Are there any residencies not physically demanding in regards to standing all day?

[J ROD]

Are there are any medical residencies that are not heavily focused on standing all day and running all over the place besides rads? I am not familiar with all the physical requirements of all the residencies. I currently have a job where I work 12hrs. straight standing up and at the end my knees are shot. I am interested in EM and Anes, but I am not sure if I can physically handle the long shifts days in a row. I can stand fine for about 8 of the 12 hrs, but I need some time to sit and rest if I am going to do it day after day. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

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[JackBauERfan]

Are there are any medical residencies that are not heavily focused on standing all day and running all over the place besides rads? I am not familiar with all the physical requirements of all the residencies. I currently have a job where I work 12hrs. straight standing up and at the end my knees are shot. I am interested in EM and Anes, but I am not sure if I can physically handle the long shifts days in a row. I can stand fine for about 8 of the 12 hrs, but I need some time to sit and rest if I am going to do it day after day. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

ER.

 

[Mumpu]

I've never seen a standing anesthesiologist. I think the chair and the Time magazine are surgically attached during your first year. 🙂

General IM for the most part is not bad, especially with the advent of CPOE -- you can sit in the war room (remember, no fighting in the war room!) and spew forth potassium repletion orders all over the hospital. The worst medicine rounds are maybe 3 hours a day and sometimes you do them sitting down.

In contrast, I've never seen a sitting ER physician. They are always running around, admitting 89% hypoxias and "Wellen's criteria" chest pains (kidding, kidding! chill!)

 

[71263]

In contrast, I've never seen a sitting ER physician. They are always running around, admitting 89% hypoxias and "Wellen's criteria" chest pains (kidding, kidding! chill!)

True, but arent ER shifts also only a few hours at a time? It doesnt seem like quite the endurance game that surgery is.

 

[DrMom]

True, but arent ER shifts also only a few hours at a time? It doesnt seem like quite the endurance game that surgery is.

At my program we only do 12 hr shifts. Shortest EM shift I've seen in private practice is 8.

 

[colbgw02]

pathology, which - as i recall - does not even require a preliminary year anymore, is a great specialty in terms of hours, lifestyle, and reimbursement if you can stand the subject material. honestly, when was the last time you thought to yourself at 2am, "oh hell, where is the pathologist?". it's also not particularly competitive.

 

[JackBauERfan]

pathology, which - as i recall - does not even require a preliminary year anymore, is a great specialty in terms of hours, lifestyle, and reimbursement if you can stand the subject material. honestly, when was the last time you thought to yourself at 2am, "oh hell, where is the pathologist?". it's also not particularly competitive.

also allergy seems like a field where you aren't running around. by the way i was kidding about ER haha.

 

[medgator]

Are there are any medical residencies that are not heavily focused on standing all day and running all over the place besides rads? I am not familiar with all the physical requirements of all the residencies. I currently have a job where I work 12hrs. straight standing up and at the end my knees are shot. I am interested in EM and Anes, but I am not sure if I can physically handle the long shifts days in a row. I can stand fine for about 8 of the 12 hrs, but I need some time to sit and rest if I am going to do it day after day. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

I would look at Anesthesia, Path, and Rads--- all of them have a large degree of sitting. Rads can sometimes have procedures that might require movement, but i think its all done downstairs in the department.

ER is nuts! Youre running around all shift with your head cut off doing a million things at once 😱

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Are there are any medical residencies that are not heavily focused on standing all day and running all over the place besides rads? I am not familiar with all the physical requirements of all the residencies. I currently have a job where I work 12hrs. straight standing up and at the end my knees are shot. I am interested in EM and Anes, but I am not sure if I can physically handle the long shifts days in a row. I can stand fine for about 8 of the 12 hrs, but I need some time to sit and rest if I am going to do it day after day. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

a) if you haven't done it already get some better shoes - with orthotics
b) Anes would be a much better idea than EM, if you want to you can sit down for basically the whole case.
c) if you're really not a fan of standing looking into Radiology, Pathology, Psych, Radiation Oncololgy etc

 

[Llenroc]

I would say Anesthesiology is 50-50 between sitting and standing.

A good profession if you don't want to stand much is Psychiatry. You interview patients while sitting down. Radiology may also be good in this respect.

Internal Medicine involves almost non-stop walking/running around wards and the hospital. And when you practice, you walk from room to room all day.

I agree with you standing for long periods sucks. I was in a surgery the other day for 6 hours. I think that's the longest I've gone in my life without sitting even once. That's not something I ever care to revisit.

 

[kittykat]

pathology, which - as i recall - does not even require a preliminary year anymore, is a great specialty in terms of hours, lifestyle, and reimbursement if you can stand the subject material. honestly, when was the last time you thought to yourself at 2am, "oh hell, where is the pathologist?". it's also not particularly competitive.

Ok, now that the cat is out of the bag...Yes, Path is everything you said it to be. Just like anesthesia and rads are making a comeback as far as competitiveness, Path is getting a little more competitive nowadays because people are catching on to our secret....but you still should be able to make it in and if you can get over the whole working in a basement amongst the dead thing...you'll have a pretty good life as a pathology resident. Check out our forum we are some of the most chill people you will meet in the hospital.

 

[J ROD]

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.

 

[southerndoc]

At my program we only do 12 hr shifts. Shortest EM shift I've seen in private practice is 8.

That's all I've ever seen. I think the most I've ever sat during an ED shift was about 10% of my time. Like surgeons, EM physicians are almost always on their feet.

 

[Shah_Patel_PT]

Are there are any medical residencies that are not heavily focused on standing all day and running all over the place besides rads? I am not familiar with all the physical requirements of all the residencies. I currently have a job where I work 12hrs. straight standing up and at the end my knees are shot. I am interested in EM and Anes, but I am not sure if I can physically handle the long shifts days in a row. I can stand fine for about 8 of the 12 hrs, but I need some time to sit and rest if I am going to do it day after day. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Derm?

 

[AJM]

Internal Medicine involves almost non-stop walking/running around wards and the hospital. And when you practice, you walk from room to room all day.

Actually, there's a lot of sitting in IM. In clinic, sure you're going from room to room all day, but in every clinic room you sit down to talk with the patients. As far as "non-stop running" around the wards -- I've only ever seen interns do this, and even interns sit down to write notes and orders. Private practice hospitalists usually have a physician's area at each ward in their hospital complete with a couple of desks, chairs, and computers, so these guys typically sit at those desks, do their notes and orders, let the nurses come to them with issues, and then periodically get up to go see patients.

So I'd say that IM is probably 50-50 between sitting and standing. Oh, and BTW, the medicine and ICU rounds for 3 hours a day is purely a residency phenomenon. Rounds like this do not happen in private practice. I mention this because a lot of people avoid IM and the subspecialties because of the rounding -- but this is a very shortsighted approach. Also, I can count the number of times on one hand where I did standing medicine rounds during residency -- they are almost always sit-down rounds.

Also, I agree that good shoes are key. My kness hurt the entire first month of internship until I got a pair of shoes that worked for me -- after that I had no problems at all.

 

[jocg27]

psych, clearly

 

[Llenroc]

I don't get knee problems (maybe because I was never big on running - kills your knees ). But after standing for a while, my lower back just tenses up.

 

[hzma]

Path actually has a lot of standing. You stand to gross specimens. Today alone i stood for almost 9 hrs. I sat for 15 minutes only in between. In the same place, and sometimes, even longer hours if yr in a program with lots of specimens. Other days you spend running- from dr to dr to sign out stuff. not much fun. And of course you sit to look at ur slides, but less time than the standing time. I guess if ur looking long term though then yeah, our attendings do sit. Good luck.

 

[JackBauERfan]

Path actually has a lot of standing. You stand to gross specimens. Today alone i stood for almost 9 hrs. I sat for 15 minutes only in between. In the same place, and sometimes, even longer hours if yr in a program with lots of specimens. Other days you spend running- from dr to dr to sign out stuff. not much fun. And of course you sit to look at ur slides, but less time than the standing time. I guess if ur looking long term though then yeah, our attendings do sit. Good luck.

I did a forensic path rotation in vegas and that was one thing I couldnt' understand, why do you have to stand to do gross specimens? Can't they just put the water/sink lower and have a tray that kind of slides around so you can sit the whole time? Maybe its cause my only experience is at vegas, and its different other places?

 

[Tappat]

I did a forensic path rotation in vegas and that was one thing I couldnt' understand, why do you have to stand to do gross specimens? Can't they just put the water/sink lower and have a tray that kind of slides around so you can sit the whole time? Maybe its cause my only experience is at vegas, and its different other places?

I thought for sure when I started grossing that I, tall enough to sit on a high chair and still reach the dictaphone controls with my feet, would sit for most of the grossing day. However, I find that it is not so! Too many things to reach for, I guess, or I need a better all around view of the specimen than I can easily get sitting down. It could be done, though, with determination/out of necessity. And on your grossing days, you could take breaks, accepting that you'll just get out a little later. Other days -- yes, a fair amount of hunting down attendings and dropping things off, but you do get to sit a lot and I've always found walking around to be easier on the body than just standing in one place for hours on end. Also make sure your shoes are up to snuff -- I feel a ton more energetic at the end of a day when I wore Dansko's than other shoes.

 

[CameronFrye]

I thought for sure when I started grossing that I, tall enough to sit on a high chair and still reach the dictaphone controls with my feet, would sit for most of the grossing day. However, I find that it is not so! Too many things to reach for, I guess, or I need a better all around view of the specimen than I can easily get sitting down. It could be done, though, with determination/out of necessity. And on your grossing days, you could take breaks, accepting that you'll just get out a little later. Other days -- yes, a fair amount of hunting down attendings and dropping things off, but you do get to sit a lot and I've always found walking around to be easier on the body than just standing in one place for hours on end. Also make sure your shoes are up to snuff -- I feel a ton more energetic at the end of a day when I wore Dansko's than other shoes.

Yeah, the only time I sit when grossing is when I'm picking through a neck dissection for LN's or some other time consuming tedious task.

 

[kittykat]

Path actually has a lot of standing. You stand to gross specimens. Today alone i stood for almost 9 hrs. I sat for 15 minutes only in between. In the same place, and sometimes, even longer hours if yr in a program with lots of specimens. Other days you spend running- from dr to dr to sign out stuff. not much fun. And of course you sit to look at ur slides, but less time than the standing time. I guess if ur looking long term though then yeah, our attendings do sit. Good luck.

Agreed, but there is plenty of down-time in CP...can't speak for your program but what a snore.

 

[Frumps]

If you like surgery, but hate standing...then ophtho is the specialty of choice!

 

[Mumpu]

C'mon, if that limping guy on CSI could do path all day, so could you (incidentally, favorite CSI path moment: diagnosing WPW by gross examination of the IV septum... love the show though 🙂).

 

[goooooober]

I would say Surgery.

 

[DebDynamite]

Actually you can sit quite a bit in most of the clinical specialties once you are out of your residency. But in Med school you are going to have to stand for clinical rotations- you know endless rounding and holding retraction in surgery. But many attendings sit to talk with their patients- Family, IM, Peds, Psych.

 

[intoxicatedtiger]

Ophthalmology. You get to do surgery sitting down, and they're 20 minutes long.