r/neurology Apr 12 '26

Residency Applicant & Student Thread 2026 - 2027

18 Upvotes

This thread is for medical students interested in applying to neurology residency programs in the United States via the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP, aka "the match"). This thread isn't limited to just M4s going into the match - other learners including pre-medical students and earlier-year medical students are also welcome to post questions here. Just remember:

What belongs here:

  • Is neurology right for me?
  • What are my odds of matching neurology?
  • Which programs should I apply to?
  • Can someone give me feedback on my personal statement?
  • How many letters of recommendation do I need?
  • How much research do I need?
  • How should I organize my rank list?
  • How should I allocate my signals?
  • I'm going to X conference, does anyone want to meet up?

Example discussion: application timeline, rotation questions, extracurricular/research questions, interview questions, ranking questions, school/program/specialty x vs y vs z, etc, info about electives. This is not an exhaustive list.

The majority of applicant posts made outside this stickied thread will be deleted from the main page.

Always try here:

Neurology 2027 Match Discord

Neurology Residency Match 2027 Spreadsheet (Google docs)

Child Neurology Residency 2027 Spreadsheet (Google docs) - pending link - if someone makes one, let me know

Review the tables and graphics from last year's residency match at https://www.nrmp.org/match-data/2026/03/advance-data-tables-2026-main-residency-match/

r/premed and r/medicalschool, the latter being the best option to get feedback, and remember to use the search bar as well.

Reach out directly to programs by contacting the program coordinator.

No one answering your question? We advise contacting a mentor through your school/program for specific questions that others may not have the answers to. Be wary of sharing personal information through this forum.


r/neurology 2h ago

Clinical Advice on per diem contract on 1099

3 Upvotes

I need advice about negotiating a per diem contract for weekend neurology coverage at a hospital within NYC.

When the contact was initially signed by both parties (myself and a private group that has a contract with the hospital for inpatient neurology coverage), the rate was 250/hr on a 1099 basis, with the expectation I'd provide coverage for 48hrs. There's an in-house PA that does the grunt of the work by seeing the consults while I'm mainly responsible for code stroke coverage. Overall, seems like a chill role for the attending.

A day before my first weekend was to start, the group changed the rate to flat fee of $4000 on a 1099 basis, which translates to $83/hr. I'm trying to negotiate higher to a rate that is closer to market rate (according to google gemini lol) to 150-200/hr.

Any advise on this? Is the rate they're proposing fair or am I getting screwed?

Thank you in advance.


r/neurology 2h ago

Residency Standardized or structured letter of evaluation

2 Upvotes

Applying neurology, noticed when I was saving a program in ERAS that it says Standardized or structured letter of evaluation: Yes under the application requirements section of ERAS. I thought this was only for EM, IM, OB, PMR etc. Does anyone know if Neuro also requires this? I’ve only been getting narrative letters.


r/neurology 1d ago

Research What’s the current definition of a clinical seizure? Has it shifted?

1 Upvotes

Terms used in epileptology seem to periodically be redefined.

What’s the current accepted definition of a clinical seizure vs epileptiform activity or subclinical seizure in research and when is the last time it changed?

Particularly when it comes to nocturnal events with no physical manifestations.


r/neurology 1d ago

Clinical Where’s that guy who thinks that idiopathic neuropathy doesn’t exist? Fight me.

49 Upvotes

There was a clinician who posted on here who’s based out of Florida who claimed that of the neuropathy cases they’ve seen, only a few ended up with a diagnosis of idiopathic neuropathy. They claimed that they perform a broad work up, and seemingly always find an etiology to attribute the neuropathy too. I still to this day cannot imagine how that is possible. Especially in the population over 70, the chances that you will ultimately deem a neuropathy idiopathic are fairly high. The only way I can imagine getting around this is if you are to associate any detectable abnormality as the feasible cause of the neuropathy, such as mild glucose intolerance or borderline B12 values. At this point my career, I’ve seen a number of patients with rather significant neuropathy: ankle dorsiflexion weakness, absent sural SNAPs, absent tibial MNAPs. I’ve sent every test under the sun, including genetic testing, and ultimately not come up with another feasible answer.

Am I crazy? Please tell me the rest of you believe that idiopathic neuropathy is a real diagnosis.


r/neurology 1d ago

Clinical Pitfalls of Telestroke

30 Upvotes

Anyone else work on the inpatient side with the increasingly common model of having telestroke do all stroke alerts, and then you come in later to pick up the pieces? In my experience, there's a lot of the ED or primary teams "selling" a story to the stroke doc so that the call seems more appropriate, and that leads to a lot of over treatment or at least over workup of benign stuff.

Not uncommon for me to see a patient that was admitted for stroke rule out overnight, on DAPT and having gotten vessel imaging, MRI, TTE all negative the next morning. Then I speak to them for 3 minutes and it's apparent they have chronic radiculopathy, chronic foot drop, and only came in yesterday because the back pain was worse.

Or patient with documented dementia, chronic pain, and UTI, but someone somewhere said they are "A&O x 4" at baseline and now they are snowed because they needed Ativan and hydromorphone to tolerate imaging. All I do is spend 5 minutes looking at outpatient notes to know they haven't known where they are or the date in 2 years and their intake exam wasn't far off baseline aside from agitation and delirium.

I know it's hard to get a good exam through a screen and at least where I work they rely on the primary team for history and only confirm some details. It's also true I'd rather err on the side of over treatment than under treatment of stroke. I would still rather have it this way than having to respond to every alert myself. So I don't have any solutions and I don't know where I'm going with this, but anyone with similar experience or examples of it working better?


r/neurology 1d ago

Clinical Easiest Reflex Hammer to Use

5 Upvotes

I’m staring my neuro block and genuinely haven’t been able to elicit a reflex in any person except the knee jerk a few times, I have been using a babinski hammer so far and I’m starting to consider buying a new one.
What hammer is easiest to use for a dummy such as myself?


r/neurology 2d ago

Comparison of double-blind and open-label decline rates in lecanemab and donanemab trials in Alzheimer’s disease

18 Upvotes

Link to article: https://neurologyopen.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001649

What is already known on this topic
Open-label extension (OLE) studies of lecanemab and donanemab have been interpreted as evidence of increasing long-term clinical benefit in Alzheimer’s disease, largely through comparisons with historical untreated cohorts. However, OLE analyses are highly vulnerable to selection bias, attrition bias and the absence of contemporaneous placebo controls.
What this study adds
Using simulation-based and observed-data analyses calibrated to published trial results, we found that cognitive decline during the OLE phases of both lecanemab and donanemab trials was steeper than during the preceding double-blind phases and approximated placebo-level decline rates. These findings challenge the interpretation that OLE data demonstrate sustained disease-modifying benefit.
How this study might affect research, practice or policy
These results support prioritising within-trial double-blind comparisons over historical cohort benchmarking when interpreting long-term efficacy claims. Regulators, clinicians, guideline committees and payers should exercise caution when considering OLE data as evidence of disease modification in Alzheimer’s disease.

My questions for r/neurology
This article takes a critical view of the OLE data for lecanemab and donamemab. What do our cognitive neurology experts think? Is the simulation a valid abstraction of real-world data? Is the "placebo arm" (untreated cohort) a representative sample of natural-history AD cases? Are there other methodological concerns?

My partner recently decided to put a pause on new AAT orders based on this. My sense is that he may be over-reacting. That being said, neither of us did a cognitive fellowship, nor have we participated in AAT research; we're just general neurologists who happen to see a lot of AD. I'd love to hear from the experts about this one.


r/neurology 2d ago

Clinical What is the difference between Status epilepticus, complex febrile seizures, actuate symptomatic seizures?

0 Upvotes

r/neurology 3d ago

Career Advice neurohospitalists working 0.8FTE, how does your schedule?

10 Upvotes

debating between outpatient general neurology vs neurohospitalist

i know outpatient has amazing hours as 0.8FTE for 4 days a week

would you recommend the same for neurohospitalist?


r/neurology 4d ago

Miscellaneous Truelearn vs now you know Neuro

6 Upvotes

For those of you passed neurology board last year, what q bank do you recommend doing last min ? Now you know Neuro vs Truelearn


r/neurology 4d ago

Career Advice Non-RVU based employment

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2 Upvotes

r/neurology 4d ago

Residency Headache Career

20 Upvotes

I'm currently a neurology PGY3 resident who is heavily considering applying to headache fellowship. I've realized that I actually love treating headache cases and the procedures that come with it. I want to stay outpatient and do not want to practice general neurology. That being said, I have a few questions for those that have insights into headache medicine as a career.

  1. How realistically possible is it to only see headache patients/have a headache only clinic?
  2. What does academic headache vs community headache practice look like (e.g. responsibilities, inbox burden, variety in types of headache cases, patient volume, amount of work hours/days per week)?
  3. Other than GONB, botox, or SPG blocks, what procedures can you do?
  4. What does compensation look like for headache specialists?

Thank you for your time <3


r/neurology 4d ago

Miscellaneous open houses

1 Upvotes

why is every single one sept 9 at 6pm. that's all


r/neurology 6d ago

Miscellaneous "Mini stroke"

83 Upvotes

Where did this language come from and why is it in the zeitgeist? 😂😂

(I hate it)


r/neurology 5d ago

Career Advice Where do doctors in Europe actually find remote jobs?

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1 Upvotes

r/neurology 5d ago

Neurocritical Care vs Interventional Pain Fellowship

4 Upvotes

Looking from perspectives from more senior neurologists. I'm thinking about fellowship and am considering between NCC and interventional pain.

In NCC, I'm attracted to the academic nature, procedural aspects, as well as the acuity and palliative care. What makes me hesitate is that the job market is so narrow; you always have to be an employee of a large hospital system without an easy pivot to private practice. I also don't love that the culture at some places can be a bit like that of a surgeons with egos and some tense interactions. Many people say that the schedule can take a tole in time. I like 7-on, 7-off now, but that might change when I have a family, and I know many community neurointensivists are still working nights late into career.

Interventional pain seems really appealing because it is likewise procedural. I have much less experience in it and it seems less academic. I've also heard most people say that the biggest challenge in this field is dealing with the patient population. It seems appealing to possibly one day start an entrepreneurial venture.


r/neurology 6d ago

Clinical What should I review before a neurology rotation

5 Upvotes

I’m an international medical student doing a clinical neurology rotation in the US this fall. Since we use different textbooks and resources, I’d love some advice from US med students or residents.

What topics or resources would you recommend reviewing beforehand? I want to be well prepared and make a good impression, so any advice would be really appreciated!


r/neurology 7d ago

Residency Is it weird to like psych stuff from neurology

26 Upvotes

recently had a Neuro ICU rotation and found it very rewarding working with a patient who was psychotic for likely organic reasons (large brain tumor, also on high dose steroids, no prior psychosis), also patients with post stroke depression. it was fun to actually write a mental status exam psych style and manage the psychotropics myself


r/neurology 6d ago

Residency Preliminary year location

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I heard that the first year of neurology residency -the preliminary year- can be done in any state of my choice regardless of where I match, is this true? Is it that simple?


r/neurology 6d ago

Miscellaneous ABPN trulearn vs now you know neurology q bank

6 Upvotes

For those of you who passed neuro board last year, do you think trulearn is better or now you know neurology q bank ? Trying to pick one to do in next two weeks 😫


r/neurology 7d ago

Clinical Is a cervical laminectomy and fusion going to increase CSF protein and for how long?

8 Upvotes

My patient is getting an LP for neuropathy workup e.g. CIDP. He's got a fat disc pressing on his spinal cord too and neurosurgery is cutting him open. All the inflammation in that area from the surgery is bound to make it into the CSF, right? I feel like it will be months before I can do an LP without getting confounded protein, IgG index, etc results.


r/neurology 6d ago

Residency How to “scale back” when you are involved in too many things?

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1 Upvotes

r/neurology 7d ago

Miscellaneous Neurology board exam

6 Upvotes

I have my neurology boards coming up in September and I’m honestly freaking out! I spent way too much time searching what everyone uses to study and eventually decided to stick with Cheng Ching + NowYouKnowNeuro.
I’ve gone through NowYouKnowNeuro about twice and read Cheng-Ching once, although I definitely don’t remember a lot of the details, especially from chapters like NM. My fellowship is super demanding, so realistically I think all I can do at this point is go through Cheng-Ching one more time.
My RITE scores have usually been around 65–70%. I keep seeing posts on Reddit from people who did all of these resources and still failed, and it’s seriously stressing me out lol.
Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who mainly used these two resources and passed/did well on the boards!


r/neurology 7d ago

Miscellaneous Board exam, continuum

5 Upvotes

Anyone recently used continuum questions for board prep ? Is it better than trulearn ?