Are you a medicine person or a surgery person? Which specialty?

Medical. Maybe paeds, maybe anaesthetics, maybe something like cardiology....who knows.

Saying that, I'll probably end up cutting people open now!

Hey, if you don't mind, could you explain what made the neurology attachment so fascinating and interesting? Neurology is actually the specialty I'm most interested in by far, but only from theory. The thing is, I'm getting the impression there are a lot of specialties which are more interesting to practice compared to neurology, but I just don't think I could give up studying the brain and related problems! So knowing that it's quite fascinating in practice is quite encouraging.

I was also wondering, have you done any neurosurgery attachments and how were they? Is the training entirely different from neurology? Also, is it true that neurosurgery is probably one of the most demanding specialties in terms of the hours worked, the irregular timings, the intensity of the job and length of training?

Cheers.

Hmm.... getting interested in why ACCS is so popular. To those who a partial to ACCS, what attracts you to it?

I found Neurology had the most problem-solving of any speciality. It wasn't a case of 'this pattern and set of symptoms' = this disease. In neurology you try and find the location of a lesion and then the process causing it and I really liked that approach. Also the clinical examinations aren't set in stone like other ones: when you examine a chest or abdomen there's a very well defined set of things you do in a particular order. In Neurology, you tailor your examination to what you think the likely diagnosis is and the whole thing is so much more intelligent.

Neurosurgery, obviously, a lot more interventional and the difference is that you're doing a bit less diagnosis and a bit more doing the same operation over and over. However, you do have clinics and will be in MDT meetings discussing patients and there is a lot of theory you have to know too. 'Specialist' surgery is quite fascinating. Its not just drilling and sawing, there's functional anatomy you have to know and you can do procedures such as deep brain stimulation etc

Training wise, its around 10 years to becoming a consultant and also those posts are often hard to get. People are registrars for years...

Range of acute specialties, being the first person to see sick patients and do something to fix them, not having to deal with the endless crap of ward work (though a fair bit of this in acute med). Lots of toys and cool procedures without having to be a surgeon.

I can think of few specialties I'd like to do less than neurology/neurosurgery.

Yes, I think ACCS is similar to what most people think of when they first go into medicine (well for me anyway).

For balance, what puts you off neurology/neurosurgery?

Neurology - yes, lots of interesting diseases and "ooh isn't that fascinating?" signs/symptoms which you can be terribly clever about and get a syndrome named after you. You give steroids. Then IVIG or maybe a clever monoclonal antibody. Then you can't do anything and have to let PT/OT/palliative care take over, while you get loads of medical students to poke your patients.

Neurosurgery - well, I don't like surgery for starters, but these guys are top of the ******** league when it comes to referrals.

forensic psychiatry for me every time!

Neurology - yes, lots of interesting diseases and "ooh isn't that fascinating?" signs/symptoms which you can be terribly clever about and get a syndrome named after you. You give steroids. Then IVIG or maybe a clever monoclonal antibody. Then you can't do anything and have to let PT/OT/palliative care take over, while you get loads of medical students to poke your patients.

Hmm that does seem to be the problem with neurology; either no treatment or very generic.

Can i ask what year are you in??

You realise most (if not all) surgeons do ward rounds and outpatient clinics?

Sorry to bother you with what may be a stupid question, but I'm hopefully I'm going to be at UEA next year.

So was just wondering if the comments about UEA not being a clever choice due to PBL etc, if I wanted to do surgery, had any truth in them? ( As heard by some people applying to more 'traditional' courses )

Thank you!