Question about becoming a neurologist?

Ok, so I am interested in becoming a neurologist, which I've read involves studying medicine then going onto specialise in being a neurologist. Unfortunately, I decided to drop Chemistry after AS level because my teacher left for 6 months, and it took 2 months to replace her with an awful teacher which meant my A as AS would probably end up going down because of the circumstances. Anyway, the thing is if I decided to study a neuroscience degree and then taking graduate entry medicine, would I need to go through just as much training after the medicine degree to become a neurologist as I would if I just went straight into medicine? Or would it be a good idea to study a neurology degree first? This will result in me spending at least about 9 years in University which is a good bit of my life so what advice does anyone have before I make a decision?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Hygeia

Danakpop

Ok, so I am interested in becoming a neurologist, which I've read involves studying medicine then going onto specialise in being a neurologist. Unfortunately, I decided to drop Chemistry after AS level because my teacher left for 6 months, and it took 2 months to replace her with an awful teacher which meant my A as AS would probably end up going down because of the circumstances. Anyway, the thing is if I decided to study a neurology degree and then taking graduate entry medicine, would I need to go through just as much training after the medicine degree to become a neurologist as I would if I just went straight into medicine? Or would it be a good idea to study a neurology degree first? This will result in me spending at least about 9 years in University which is a good bit of my life so what advice does anyone have before I make a decision?

Do you mean a neuroscience degree? I don't think degrees in neurology exist.

Reply 2

Danakpop

Hygeia

Do you mean a neuroscience degree? I don't think degrees in neurology exist.

Sorry, yes I mean a neuroscience degree. xD

Reply 3

HaNzY

Well do whatever first degree you want, preferably in a science subject, and yeah it will be neuroscience. But you will still have to do the same amount of training after the medical degree to actually become a neurologist, unfortunately. This is the sort of thing I intend doing as well but haven't decided exactly what I would like to specialise in after medicine!

Reply 4

Hygeia

Danakpop

Sorry, yes I mean a neuroscience degree. xD

Unfortunately, it wouldn't mean you could become a neurologist quicker after qualifying as the training that continues after med school is all 'on the job' experience which you wouldn't get from a neuroscience degree.

Reply 5

cd.thomson

its at least 7 years until you graduate from a GEM course. I wanted to be a pilot when I was your age.

I suggest you do a neuroscience degree if you're genuinely interested in that area of science. Then do a GEM degree if you're genuinely interested in medicine. Once you've achieved these two things then you can start speciality training which will take another 6-8 years regardless of your previous degree.

I wouldn't be so keen to specialise early, even if you were going straight into medicine on a school leavers course - too much could change between now and then.

Reply 6

Danakpop

Ok, thanks for the opinions. I just checked, and it could take about 7 years as opposed to 9, during the 6-8 years specialist training will I be getting a real salary and the like? I am really thinking about all the debt here. ^^;;

Reply 7

waterinabottle

Danakpop

I'm studying Neuroscience but without the intention of becoming a Neurologist. And yes, even with a degree in Neuroscience, you still have to complete four years of Neurology training, not including F1 and F2. It's extremely competitive as hospitals can only afford about one or two Neurologists, thus you have to be exceptional at everything you do regarding this profession in order for you to even be considered.

However, I do believe that if you do wish to pursue Neurology, a first degree in Neuroscience is great - it is absolutely mind-blowing (pun very much intended)! If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Reply 8

Christian_j

Should be a pretty easy decision; it's not like it's brain surgery.

Wait, what...?

Reply 9

cd.thomson

Danakpop

It's at least 9 years from when you start your first degree until when you enter speciality training.

7 of those years you will spend as a student. The first 3 you will acrue normal student debt (maintenance/tuition fee loans). When you move onto the GEM course you will have a year of study with access only to the maintenance grant followed by 3 years with some NHS funding (tuition fees paid).

Once you graduate you have 2 years of foundation training. This involves 1 year of working for around £22k, the following year this will increase to £32k then onwards from there.

Reply 10

flugestuge

Christian_j

Should be a pretty easy decision; it's not like it's brain surgery.

Wait, what...?

A neurologist is not a neurosurgeon.
Different specialty.

Reply 11

Danakpop

waterinabottle

I'm studying Neuroscience but without the intention of becoming a Neurologist. And yes, even with a degree in Neuroscience, you still have to complete six years of Neurology training, not including F1 and F2. It's extremely competitive as hospitals can only afford about one or two Neurologists, thus you have to be exceptional at everything you do regarding this profession in order for you to even be considered.

However, I do believe that if you do wish to pursue Neurology, a first degree in Neuroscience is great - it is absolutely mind-blowing (pun very much intended)! If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

It is really that competitive? Wow, is the degree difficult compared to other science degrees? Difficulty isn't a problem, but I just want to be prepared for when I decide to study it. xD Where do you study neuroscience?

Also thanks for all the funding info cd.thompson, it puts my mind at ease. ^_^

Reply 12

cd.thomson

I wouldn't worry about student debt at all if im honest. I've been a graduate for two years now and I haven't worried about it once. Its basically just manifests itself as a slightly increased tax rate for graduates.

I earn a pretty basic 18k at the minute, but I end up paying just £20/month in loan repayments. I will end up paying significantly more income tax in my lifetime than repaying all of my student debt plus interest!

Also - my name is right here and people still misspell it, fml :facepalm:

Reply 13

Danakpop

cd.thomson

Lmao. xD Sorry! Here I am just used to seeing it spelled as Thompson. xP I was reading and copying it too. xD Must be a habit.

Reply 14

Renal

waterinabottle

However, I do believe that if you do wish to pursue Neurology, a first degree in Neuroscience is great - it is absolutely mind-blowing (pun very much intended)! If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

I would suggest that, as with most medical specialities a second degree in neurology or a sub-speciality would be significantly more useful.

However, if you want to do a first degree in neuroscience for the hell of it, go right ahead, but remember that you might have to do something with it if you can't get into medicine, let alone GEM.

Reply 15

waterinabottle

Danakpop

Sorry, my mistake - I haven't slept in about 20 hours. Neurology isn't as competitive as Neurosurgery. I thought you wanted to become a Neurosurgeon - never mind. But still, it is very competitive.

Without blowing my own trumpet, other biology based degrees are a walk in the park - primarily because they don't include many Neuroscience modules. You have to be reasonably intelligent to grasp pretty much every single concept within Neuroscience. Anatomy and physiology of the heart? No problem. How 100 billion neurons are responsible for logic, thought, reason, perception of light, sound, touch and smell? Slightly more difficult. A good imagination goes a long way, too. Personally, it's the most interesting degree there is - it's also very philosophical, too. I'm at UCL.

Reply 16

Muddy91

Danakpop

If you have chemistry grade A at AS level - you could apply straight to certain medical schools... without having to do A2 Chem... I know people who did that AND got offers =]

EDIT: I got ******* Negged for this - wtf?! Its TRUE!