Career Development - Neurology

Adult neurology requires one year of internal medicine, followed by three years of neurology training. Pediatric neurology requires two years of general pediatrics followed by three years of neurology training.

There are many subspecialties including: 

Autonomic Disorders

Behavioral Neurology /Neuropsychiatry

Cognitive Neurology

EEG/Neurophysiology

EMG/Neurophysiology

Epilepsy

Headache

Interventional Neuroradiology/Endovascular 

Movement Disorders

Neurocritical Care

Neurogenetics

Neurohospitalist

Neuroimmunology/ Multiple Sclerosis

Neuromuscular

Neuro-oncology

Neurophysiology Combined EEG/EMG

Neuro-ophthalmology

Neuro-otology

Neuro-rehabilitation

Pain Medicine

Sleep Medicine

Vascular/Stroke

Some specialties are primarily spent in the hospital, others are predominantly outpatient based. There is a wide variety of how much time is spent in clinic. Neurologists who specialize in neurocritical care and stroke may spend all of their time in the hospital.

Most neurologists spend the majority of time in clinic seeing patients, performing/interpreting neurodiagnostic testing with some time spent seeing hospital patients. In general, neurologists are consultants and are asked by another doctor to evaluate a patient for a neurological disorder.

Qualities recognized as important to neurology include:

• Detail oriented
• Intellectually curious
• Persistent
• Methodical
• Delving (need to relate well with patient)

To learn about recent research conducted in neurology, click here . Students interested in clinical neurosciences research can reach out to Dr. Bix  or Dr. Engler-Chiurazzi for opportunities. 

Additionally, students may want to pursue research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program. This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask. 

Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN) is a student-run organization dedicated to helping students pursue their interest in the field of Neurology. You may also contact the faculty mentor, Dr. Longo , or the resident mentor, Dr. Nimesha Wickramasuriya.

Dr. Jessica Kraker

Students interested in neurology may want to consider the following electives: Neurological Critical Care; Pediatric Neurology; Outpatient Neurology; Stroke. Additionally, students interested in specializing in neurology may want to take their sub-internship in neurology.

Sample-T4-NEUR-Schedule.pdf

One of the most common questions we get asked is “How do I know if I’m competitive for this specialty?” There are a lot of metrics that are provided by sources like the NRMP’s Charting Outcomes report that can help you gauge whether you are a competitive applicant, and help guide your choices of activities. 

The table below shows the 25^th percentile, the median and the 75^th percentile for a number of the more regularly used metrics to gauge competitiveness. It’s important for you to understand what these numbers represent, and why they may be different from the averages you might see elsewhere.

• The 25^th percentile represents the lower range of “normal” for a successful applicant in this specialty.
• The median represents an average for successful applicants in this specialty.
• The 75^th percentile represents the higher range of “normal” for a successful applicant in this specialty.

Medical students are usually over-achievers, who have exceeded expectations throughout their educational years. However, it’s important to realize that overachievement is not always a good thing when it comes to match. Instead, you should aim for “fit.” This means that you should fall somewhere between the 25^th and 75^th percentile on these metrics. Below the 25^th percentile, and you have a relatively low chance of match (25% chance, to be specific). Above the 75^th percentile, and you also have a lower chance of matching (again, 25% chance), as program directors are typically looking for candidates who “fit” their profiles more so than those who exceed those profiles.

Between the 25^th and 75^th percentiles is the sweet spot. This range spans 50% of successful applicants, with only 25% of successful applicants falling above the 75^th percentile and 25% of successful applicants falling below the 25th percentile. The closer you fall to the median (i.e., the 50^th percentile), the better! This doesn’t mean you’re average, but rather that you are fitting the demands of this specialty!

A note about medians vs. means as a measure of “average”: We use medians to determine competitiveness rather than means for a simple reason. Medians are not as warped as means by outliers, or those successful candidates who fall very much outside the average on a particular measure. You may have heard that the “average” Step 2 score or number of publications for a specialty are incredibly high (or low), and you may wonder how it’s even possible to hit this “average.” These unrealistic “averages” are typically means that have been influenced by just a very small number of people who have incredibly high (or low) scores or numbers of publications, and often those high numbers of publications in particular, are the result of having earned a research Ph.D. or having spent years in a research career! This is NOT the expectation, but rather an exception!

Be aware  that some programs include an internship years, while others do not. You will need to arrange for your own internship year with those that do not provide one. Also be aware that some programs offer research specific tracks while others do not. It may also be wise to look at the number of fellowships offered at each institution, both for future planning and to be aware that fellows may be first in line for the most interesting cases.

Please take advantage of the signals, be sure to check with your home program if they recommend you use a signal for that program.

Be sure to make your personal statement personal. You should reflect on your own experiences, and how these contributed to your decision to pursue neurology.

Only apply to programs in geographical areas in which you want to go. There’s no sense in applying to programs you have no intention of going to.

Away rotations can hurt your chances of matching at a program if you don’t put your best foot forward. Be prepared to give 120% to an away rotation if you choose to do one.

AAMC Careers in Medicine

NRMP's Charting Outcomes in the Match 2026

NRMP's Program Director Survey 2024

American Academy of Neurology

Tulane’s Department of Neurology

Dr. Katrina D’Aquin can put you in touch with potential mentors.