As medical students, we don't get much intra-curricular exposure to surgery. Then there is the neurophobia, a chronic condition whose main symptom is the inability to apply knowledge of neuroscience to clinical situations. A phenomenon literature suggests is fairly common, and experience tells me is already afflicting my student cohort. As we waited to enter our exams a few months ago, one person voiced what we we'd all been thinking: "I really hope there's not much brain in this one!" Perhaps as a result of this neurophobia and limited insight into surgical careers, the relatively small specialty of neurosurgery seems to be shrouded in a certain level of mystery for many medical students.
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