Neurosurgery Nurse Career Guide and Counseling

Question: My ICU is about to start taking neurology and neurosurgery pts. Know any good sites for education? I have 3 years cardiothoracic and general intensive care nursing experience but have never worked in a unit which caters for the neuro specialities. I do not need basic anatomy and pysiology sites

Answer: Well try your local library.

Question: How can I prevent lightheadedness when viewing a surgical procedure? I'm a first year medical student, and I'm viewing neurosurgery tomorrow as work experience. The problem is, I tend to get light-headed when surgery is commencing, and my blood sugar seems to drop. I'm usually fine after ten minutes but this is embarrassing and inconvenient nonetheless. Are there any other students, nurses or surgeons who have experienced this, and if so, what did you do? -Jonty

Answer: try drinking a strong cup of coffee or tea before viewing. this will raise your blood pressure.

Question: Has anyone studied nursing at Kings College or St. George's Medical School in London? I am a bit dubious about applying for London as the hospitals are quite far apart and I am worried about costs of living. My main concern, however is if the quality of the training is better than if I stayed in Nottingham (top nursing school)? I am looking at London as it offers a more specialist neurology/ neurosurgery training regime but will it be more so than Nottingham? Thanks!!!

Answer: Hello, I haven't studied nursing at the Kings or St Georges but was prompted to answer because I believe the best place to study neurology and neurosurgery is Glasgow. The Institute of Neurology at Southern General is the best and some of their doctors and nurses are leading in this field. (The world famous 'Glasgow coma scale' came from there) Hope this is helpful and you end up in the right place.

Question: Doctors/Nurses: Which do you like the most? Which do you like the most? Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic surgery or Gynecology? And the reason why?

Answer: Cardiothoracic surgery. Mostly because I have more exp with it then the others. Gynecology kind grosses me out, that and so far, the most whining and complaining I have EVER heard doing medicine has been from gyno patients...You'd think the spectulum was worse then having your legs blown off by a landmine from the sounds of it.

Question: Physio Assistant interview- tips? likely questions? I've got an interview as a physiotherapy assistant next week, and just wanted some tips, please? I currently work as an auxiliary nurse within a neurosurgery department, and the physio vacancy is at the same hospital but within the trauma and orthopaedics directorate. Do you think my experience with neuro paients will be of any benefit? I think it should be somewhat, as we also treat patients for spinal and neck surgery. Does anyone work within physio on here? And could you please give me any tips on what sort of things I might be asked at interview? I have asked one of our senior neuro physios that work on my current ward, who said the most common questions would be things like 'What do I understand by physiotherapy?' 'What can I bring to the post?' etc... I know its cheatinga little bit, but can anyone please give me some tips etc? Obviously I know physiotherapy is primarily the rehabilitation of patients to promote maximum physical independance and ability! Thanks!! 14 minutes ago - 3 days left to answer.

Answer: I dont know about physio, but I have been to several interviews and the tips I can give are:- Be confident, but not arrogant Be happy Be passionate about what you do, show them that passion. Show initiative, bring something extra to the interview to help motivate your oreason for being hired. Know they are going to ask "where do you see your self in the futre" question. Have some questions prepared for them. And Good luck!!!

Question: Physiotherapy Assistant Job? UK ONLY PLEASE! Interview tips etc? I've got an interview as a physiotherapy assistant next week, and just wanted some tips, please? I currently work as an auxiliary nurse within a neurosurgery department, and the physio vacancy is at the same hospital but within the trauma and orthopaedics directorate. Do you think my experience with neuro paients will be of any benefit? I think it should be somewhat, as we also treat patients for spinal and neck surgery. Does anyone work within physio on here? And could you please give me any tips on what sort of things I might be asked at interview? I have asked one of our senior neuro physios that work on my current ward, who said the most common questions would be things like 'What do I understand by physiotherapy?' 'What can I bring to the post?' etc... I know its cheatinga little bit, but can anyone please give me some tips etc? Obviously I know physiotherapy is primarily the rehabilitation of patients to promote maximum physical independance and ability! Thanks!!

Answer: Your experience as a nurse would be an asset. Your skills would be being able to communicate to members of the multidisciplinary team involved in a patient's present and on-going care, being able to talk to the patient, carers, family and friends in lay-understandable terms; you are able to care for the patient in your physiotherapist's hat as well as bringing into play your knowledge as a nurse with regards to moving and handling, legislation, ethics and having a hands-on approach; you are able to deal and cope with urgent situations (give examples, eg when a patient has fallen over, how did you handle it - keeping calm, being able to act quickly, professionally and safely), know when to ask for further information... and so on. You obviously have the knowledge and skills for this role, so you can also mention how important it is to get the patient and their family/carers involved to improve the patient's outcome and compliance of treatment and advice (How would you do this?). I hope that helps. Good luck!

Question: Can anybody explain me each of this lines of study of Nimhans-Bangalore plzzz!!? Does it expect mathematics or not (coz I hate that)?/ What do we study in that?/ what are the different possibilities of profession? For each line. a) Biophysics b) Biostatistics c) Epidemiology d) Human Genetics e) Mental Health Education f) Mental Health & Social Psychology g) Neuroanaesthesia h) Neurochemistry i) Neuroimaging and Interventional Radiology j) Neurology k) Neuromicrobiology l) Neuropathology m) Neurophysiology n) Neurosurgery o) Neurovirology p) Nursing q) Psychiatric & Neurological Rehabilitation r) Psychiatric Social Work s) Psychiatry t) Psychopharmacology u) Speech Pathology & Audiology

Answer: All of these will expect a basic math proficiency. Some will require greater proficiency especially those that are harder science (e.g.most of the neuro areas). DA

Question: To every doctor,Medical school students or graduates..!!? I'm looking forward to enter medical school in the US in the next few years,it was my dream since i was 8 (i'm 17 and a half now)..there are to specialities that i'm considering and they are both the hardest Neurosurgery or Cardiovascular surgery, my question is since i cant choose between those two can i take them both?? internet 7 years in each or 7 years in one and 2 years as a fellowship in the other??I know that they are both hard and will take a lot of time but i'm willing to do so. One more question,will getting a Bachelor degree as a Nurse and working in a hospital or a clinic give me extra credit for applying to medical school??I know they are totally different but getting a glance at doctors while working at the hospital and how they operate is good for med school.

Answer: You cant take BOTH specialties that you have mentioned. Yes you are right, they are both tough and require long periods of training. Before you do either specialty, you have to finish medical school and do surgery residency. that gives you a long time (long long time) and enough exposure to both fields to make a decision. If you are planning medical school, go for it directly. Its a long time frame you are looking at to become a Cardiovascular surgeon or Neurosurgeon

Question: Here is a heartwarming story for you all....? In 1975 a woman named Lily worked in an abortion clinic as a nurse. She was walking down a hall in the building and heard a faint steady cry coming from outside one of the rooms. She walked up to a little plastic bin and inside was a newborn girl baby who was red and raw from a saline abortion. Lily picked up the baby and held her. The doctor came out of the room and told Lily to take the infant down to the incinerator. On her way to the incinerator she kept looking down at the babies face. Lily then turned around and headed out the door and never went back to that place. She took the baby to the hospital and had her treated for her burned skin. Later, she adopted that baby alone. She raised the girl that became her daugter she named Anne. Anne had been blessed with a brilliant mind and at the age of 16 graduated high school and recieved full grants to obtain her degree in pediatric neurosurgery. which she couldn't have done if her abortion had been a success. I am proud to call Anne my aunt.

Answer: Why are you posting this on here? I find it completely innapropriate. Lol..I'm getting thumbs down? Sounds like a made up story to me. A baby in a bin? And a doctor who finds her to be alive and says to put her in an incinerator? Even in 1975 that was still murder last time i checked! Sounds like and anti-abortionist post to me. Still not the forum for this. You said in another forum that Anne was your cousin...here you say she's your Aunt....at least get your story straight before making things up...

Question: I'm trying to find out what things I can do to increase my chances of getting into med school...? It took me a long time to find a career path. I started with an associate of arts with honors at a community college on a full scholarship, moved on to a state school and started a BA in Communications (currently am 2 classes short of this with honors), then changed to nursing (recieved associate degree with honors) and now I'm taking pre-med courses and working toward a BIO BA. I volunteer with a local group for connective tissue disease awareness and work in neurosurgery and abdominal transplant as an RN. My marks in school have been significantly higher (mostly 4.0's) since I changed to science based degrees. My cumulative state school is a 3.96. I worry because I did do two associate degrees at community college simply because I've paid for school myself. What can I do to beef up my resume and get good schools to look in my direction? I have learned through my experiences that it really matters where you go to school and I want to make sure I get the most out of med school.

Answer: Score high on the MCAT, get letters of evalutation from doctors associated with your schools of choice, get a degree from a non community college, emphasize your experience as a RN, get involved in research if you can, diversify your interests and experiences.