Hello everyone,

I am just wondering what a Saba grad would need to get accepted into a Neurology residency program in the US 4 yrs down the road?

Is Neurology considered a competitive residency in compare with General Surgery?

My understanding is that Neurology is less competitive than Radio/Anasth. Is that right?


Thank you,

__________________
University of Toronto - BSc (Hons) 2009
Saba University School of Medicine - Jan 2010
Semester 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[ ]
USMLE 1[ ] 2 CS[ ] 2 CK[ ]

neurology is just a bit more competitive than IM...its no where close to rads and anesthesia.

What about Neurosurgery?

you should refer to the nrmp website to check for the competitiveness of a residency. google it.
as a carib student, your choice and options of residency will be pretty much limited by what you score on those usmles. easier said than done. and having no visa issues is of great importance as well.

you sure can get a neurosurgery residency if you want. get 99s on all three boards. do a couple of years of research. get published. and you will have a shot. im sure its pretty competitive to get a neurosurgery residency right after med school - but if you want it that much, then there are ways to get it.

Thanks for the info, Mario. I did refer to the NRMP website but I am not sure how those information can be correlated with IMG's cases (specifically Saba graduates). If NRMP website says an average score of 230 on step1 is collected from those who got accepted to a Neurology program, should I assume that is also true for Saba graduates? Or I have to add some percentage to it? I know we need to do better than US graduates (or Canadian) but by how much?

I'm hoping that my question isn't too dumb!

__________________
University of Toronto - BSc (Hons) 2009
Saba University School of Medicine - Jan 2010
Semester 1[ ] 2[ ] 3[ ] 4[ ] 5[ ]
USMLE 1[ ] 2 CS[ ] 2 CK[ ]

Neurosurgery?!?!?! Uh yeah you are going to need a lot of help, incredible scores, and LOTS OF LUCK. Sorry to burst your bubble but thats a top 3 specialty which american grads have extreme trouble getting into.

__________________
"Stop making excuses and just do it"
Proud Member of the 99/99 Club

230 for Neurology or Neurosurg??? I really doubt it for Neurology. Neurology, as stated earlier, is slightly more competitive than IM, which isn't competitive at all. I know several people who got into neuro with a below average USMLE score at university programs!

you wont really get saba-specific information, except besides the discussions on VMD with what the current applicants are going through...or via word of mouth...or from what you gather when you are doing rotations.

the nrmp data just separates u.s. grad from independant applicants

the independant applicants include osteos, u.s. imgs and the true img imgs (from china, india, etc)

if you make a heirarchy of preferance of a residency candidate by a program, this is how it goes, granted everything is equal.

U.S. or CDn grad (LCME accredidated) >>>>> U.S. osteo>> U.S. img from foreign school (carib top 4 come here)>> canadian, aussie, western europe IMGs with proficient language skills, etc...requiring visas >>> all other imgs requiring visas...

"230 for Neurology or Neurosurg??? I really doubt it for Neurology. Neurology, as stated earlier, is slightly more competitive than IM, which isn't competitive at all. I know several people who got into neuro with a below average USMLE score at university programs!"

Saad is right on, the likelihood on Neurosurg from a Carrib school is very very low, infact winning the lottery is probably more of a reality. But hey believe what you want! And as Mario 345 put it a 230 for a US/LCME grad is like a 248+ for us.But hey beleive what you want! I know for a fact that coveted university programs that wont even look at IMG grads for neuro spots. Finally if you havent even started yet, don't worry about what you'll be doing four years from now, let alone next april. Just enjoy your last days of freedom and when you get here just be ready to work your a** off, try to have some assmeblance of a normal life, drink a few pints when you get a chance, hit the gym, and take it week to week, with the first goal in sight the NBME shelf and then the step 1. You can try to plan the next 8 years of your life before you start, but it will all change, many will find it difficult just planning week to week! So just relax, work hard and kick but! Pass Neuro first, then think about Neurology! Unless you've been in med school before you have no idea what neuro's all about, and you likely won't until clerkships. No matter how many undergrad courses you took in neuroscience or days spent shadowing a neurologist, you wont know until you get there, so don't worry about it now. Just my two cents, if you dont like it no worries, you'll soon find out.