[aabajian]

Neurosurgeons are extremely smart, hardworking, and (usually) amicable physicians. They are also in short supply and can determine whether an entire health system makes or loses money.

Neurosurgery is the hardest residency, and the hardest physician career. However, this difficulty is in-part due to the bravado of the neurosurgeons themselves. During neurosurgery residency, you have to learn to be a brain and spine surgeon, undertake two years of research, learn how to do endovascular interventions, and (of course) manage all of the pre-/post- operative care including clinic. It is not uncommon for a single PGY-2 neurosurgery resident to follow 100+ inpatients. Suffice to say neurosurgeons are overburdened, yet they themselves have fought against reducing training hours.

Patients can generally expect to spend less than 30 minutes speaking to their surgeon before/after their surgery.

For those unaware, you can become a spine surgeon via either the neurosurgery or orthopedic surgery routes. Just my simple opinion, but I think spine surgery should be its own residency. Brains should be left to the neurosurgeons and extremities to the orthopedists.