WHAT IT IS A literal case of getting inside the human mind
WHY YOU WON’T DO IT Only the brightest, most driven and hardest-working need apply
The modern field of neurosurgery involves preventing, diagnosing and treating disorders related to the brain, spinal column, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Becoming a neurosurgeon requires a heady mix of skill, intelligence, dexterity, stamina and perseverance – small wonder that brain surgery has become a byword for difficulty.
The brain is the most complex of any organ in the body. For starters, it is made up of some 10 billion neurons with over 13 trillion connections. That’s a lot to get to grips with, and not surprisingly, if you want to become a neurosurgeon you can expect to undertake an immense amount of training. In the first instance, you’ll need a good basic medical degree. Competition is fierce to even get a place at medical school – you will need top-notch exam results, proven interest in the field, and evidence of good character.
Once your degree finishes, the real hard work begins. Neurosurgery tends to attract the crème de la crème, so the pressure to shine only increases. You will carry out a series of placements and spend years as a resident. Neurosurgery is such a fast-moving field of medicine that you’ll be constantly studying just to keep your knowledge up to date. At the end, perhaps 14 years after leaving school, expect to finish your training in considerable debt, but with qualifications that will help you earn some of the biggest bucks in the medical profession.
As well as being academically brilliant, you also need a steady hand. You will be undertaking long and very delicate procedures and, quite simply, you won’t be up to the job if you have sausage fingers! You should also be comfortable with new technology. Surgeons today use all manner of imaging equipment, micro-cameras and robotic devices and you must feel confident with all of them.
You are unlikely to keep regular hours. Brain surgeons are not two-a-penny so expect to be on call at all hours and be ready to come into work at short notice. The job can also be emotionally testing – the futures of people suffering from brain tumours and trauma injuries will literally be in your hands. Sadly, some will be beyond your help so you will also have to know when to give up the fight. The up-side is that outcomes are now better than ever before. Improvements in diagnosis and surgical practices have led to quicker and less invasive surgery, while fatality rates have fallen from some 50 per cent in the mid-20th century to less than 10 per cent today.