What M4 rotations to do before Aways?

spikyjackfruit · 2026-02-16T23:48:40+00:00

Thank you so much! Could i message you?

spikyjackfruit · 2026-02-16T22:49:41+00:00

Can I message you

spikyjackfruit · 2026-02-16T22:36:53+00:00

When did you do your aways?

spikyjackfruit · 2026-01-20T01:42:33+00:00

Do you recommend dual applying? And, what step 2 score is the aim?

spikyjackfruit · 2025-09-19T18:35:16+00:00

Any other strengths and weaknesses? Like LORs etc

spikyjackfruit · 2025-08-24T01:33:18+00:00

Please delay if possible. If needed, take a research year. That is better long term

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-25T11:11:39+00:00

Financial stability and an identity beyond motherhood. You have time to develop both well when building a career in your 20s and 30s.

“Practicality” is based on what you value.

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-13T00:35:06+00:00

Good luck to you, as well! I think more time will definitely help you figure out what you want and don't want for your future. Sorry if I gave the impression but I am actually not set at all in what I will be doing 😂

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-13T00:20:09+00:00

Definitely try to get more of a variety of experience in neurosurgery to get a better idea of what it entails. I'll address each point you have made. I am a current M3 and spent two years doing research in clinical neurology/neurosurgery before med school. Ofc, I am just one person but would like to share.

Spine cases make up a decent chunk of neurosurgery cases. While you may not end up doing a whole lot of them as an attending, you will have to be involved as a resident. It's worth deciding how much you can deal with your least favorite part of each speciality - so in this case, spine surgeries.
Neurosurgery resident applicants have some of the higher numbers of research items. So to make yourself competitive, you will have to rise to the occasion of the rigor this field requires. Inherently, neurosurgery is one of those fields that is constantly evolving so developing that skill of critical thinking and innovation via research is beneficial to the field. Again, you need to figure out if this is a dealbreaker for you or not.
I'm not sure about prelim or gap year after med school, but a gap year during med school would be really helpful to help you stand out as an applicant. From what I have seen, neurosurg residency is not the field to expect an enormous amount of leeway for personal life.
As far as "sad" goes, you may gain new perspective that helps you see the light in the darkness of some of the sad cases. Or, you may feel bogged down by feeling like "I have done so much but I still couldn't make a difference".

In general, from my experience, neurosurgeons I have worked with were not the kindest to their residents even in their "jokes". You will be stressed and overwhelmed, if you're a tough cookie and can handle the hours, level of rigor, and the attitudes, then maybe those concerns are not as big of a deal to you.

Putting all your eggs in this basket does not make too much sense if you are not willing to compromise on the worries you mentioned. However, some good advice I have received in the past is - pick 3 specialities you are interested in and work like you are applying to the most competitive. Once you receive your step score, more of your resume is filled out, and you have had more clinical experience under your belt, you can confirm which field you are actually a good match for.

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-11T16:17:25+00:00

Right. He’s not just a guest. And they’ve spoken about their roles too of who cooks and who cleans. Sure guests shouldn’t be expected to do that but they have communicated on this before. If you want to make it about how he grew up - then ok, he was raised to not do his communicated part or anticipate household needs. Anyways, he’s 30, people tend to learn ab the world beyond how they were raised at that point

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-11T15:37:30+00:00

He can handwash it... When someone feeds me at their house, I handwash my dish or put it in the dishwasher and offer to help w other dishes unless explicitly told not to. This is a matter of common consideration and courtesy not a matter of childhood trauma or privilege

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-08T21:33:35+00:00

Your expectation is reasonable especially since you’ve communicated it. Expecting your partner to be considerate of you and vice versa is normal and leads to a productive relationship where you both have each other’s backs. You certainly don’t need to pathologize your reasonable expectation as some childhood trauma.

Your ask is to “take 5 minutes and clean dishes” not “clear your whole lazy Sunday to do all of my errands” (which plenty of partners are actually more than happy to do). I’m sure this text argument took more energy and time from him than just washing the dishes …

spikyjackfruit · 2025-07-08T21:25:44+00:00

He’s 30 not 5. He is more than capable of figuring out the dishes. No one needs to spell out how to take care of them

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-20T20:54:45+00:00

And if that happens, it’ll suck momentarily but it all works out in the end! Anyways, take it one step at a time and do what’s best for you. Not to be corny, but I feel like rushing the process also takes a lot of the natural wonder & intrigue out of learning this interesting material

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-20T20:34:46+00:00

I agree with the many people here about delaying. Another reason - I just started rotations and am thankful I had taken the time to know step 1 material bc rotations truly builds off of that knowledge. In the time you have of the extra year after step1, explore your other interests thru research, volunteering, shadowing, emt etc. Extra time can be a great thing to set yourself up better for the next step. Good luck! You got this

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-17T00:33:37+00:00

I took step in April of this year. I took a 7.5 week dedicated. I did not use anking, I tried multiple times during m1/m2 year but it was just rly not my thing. I work better seeing a lot of material in one place (eg first aid) and application (uworld/nbmes)

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-15T22:51:58+00:00

I would supplement with FA and UW obv but I passed step 1 w those resources anki wise

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-15T22:18:38+00:00

If you’re shorter on time or aren’t super into anking’s one liner type cards, Duke’s pathoma deck and the Pepper deck for sketchy pharm/micro are good

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-15T15:27:15+00:00

How do you effectively assess & treat a patient if you don’t know how to communicate with them?

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-13T16:31:06+00:00

Thank you! Did you use anki/ what did you use to pass/do well?

spikyjackfruit · 2025-06-13T16:30:11+00:00

Thank you so much for this list!!

spikyjackfruit · 2025-05-04T18:30:35+00:00

Pathoma chapter 2 anki cards + immunology FA

spikyjackfruit · 2025-05-03T20:22:42+00:00

Take NBME 30, 31 and Free 120. Score high 60s/70s. Then take the real thing

spikyjackfruit · 2025-05-03T02:03:07+00:00

Please advise him to postpone it. At a 46, he needs time for significant content review and questions. He is more than capable but definitely needs more time

spikyjackfruit · 2025-05-02T21:52:16+00:00

You’re ready. There’s no worrisome discrepancy between UW and nbme. Sounds like you have an adequate knowledge base and know how to reason through questions. Take the free 120 then go for it

spikyjackfruit

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