I'm an M3 who was, until recently, planning on applying for neurosurgery. That was until my trauma surgery rotation where I got to know the ortho residents at my school and scrub on some cases. I like how in ortho most patients actually get better quickly and it's pretty awesome being able to be instantly gratified by results in the OR (sometimes, IMO, in NS it's harder to know you've done the right thing for the patient). In short, I'm hooked!
I'm still doing some soul-searching, but I was wondering how much it would hurt me for being so late in the game? I think I have a solid application (>245 / all H / 2 clinical research projects (1 spine, 1 NS) / 1 basic science NS research project) for neurosurgery. How will all these NS "stamps" on my app and my lack of ortho specific research affect my chances?
You have to have a lot of characteristics to successfully match in ortho but it is quite difficult to even get your "chips in the game" if you don't have a strong academic record (USLME score, 3rd year clinical grades, AOA status). If you don't have those qualities then some successful residents spend earnest time performing research.
We have students change course every year who just weren't exposed to ortho until later in the 3rd year. If you have the passion for orthopaedic surgery then your academic record should stand you in good stead as you embark upon this journey.
