to protest them.

[suthernsugar16]

on 11/5/2008 does anyone know how much neurosurgeons make?

[ChristeB]

on 7/18/2008 Brain Surgeon's Babe blog: http://www.brainsurgeonsbabe.blogspot.com/