Another lifestyle question (I know)

[M145]

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I see a list of similar posts popped up, and I tried a search, but I haven't found much about psychiatry lifestyles (unless I just completely overlooked it, in which case, feel free to close this).

Here's the gist of it: I'm considering med school and psychiatry. But my timing's a bit late and I wouldn't be entering med school (assuming I get in on my first attempt) possibly 3 years from now, when I'll be 26. I've read enough about med school and the intern year to know that it's a never ending storm of studying and angry hours that don't ever seem to end, but after that first year of residency is up...then what? Through a bunch of SDN posts it seems as if the hours decrease slightly as you get further into residency, and if that's true, how do those decreasing hours mesh with a family? And after residency is all said and done, is there time for a spouse/children?

I'm curious about either hospital or private practice psychiatrists--any and all info would be helpful. I have the concept in mind that there are huge sacrifices that you have to make in order to make it in this profession, I'm just not sure that I'd be prepared to have one of them be a fulfilling family life (again, after residency is finished). I'm also not sure if it's a constant sacrifice you keep making after residency or if it all depends on what you do with yourself and what sort of work you end up in.

Thanks in advance! 🙂

 

[OldPsychDoc]

I see a list of similar posts popped up, and I tried a search, but I haven't found much about psychiatry lifestyles (unless I just completely overlooked it, in which case, feel free to close this).

Here's the gist of it: I'm considering med school and psychiatry. But my timing's a bit late and I wouldn't be entering med school (assuming I get in on my first attempt) possibly 3 years from now, when I'll be 26. I've read enough about med school and the intern year to know that it's a never ending storm of studying and angry hours that don't ever seem to end, but after that first year of residency is up...then what? Through a bunch of SDN posts it seems as if the hours decrease slightly as you get further into residency, and if that's true, how do those decreasing hours mesh with a family? And after residency is all said and done, is there time for a spouse/children?

I'm curious about either hospital or private practice psychiatrists--any and all info would be helpful. I have the concept in mind that there are huge sacrifices that you have to make in order to make it in this profession, I'm just not sure that I'd be prepared to have one of them be a fulfilling family life (again, after residency is finished). I'm also not sure if it's a constant sacrifice you keep making after residency or if it all depends on what you do with yourself and what sort of work you end up in.

Thanks in advance! 🙂

Went through med school in my late 30s, had 2 kids when I started, added one in residency, one more my first year out. It's difficult dealing with overnight call rotations and weekends--but no more than (actually less than!) if you were another professional travelling overnight for business, or had a career in retail or hospitality industries where you worked a lot of weekends. And as you surmise, the nights and weekends drop off a LOT after intern year in psych, and nights are generally gone forever in PGY3 or 4 in most programs. As an attending I take phone calls 4 weeks a year, and work a hospital day shift 4 weekends a year.

 

[maranatha]

After residency, you can potentially have one of the best lifestyles of any speciality. You can easily find a job that is 8-5, M-F, with little to no call. If you can handle medical school and the first 2 years of residency (which really isn't that bad depending on the program), there should be little conflict with family life.

 

[whopper]

Residency in comparison with other fields of medicine is relatively easier. Calls are not as harsh, you are usually not dealing with patients at death's door. There are plenty of exceptions. I have seen programs with call schedules as tough as surgery, though they are outliers. While patients may not be on the verge of death, they can get very violent.

Once you're working as an attending, in general the lifestyle is inpatient which is 8-5, outpatient where you can set your own hours and calls are often optional. In some places, calls are required in a salaried job.

 

[Manicsleep]

Here was my psychiatry residency in terms of difficulty.

PGY1: Very difficult. Actually my psychiatry months were worse than my medicine months because there was no cap on admissions and I covered multiple wards plus ER/Consult. I almost never slept.

PGY2: The call night was semi-tough. It was at a hospital without an ER. Got some sleep almost every night.

PGY3: We just helped the PGY1s. The first few weeks were hard but it got progressively easier. I was sleeping at least 4-5 hours every night and sometimes all night. After October we were on home call after 8pm and rarely got called, much less had to come back in.

No call PGY4

As a psychiatrist call is what you make it. The majority take very little or none at all.

 

[M145]

This is all pretty encouraging news. I wouldn't expect it to be simple at all, but knowing that it lessens in intensity with time is comforting. Thanks for the replies!

 

[Suenya]

I see a list of similar posts popped up, and I tried a search, but I haven't found much about psychiatry lifestyles (unless I just completely overlooked it, in which case, feel free to close this).

Here's the gist of it: I'm considering med school and psychiatry. But my timing's a bit late and I wouldn't be entering med school (assuming I get in on my first attempt) possibly 3 years from now, when I'll be 26. I've read enough about med school and the intern year to know that it's a never ending storm of studying and angry hours that don't ever seem to end, but after that first year of residency is up...then what? Through a bunch of SDN posts it seems as if the hours decrease slightly as you get further into residency, and if that's true, how do those decreasing hours mesh with a family? And after residency is all said and done, is there time for a spouse/children?

I'm curious about either hospital or private practice psychiatrists--any and all info would be helpful. I have the concept in mind that there are huge sacrifices that you have to make in order to make it in this profession, I'm just not sure that I'd be prepared to have one of them be a fulfilling family life (again, after residency is finished). I'm also not sure if it's a constant sacrifice you keep making after residency or if it all depends on what you do with yourself and what sort of work you end up in.

Thanks in advance! 🙂

If it makes you feel at all better, I'm 26 and just going to be starting medical school after considering other options. I'm not a psychiatrist, clearly, so they can correct me if I'm wrong, but I know psychiatrists that work even legitimate part-time hours, although it seems rare. Most I know tend to work 55+ish hours a week. Some of the ones that work part-time are doing it with kids or with a spouse who also works full-time. I think they are primarily in private practice.

Another benefit in psych, though, is that if you do end up with a significant portion of your time in private practice, you can sometimes schedule your days to work well around family life. Potentially having patients in the evening while spending time at home during the day with young children or even a break for when they come home from school for a bit before some more work before dinner. I can't say how common things like this are, but I know some psychiatrists who've done it. Hopefully that'll remain true for the future?