I saw a similar of thread from 2011 and just wanted to see how the view on EM has changed/or not over the years.
Residents and EM docs...are you happy working in
EM?
What was your reason for going into EM in the first place?
What's the best/worst part of your job?
Do you like your hours?
Do you feel like you have enough time with your family?
Do you work in an academic center?
Do you feel you are fairly compensated?
Would you choose EM again?
If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be?
Anything else you want to add?
Yes.. pretty much. On a scale of 1-10, I would say 7.
I disliked everything else, but was pretty satisfied in the ED. (Rotations are not a perfect estimate of what practicing in a field is like, but it's a good start.)
Best - number of hours, autonomy while I am in the ED. Worst - Nights/weekends/holidays.
I like the quantity of hours but not the quality.
Yes, but with the caveat that the nights/weekends/holidays can be rough.
No.
Yes.
Yes.
If I wasn't in EM, I would probably not be in medicine. I would potentially consider anesthesia. Maybe. But would probably do something else entirely. I thought about lots of things in medical school in pretty intense detail and passed on them all for pretty good reasons. I did not pick anesthesia because 1. I was not satisfied with the narrow scope of knowledge they operate within (great depth but not very broad, almost the opposite of EM in some ways), 2. I get bored doing the same thing over-and-over, which is the epitome of anesthesia, 3. I did not like the fact that they are not caring for the patient in an autonomous way, often surgeons barking at 'em, etc. They are, in a way, the doctor's doctor, which is cool, but did not suit my personality. I think the work they do is awesome in many other ways though.
Nothing is perfect, it's a job, nothing more, nothing less. Keep your expectations reasonable and you can find happiness in EM. I think the main keys to your happiness are realizing that burnout is dependent largely on the volume of work and stress you are exposed to and for how many hours a month you expose yourself to it. If you work at an insane place, you can have a long and happy career if your hours are limited. If you work at a sleepy department in BFE, you can probably work a lot and still avoid burnout. Too much work, too much stress, for too many hours, and you're going to have a bad time.
The key to being able to avoid this is to control your spending for a few years, pay your loans down, get a head start on your retirement, and you'll find yourself a lot more financially independent in years 5-7 of practice than many of your partners, and you'll be able to work however much you feel is right for you without being financially pinched. Having the extra time will also allow you to do lots of other things, whether they are hobbies or sorts of side-jobs that allow you to generate income in other varied ways, which can be a nice way to mix up your life.
Turned out to be a long reply. TLDR version would be: Mostly good, some bad, overall, acceptable, and a bit of advice going forward. Good luck!
Seriously patient interaction is minimal. I'd probably be happy enough interacting with patients in pre-op for an anesthetic assessment, etc.
