Why I DIDN'T... Neurology

Welcome to another episode of Why I Didn’t… the mostly useless series where I tell you why I did NOT pursue a specific specialty. In this episode, I cover neurology. Subscribe to the channel to participate in polls about which specialty I’ll cover next.

Neurologists are physicians who specialize in the non-surgical management of a variety of central and peripheral nervous system disorders. Neurologists manage everything from headaches and migraines to the most devastating and incurable diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and Huntington’s disease.

I got my BS in Neuroscience at UCLA and have always loved learning about the field. Neuroanatomy was one of my favorite courses in college. Most people don’t like memorizing the pathways, but I always found it interesting and highly relevant to how we all function. So, why didn’t I choose to specialize in neurology?

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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction
00:32 - What I Liked About Neurology
11:23 - What I Didn't Like About Neurology
18:49 - Should You Pursue Neurology?

LINKS FROM VIDEO:

Music Provided by YouTube Audio Library:

#doctorvlog #medstudent #neurology
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Disclaimer: Content of this video is my opinion and does not constitute medical advice. The content and associated links provide general information for general educational purposes only. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Kevin Jubbal, M.D. will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. May include affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you).

[kevinjubbalmd]

Even though it wasn’t for me, are you considering Neurology as a specialty? 🧠🥼 Tell me why in the comments below! 👇🏼

[TtwoRsCII]

Wow-- as someone interested in neuro, this was very informative

It's a gem of a specialty imo that is going to have a bigger role in the interdisciplinary field of neurointerventional radiology-- which is an intersection of neurology, radiology, and neurosurgery.

[Nman]

My man, gotta do one on hem/onc! Great outpatient lifestyle, killer compensation, and really rewarding work. Would love to hear your perspective

[drnickbella]

Agree 100% that clinical neurology is so different than classroom neurology. Don't let the neurophobia get to you! Join the neurology squad it's the best field :)

[yazan]

kevin is getting huge. big props for progressing in the gym bro

[cameronrivera]

Story checks out. Complex anatomy, “nonspecific” in practice (see what I did there). Wish there was mention of epilepsy fellowship, or movement neurology - pre operative seizure localization & intraoperative LFP’s for DPS neurosurgery. Very cool sides of neurology, albeit not as mainstream.

[acd]

You broke this DOWN! Bravo and thank you

[shush]

Super high quality and very informative. I'm 16 years old and am positive that I want to be a surgeon later in life and also that I can achieve it. Your videos really helped me satisfy my desperate need for medical content haha

[RAMONA]

Neurology is becoming more competitive each year. It has a great future. However, neurology residency is dam hard!

[Alex-opty]

Just chiming in with my biased opinion: outside of surgery and ID, we don't really "fix" much in medicine. That said, neuro now has good treatments and secondary prevention options for pretty much most conditions outside of dementia, ALS, and prion diseases. MS, headache, parkinson's, etc. have become much more manageable now in addition to stroke. You're also a specialist but I'd say you still need to know a good deal of general medicine including IM, immunology, radiology, psychiatry, and surgery on a peripheral basis.

You said that fellowships increase pay but that generally isn't true outside of neuro-IR (very difficult to get through neurology as opposed to NSGY or rads) or neurocritical care. Maybe epilepsy if you read a lot of EEGs. Fellowships are more for adding variety to your practice and the types of patients you see. In rare instances fellowship will actually decrease your pay (see dementia/behavioral neurology).

[DrNeuro]

As a Neuro resident… Neuro attendees make a lot of money 😅 everyone i have met makes over 400 k… that “mean” is downplaying how much we make and I’m all for this little secret 😂

[vanslyf]

I'm drawn to neurology because the sherlock holmes detective style diagnostic puzzle solving aspect is my favourite part of medicine. But the residency seems exploitative and doesn't even properly train you to be an outpatient neurologist which is what most neurologists will be doing, also the compensation is relatively trash considering how hard they work, whereas although psych earns ever so slightly less on average they work much less, also the outcomes aren't that great. It's a shame, seems like it has the potential to be a great specialty but not currently.

[westfield]

I would go for Cardiology because out of most specialties that seems to be the field where the greatest leaps have been made with clinical improvements. With continually improving stents, valve replacements it seems the most satisfying to get positive outcomes as opposed to oncology where it must be so depressing.

[Djokovicsinnerfan]

Can you do a why I didn’t for pulmonary and criticial care?

[ytsamurai]

I worked in inpatient IM before I got into med school. Our physicians' interactions with Neurology consisted mostly of consulting them for patients with strokes and seizures. It didn't seem very interesting to me. But I guess I will see during third year rotations.

[Batman-wt]

Great video Dr. Jubbal. This isn’t related to Neurology, but could you make a video on learning and studying math? I think a lot of people struggle with it, myself being one of them. Would love to hear your take and or ways to improve in that field. Thanks.

[yehhshhs]

So what specialty did you choose then?

[arminpoorfard]

One question. On the list of average annual compensation how come Endocrinology(subspecialty) makes less than internal medicine(specialty)?

[AliyanWarraich-ep]

Can you do Oral Surgery. I know some MDs that go into that

[j.p.]

Can you do "Why I didn't - Pulmonology"?