What is a neurologist?
A neurologist is a doctor that deals with the diagnosis, medical treatment and management of diseases in the nervous system.

When does your typical day begin?
I make hospital rounds for approximately three hours in the morning, starting at around 7 a.m.

Do you have a private practice you go to after these rounds?
Yes. There I will see approximately one new patient per hour and a follow-up patient every 45 minutes. I will finish up at about 6 p.m. It is not unheard of to run 15 minutes to an hour late, though it doesn't happen often.

Is this routine for most neurologists?
No. We have a fairly busy hospital and there are only four doctors. So, no, most neurologists would not work [such] long hours.

What are these patients suffering from?
These people have had bad strokes or seizures and have diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), among others.

What is the main difference between a neurologist and a neurosurgeon?
Neurosurgeons perform surgery on people with brain tumors and various nervous-system conditions. Neurologists do not do surgery but will treat people [with neurological disorders and] with diseases such as MS.

How do you go about telling people they have a life-threatening disease?
I sit with them face to face and perform an interview. During the initial 15 minutes or so I have the patient tell me of her symptoms and I ask questions in regard to them. I then give a brief lesson on how we are going to read the scans and what we will be looking for. With that, I put the scans on a light board and read them with the patient.

Is that the toughest part of being a neurologist?
Yes. The toughest part is telling a patient he or she has a chronic illness. In situations like those I help people understand how to control a problem with treatment of the symptoms as opposed to curing the problem.

What are the academic requirements for a neurologist?
Bachelor's degree, four years of medical school, one year of internship and generally three to four years of residency. Most go on to do one to two years in a fellowship.

How important is the fellowship?
It is not necessarily important. People will go on for a fellowship for extra training after their residency. Some will also do it in order to acquire a sub-specialty, such as movement disorders and disease disorders. When a neurologist has the fellowship he is often more marketable. If he wants to join a group, the fellowship sub-specialty will help him to get that.

How important is it to stay current in your profession?
The human race hasn't changed in many years. Treating them changes. It is important to read a lot of journals to learn of the new drugs that are being introduced and breakthrough studies.

What kind of person is attracted to a career in neurology?
People who like to think logically, relatively slowly and methodically about things. People often interested in the sciences and even those in electronics tend to be attracted to neurology.

Why electricians?
Electricians and engineers specialize in circuitry, and neurology is the circuitry of the brain. Neurologists, like workers in these other fields, need to think backwards, applying a great deal of deductive reasoning. Neurologists use scientific methods every day.

What do all neurologists have to be prepared for?
You have to understand and be able to deal with chronic treatment. In the residency, neurologists will learn to desensitize, building walls without losing empathy. For the doctor, it is important to live in the present, give the patient what is needed and conduct a business ... again, without losing the sincere empathy for the patient.

How important are the neurologist's people skills?
People skills are crucial. So much of our work is psychological. Working with psychosomatic [people] is a huge part of my practice. It is important to listen to what these patients are experiencing and determine what needs to be done for them.

What are the downsides of being a neurologist?
As most doctors would probably say, dealing with managed care. It's trying to jump through hoops they've put up where I cannot even do my job. If I order an MRI, I have to wait 45 minutes, explain to a nurse why I need the MRI and then wait for them to review the case before giving authorization. The other frustrations are dealing with patients who have real diseases with a variety of different symptoms.

What are the earning capabilities of a neurologist?
The neurologist going into academia in her first year out [of school] can look forward to about $50,000 a year. For the practitioner it would be approximately $90,000. Ten years into the practice, the income would go between $180,000 and $250,000 and slightly less for the person in academia.

What kind of advice can you give new grads interested in neurology?
First, it is a fascinating field that is growing expeditiously. There are more treatments for the brain than ever before - and there is no other specialty that is as interesting as neurology. [People coming into this field] have to think fairly abstractly, be able to memorize a great deal of information and, most importantly, be able to listen and synthesize what a patient tells them into an intuitive reaction.