Neurologists
Diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and diseases of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves, with a primarily nonsurgical focus.
Also Known As:
Adult Neurologist
Adult and Pediatric Neurologist
General Neurologist
Neurologist
Pediatric Neurologist
Physician
Wages
Annual wages for Neurologists in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
8,800
5% Change From 2024
Explore Anesthesiologists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Diagnose neurological conditions based on interpretation of examination findings, histories, or test results.
- Prescribe or administer medications, such as anti-epileptic drugs, and monitor patients for behavioral and cognitive side effects.
- Prescribe or administer medications, such as anti-epileptic drugs, and monitor patients for behavioral and cognitive side effects.
- Inform patients or families of neurological diagnoses and prognoses, or benefits, risks and costs of various treatment plans.
- Perform specialized treatments in areas such as sleep disorders, neuroimmunology, neuro-oncology, behavioral neurology, and neurogenetics.
- Order or interpret results of laboratory analyses of patients' blood or cerebrospinal fluid.
- Counsel patients or others on the background of neurological disorders including risk factors, or genetic or environmental concerns.
- Diagnose neurological conditions based on interpretation of examination findings, histories, or test results.
- Prescribe or administer medications, such as anti-epileptic drugs, and monitor patients for behavioral and cognitive side effects.
- Prepare, maintain, or review records that include patients' histories, neurological examination findings, treatment plans, or outcomes.
- Supervise medical technicians in the performance of neurological diagnostic or therapeutic activities.
- Examine patients to obtain information about functional status of areas, such as vision, physical strength, coordination, reflexes, sensations, language skills, cognitive abilities, and mental status.
- Identify and treat major neurological system diseases and disorders, such as central nervous system infection, cranio spinal trauma, dementia, and stroke.
- Refer patients to other health care practitioners as necessary.
- Prescribe or administer treatments, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, and deep brain stimulation.
- Advise other physicians on the treatment of neurological problems.
- Interview patients to obtain information, such as complaints, symptoms, medical histories, and family histories.
- Perform or interpret the outcomes of procedures or diagnostic tests, such as lumbar punctures, electroencephalography, electromyography, and nerve conduction velocity tests.
- Perform or interpret the outcomes of procedures or diagnostic tests, such as lumbar punctures, electroencephalography, electromyography, and nerve conduction velocity tests.
- Develop treatment plans based on diagnoses and on evaluation of factors, such as age and general health, or procedural risks and costs.
- Participate in continuing education activities to maintain and expand competence.
- Order or interpret results of laboratory analyses of patients' blood or cerebrospinal fluid.
- Identify and treat major neurological system diseases and disorders, such as central nervous system infection, cranio spinal trauma, dementia, and stroke.
- Determine brain death using accepted tests and procedures.
- Coordinate neurological services with other health care team activities.
- Communicate with other health care professionals regarding patients' conditions and care.
- Interpret the results of neuroimaging studies, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans.
- Order supportive care services, such as physical therapy, specialized nursing care, and social services.
- Provide training to medical students or staff members.
- Participate in neuroscience research activities.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")