heme/onc lifestyle

[fun8stuff]

can anyone give any incite into the lifestyle of the a heme/onc? Is it possible to work less hours in private (group) practice (say 40-50 hrs/week)?

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[Surg Path]

can anyone give any incite into the lifestyle of the a heme/onc? Is it possible to work less hours in private (group) practice (say 40-50 hrs/week)?

Yes I know people who do that in private practice. I wouldn't see them if I had cancer, though.

 

[fun8stuff]

Yes I know people who do that in private practice. I wouldn't see them if I had cancer, though.

you don't think it is possible to keep up in the field working that much?

 

[Heme/Onc]

Yes I know people who do that in private practice. I wouldn't see them if I had cancer, though.

You would not see them because they are in private practice or because they work 40 to 50 hours a week? These reasons seem a little inadequate to refrain from seeing a physician (you may be missing out on a brilliant and compassionate individual). Please elaborate.

Working those hours would allow one to devote a good chunk of time to keeping up. Also, don't always be fooled by the academic title or institution. In fact, you may find yourself limited in terms of treatment options. Just some of my own thoughts.


Justin Markow

 

[LHCF]

I wouldn't see them if I had cancer, though.

I wouldn't either. For goodness sakes, you are going into a field to treat people with cancer. There are better fields for a good "lifestyle."

 

[billclinton]

I wouldn't either. For goodness sakes, you are going into a field to treat people with cancer. There are better fields for a good "lifestyle."

I disagree. I think that is a rather naive and pretentious statement. Just because you are treating cancer does not mean you need to devote every waking hour to work. I have a feeling your views will change after your premed years...

 

[Fantasy Sports]

I wouldn't either. For goodness sakes, you are going into a field to treat people with cancer. There are better fields for a good "lifestyle."

Working 50 hours a week probably means you have plenty of time to keep up with the latest research...

Also, martyrdom is not a prerequisite for any field in medicine, and just because the disease is cancer doesnt mean that you cannot enjoy having a family yourself. I would argue that some of the best oncologists I have met are the ones that have a strong family life and spent a lot of time with their own kids.

Its pretty funny how people expect oncologists to be robots because they deal with cancer, but cardiologists and endocrinologists can kick it with no moral judgement placed on them just because their patients have CHF and diabetes (which have similar death rates, based on which cancer you are talking about).

 

[medgator]

Working 50 hours a week probably means you have plenty of time to keep up with the latest research...

Also, martyrdom is not a prerequisite for any field in medicine, and just because the disease is cancer doesnt mean that you cannot enjoy having a family yourself. I would argue that some of the best oncologists I have met are the ones that have a strong family life and spent a lot of time with their own kids.

Its pretty funny how people expect oncologists to be robots because they deal with cancer, but cardiologists and endocrinologists can kick it with no moral judgement placed on them just because their patients have CHF and diabetes (which have similar death rates, based on which cancer you are talking about).

In a lot of cases, your end-stage CHFers (whom are unable to procure a transplant for whatever reason) have a lot of palliative care issues which are very similar to those that are dealt with in onc.

 

[lexrageorge]

Working 50 hours a week probably means you have plenty of time to keep up with the latest research...

Also, martyrdom is not a prerequisite for any field in medicine, and just because the disease is cancer doesnt mean that you cannot enjoy having a family yourself. I would argue that some of the best oncologists I have met are the ones that have a strong family life and spent a lot of time with their own kids.

Its pretty funny how people expect oncologists to be robots because they deal with cancer, but cardiologists and endocrinologists can kick it with no moral judgement placed on them just because their patients have CHF and diabetes (which have similar death rates, based on which cancer you are talking about).

Great post!! It's funny how a reasonable question gets turned around into assuming "I want to be a bad doctor." I would challenge one of these "medicine is a calling" folks to provide one study that shows that having a family life makes you less of an oncologist, or any other kind of physician for that matter.