Are You Happy in Orthopedics?

[TheBoneDoctah]

I haven't seen a thread in the orthopedic forum yet like this and feel it would really be a big help to students thinking about orthopedic surgery. If any current residents and/or orthopedic surgeons can comment that would be great. Thank you.

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)?
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty?
3. What's the best part of your job?
4.What is one thing you would change about your job?
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week?
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family?
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc?
8. Which state do you practice in?
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated?
10. Would you choose orthopedics again?
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why?
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics?
Anything else you can think of that would be helpful for students. Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[massmocha]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? 9/10
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty? Working with your hands/honing a technical skill, making an appreciable improvement in patient's life, minimal end of life discussions/maximal quality of life improvements, minimal emphasis on rounding/notes
3. What's the best part of your job? Seeing patients walk that couldn't walk before
4.What is one thing you would change about your job? OR efficiency
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? No, but a necessary evil of ortho residency (80+, depending on rotation)
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? Yes (depending on rotation... definitely not when on trauma)
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? Academic
8. Which state do you practice in? East Coast
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? Ha! No, but someday soon, hopefully
10. Would you choose orthopedics again? Yes
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? Emergency Medicine, lots of procedures, technical skills, don't have to deal with patient follow-up
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? However they spell it where you are (I will spell it orthopedics when I practice... "ae" is so pretentious)

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? 9/10
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty? Working with your hands/honing a technical skill, making an appreciable improvement in patient's life, minimal end of life discussions/maximal quality of life improvements, minimal emphasis on rounding/notes
3. What's the best part of your job? Seeing patients walk that couldn't walk before
4.What is one thing you would change about your job? OR efficiency
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? No, but a necessary evil of ortho residency (80+, depending on rotation)
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? Yes (depending on rotation... definitely not when on trauma)
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? Academic
8. Which state do you practice in? East Coast
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? Ha! No, but someday soon, hopefully
10. Would you choose orthopedics again? Yes
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? Emergency Medicine, lots of procedures, technical skills, don't have to deal with patient follow-up
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? However they spell it where you are (I will spell it orthopedics when I practice... "ae" is so pretentious)

Haha nice #12 response. Thank you for the response.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

any other responses?


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

 

[orthojuniorfaculty]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? 10
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty?
Helping keep people mobile, ideally with pain controlled and function preserved, through the use of my hands and mind in the operating room and clinic. It is satisfying to be able to identify the problem, when possible, and execute a solution that actually makes sense.

3. What's the best part of your job? Two things, sorry: the OR environment working on a team and focusing intensely on one patient at a time, and then seeing patients from presentation to follow-up ~ just enough serial contact to build relationships, but also good to discharge people once they have improved and rehab'd.

4.What is one thing you would change about your job? Very little. I think surgeons/physicians need to take back more admin control, but that is true across specialties, as is our own fault... if you aren't at the table, you are on the menu.

5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? Depends on how you calculate it. Time actually in the hospital working clinically is about 60-70, but another 20-30 hours on top of that for research/email/admin.

6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? Yes. That is about making priorities.

7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? Academic.

8. Which state do you practice in? N/A - doesn't matter in answering this.

9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? Yes.

10. Would you choose orthopedics again? Yes. Not much else in medicine like it. Maybe PM&R, but then no operating.

11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? Maybe PM&R, with a very specific focus in advance MSK rehab after SCI/amputee working with adaptive technologies.

12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? Orthopaedics. While we may make feet straight, that isn't all we do. Original term is orthopaedics, and if you don't know why you should figure it out. If someone is applying in the field they better know something of its history. The field has been called several things over the years and filled a variety of roles. Glibly, because in the end the spelling of a name matters a lot less than taking good care of your patients and being a good colleague, I don't think it is pretentious to be right (notices that sounds pretentious... but still, guess that is what I think).

Anything else you can think of that would be helpful for students. Thank you!
While there are some white collar programs out there, orthopaedics is a blue collar field. I'd recommend it a lot more to people who have that mindset. A whole lot of people just do better and are happier when less busy, less time pressured - nothing wrong with that, but it is less of a fit in my experience with orthopaedics. People who do well seem to have the get-it-done-right sort of attitude.

any other responses?


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

 

[lampshade4u]

5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? Depends on how you calculate it. Time actually in the hospital working clinically is about 60-70, but another 20-30 hours on top of that for research/email/admin.

80-100 hours a week? Is this normal? Is it impossible to work normal humane hours in ortho... ?

 

[BarcaBest23]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? 10
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty? Awesome surgeries; very innovative field; great colleagues and atmosphere; pt tend to be healthier than the average in the hospital so they do better, recover fast and return to baseline usually because of your help.
3. What's the best part of your job? The tangible satisfaction of seeing a solid construct on xrays, and seeing patients' do better with what you've built.
4.What is one thing you would change about your job? hours
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? no, 90
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? no
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? academic
8. Which state do you practice in? N/A
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? we'll see in a few years
10. Would you choose orthopedics again? Definitely
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? Plastic Surgery, cool reconstructive procedures.
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? Ortho ...... boom dilemma fixed.
Anything else you can think of that would be helpful for students. Thank you! There is a reason ortho has become one of the most if not the most competitive specialty up to date. It is a fantastic field with diversity in procedures, patient population, and practice arenas.

 

[Handinhand]

80-100 hours a week? Is this normal? Is it impossible to work normal humane hours in ortho... ?

Given their name - it's likely because they're junior faculty at an academic center, which is usually going to bring in more trauma and more inefficiency in your practice == more hours. Also, no way around it -- you're going to work more as a junior, academic or private, as it seems the junior guys suck up a good majority of the call.

The orthopods I've been around, especially the ones in private practice, who have been working 10+ years definitely have a better life working probably 50-60 hours/week. There's also still the guy I know who's been in practice for 15 years and cranks out 6-8 primary joints 2-3 days/week and works probably 70 hours a week -- some guys are just wired that way (and the Porsche 911 & M5 won't pay for themselves).

 

[lampshade4u]

Given their name - it's likely because they're junior faculty at an academic center, which is usually going to bring in more trauma and more inefficiency in your practice == more hours. Also, no way around it -- you're going to work more as a junior, academic or private, as it seems the junior guys suck up a good majority of the call.

The orthopods I've been around, especially the ones in private practice, who have been working 10+ years definitely have a better life working probably 50-60 hours/week. There's also still the guy I know who's been in practice for 15 years and cranks out 6-8 primary joints 2-3 days/week and works probably 70 hours a week -- some guys are just wired that way (and the Porsche 911 & M5 won't pay for themselves).

stupid questions but why is it impossible to do ortho 40-45 hours a week? Is it impossible to keep the lights on in private practice if you're not pushing 60 hours? As an employee does administration demand the 60 hours? Do orthopods just love working lots of hours? Could you do private practice and simply work less for less pay? An average orthopedic surgeon makes about 100k+ more than, say a dermatologist, could he/she simply work derm hours and end up with derm pay?

 

[Sam212]

stupid questions but why is it impossible to do ortho 40-45 hours a week? Is it impossible to keep the lights on in private practice if you're not pushing 60 hours? As an employee does administration demand the 60 hours? Do orthopods just love working lots of hours? Could you do private practice and simply work less for less pay? An average orthopedic surgeon makes about 100k+ more than, say a dermatologist, could he/she simply work derm hours and end up with derm pay?

Lol, please do derm, plenty of slackers already in Ortho resodency looking for a big payday and a lot of time off. Leave it for people that really love it and grind it out.

 

[lampshade4u]

Lol, please do derm, plenty of slackers already in Ortho resodency looking for a big payday and a lot of time off. Leave it for people that really love it and grind it out.

slacker to not want to be married to the hospital? I'm talking after residency you could simply answer the question clown. I would do ortho for 100k if it had sane hours.

 

[orthojuniorfaculty]

slacker to not want to be married to the hospital? I'm talking after residency you could simply answer the question clown. I would do ortho for 100k if it had sane hours.

Sure you can. I know people who do just that, generally in employed positions with groups like Kaiser. And other people do 'job share' - share a 0.5 FTE position with another orthopaedic surgeon... these seem to be on the rise. A lot of VA hospitals you might get close or at 40 hours a week. But that's not a guarantee that you'll find some job like that, and most people I come across say that the first 2-3 years out of residency/fellowship are among the busiest of their lives, and stressful. And certainly, in residency, there are a lot of 80 hour weeks. That is just the reality of it. Becoming a surgeon does still take a long time, and not all of that is bad. But it isn't for everyone, and I did miss some of my friends' weddings, some reunions, and had to find a way to make sure to have a good relationship with my spouse despite being gone some nights and weekends.

But orthopaedics isn't alone in this, and I'm not sure where a 40 hour week comes into play as an expectation in medicine or other professions, especially at first. My friends in law practices, big corporations, start-ups, and basically any profession or lots of non-professional fields all were/are putting in 80-ish hours a week from their mid 20s to their mid 30s. Some still are, some are now sort of established and can dial back, but very few (I can think of one) are working straight-up 40 hours a week.

If you know that you will define happiness or even derive significant happiness from limiting the number of hours at the hospital/clinic (which I'm not saying you necessarily do, but just as a hypothetical), I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but I think it is quite likely then that most surgical residencies not only would be 5-7 difficult years, but they might also be unhappy years. For me, residency was hard but I loved it. And it was worth it. But I don't think it would have been worth it, should it have been both hard and unhappy. I've seen what that looks like in other people, and it is less than ideal. So that is something to think about.

And again, nothing particularly wrong with it, nor that you feel this way, but there are other doctors who derive significant happiness from limiting the number of hours at the hospital/clinic. The specialty that seems best at making this happen is Emergency Medicine. Many of them can work three 12 hours shifts a week as full-time, many will work 7 days in a row and then take 2 weeks off as a routine, and they really like that system. I also know EM people who are in academics that easily put in 80+ hours a week, but it is less common, and there are a lot of opportunities at the end of training to have a work schedule like you talk about. Furthermore, my understanding is that in order to be competitive for applicants, many EM residencies have also self-imposed their work hours to be under 60 hours a week. Surely I'm not telling you are anyone else what to apply in - I am just trying to answer your question and provide information. For me, I'm happy, love my family/clinical work/research/hobbies/life. I'd probably work 70-80 hours a week regardless of what I was doing, but it happens to be a good fit for most (but not all) of orthopaedics.

 

[dboyhaaan]

How much do you guys deadlift?

 

[CuriousBastard01]

How much do you guys deadlift?

LMFAO

 

[akwho]

How much do you guys deadlift?

How much can you count?

 

[CuriousBastard01]

How much do you guys deadlift?

How much could I deadlift?

....All of them....

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I will say this: Orthopaedic surgeons (and yes it's spelled with an ae because that's the original greek where the word comes from), unlike any other specialty I've ever interacted with, are universally happy. They work long hours but you will be hard pressed to find a single one who says they should have done a different specialty. Maybe some of us wish we could be investment bankers etc, but I've met nobody who says "yeah I should have been a dermatologist."

As for your questions:
1. 10/10 happy
2. I chose orthopaedics because of generally healthy patients, instant gratification, and because it was challenging
3. Best part of my job: Fixing a fracture perfectly.
4. I wouldn't change anything about my job.
5. I am okay with my hours because it doesn't feel like work. 80h/week including patient care, admin, research, and education.
6. I don't have enough time with my family, but you need to find an understanding spouse who is proud of you and doesn't resent you; and in turn you need to actively make time for them and not make them feel like they're the last thing on the to-do list. That is actually the hardest part and why so many surgeons are divorced or unhappy with relationships.
7. Academic.
8. Irrelevant question...
9. Yes I feel I am fairly compensated.
10. I would have zero doubts about choosing Ortho again.
11. If I had to choose a different specialty I would leave medicine and do something else.
12. See my first paragraph.

 

[Newyawk]

I will say this: Orthopaedic surgeons (and yes it's spelled with an ae because that's the original greek where the word comes from), unlike any other specialty I've ever interacted with, are universally happy. They work long hours but you will be hard pressed to find a single one who says they should have done a different specialty. Maybe some of us wish we could be investment bankers etc, but I've met nobody who says "yeah I should have been a dermatologist."

As for your questions:
1. 10/10 happy
2. I chose orthopaedics because of generally healthy patients, instant gratification, and because it was challenging
3. Best part of my job: Fixing a fracture perfectly.
4. I wouldn't change anything about my job.
5. I am okay with my hours because it doesn't feel like work. 80h/week including patient care, admin, research, and education.
6. I don't have enough time with my family, but you need to find an understanding spouse who is proud of you and doesn't resent you; and in turn you need to actively make time for them and not make them feel like they're the last thing on the to-do list. That is actually the hardest part and why so many surgeons are divorced or unhappy with relationships.
7. Academic.
8. Irrelevant question...
9. Yes I feel I am fairly compensated.
10. I would have zero doubts about choosing Ortho again.
11. If I had to choose a different specialty I would leave medicine and do something else.
12. See my first paragraph.

Hi there. Im a med student and starting clinicals soon. My spouse would be very upset, i think, if i had to work an 80 hour week. she is a wonderful girl and is very supportive of me, but we havent really hit any rough patches yet. She has stated that she wants to pursue a dental field that is the least demanding as to spend the most time with her family and she also has stated repeatedly that she wants me to be around. Do you think i should look into less demanding specialties for the sake of happy wife happy life, or should i pursue what i want and work out my hours later? I know its a loaded Q but if you could give me a few experiences youve had i would greatly appreciate it

 

[Gilakend]

Hi there. Im a med student and starting clinicals soon. My spouse would be very upset, i think, if i had to work an 80 hour week. she is a wonderful girl and is very supportive of me, but we havent really hit any rough patches yet. She has stated that she wants to pursue a dental field that is the least demanding as to spend the most time with her family and she also has stated repeatedly that she wants me to be around. Do you think i should look into less demanding specialties for the sake of happy wife happy life, or should i pursue what i want and work out my hours later? I know its a loaded Q but if you could give me a few experiences youve had i would greatly appreciate it

From what others posted expect at least 80 hours in residency (5 years after med school). But it seems like more and more people are saying you can work 50-60 hours a week if you want as an attending. Obviously I'm not qualified to answer this question as a premed I'm just regurgitating what others have told me. One of the ortho surgeons where I volunteer told me that 50-60 hours a week isn't too bad when you get to the hospital at 5 AM. You can work 12 hours and be home to eat dinner with your kids before bed and pull 60 hours with 2 days off a week.

 

[AcademicNeurosurgery]

From what others posted expect at least 80 hours in residency (5 years after med school). But it seems like more and more people are saying you can work 50-60 hours a week if you want as an attending. Obviously I'm not qualified to answer this question as a premed I'm just regurgitating what others have told me. One of the ortho surgeons where I volunteer told me that 50-60 hours a week isn't too bad when you get to the hospital at 5 AM. You can work 12 hours and be home to eat dinner with your kids before bed and pull 60 hours with 2 days off a week.

This really depends on how your practice is setup and unless he/she is an elective only clinic, it is highly unlikely they are getting home in time to eat dinner 5 days a week and getting the other 2 days off. You don't get paid by the hour so it's not like you can walk in at 5AM and walk out at 5PM when 12 hours are up. Last minute consults and other interruptions (charting, admin duties, etc) can prolong your day past 5PM.

Also, there's call.

I'm not saying 50-60 hours/week isn't possible, but having a regular 5 day/week schedule and being home by 5-6pm with 2 days off every single week is not the lifestyle of most surgeons.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Hi there. Im a med student and starting clinicals soon. My spouse would be very upset, i think, if i had to work an 80 hour week. she is a wonderful girl and is very supportive of me, but we havent really hit any rough patches yet. She has stated that she wants to pursue a dental field that is the least demanding as to spend the most time with her family and she also has stated repeatedly that she wants me to be around. Do you think i should look into less demanding specialties for the sake of happy wife happy life, or should i pursue what i want and work out my hours later? I know its a loaded Q but if you could give me a few experiences youve had i would greatly appreciate it

Happy wife might mean happy life, but a good spouse will also try to be understanding of the sacrifices you make for the job you love. Just be clear with your expectations. 80 hrs a week is residency but you can work less later. Promise that you will make time for them, but also say that she can't expect you to be around a lot during residency. The rewards are great later though.

 

[AcademicNeurosurgery]

Happy wife might mean happy life, but a good spouse will also try to be understanding of the sacrifices you make for the job you love. Just be clear with your expectations. 80 hrs a week is residency but you can work less later. Promise that you will make time for them, but also say that she can't expect you to be around a lot during residency. The rewards are great later though.

Hi there. Im a med student and starting clinicals soon. My spouse would be very upset, i think, if i had to work an 80 hour week. she is a wonderful girl and is very supportive of me, but we havent really hit any rough patches yet. She has stated that she wants to pursue a dental field that is the least demanding as to spend the most time with her family and she also has stated repeatedly that she wants me to be around. Do you think i should look into less demanding specialties for the sake of happy wife happy life, or should i pursue what i want and work out my hours later? I know its a loaded Q but if you could give me a few experiences youve had i would greatly appreciate it

Not terribly familiar with ortho specifically but, in general, it should be understood that certain jobs/specialties require your family to very understanding. This is especially true for surgical specialties (and even more so for academics). You have to be okay with the fact that you just won't be around as much if you want to go into these fields. You will still have time for your family, kids, etc. but it may be less than in other careers. The surgeons I have seen who balance family and work very well all have one thing in common: they cherish their time with family when they get it. If you have plans for a family night and you end up getting home later than expected, it is important that this doesn't spite your family and you all are able to smoothly change your plans to something shorter. How you make this up to your family at a later time can make or break your personal life.

 

[Newyawk]

Not terribly familiar with ortho specifically but, in general, it should be understood that certain jobs/specialties require your family to very understanding. This is especially true for surgical specialties (and even more so for academics). You have to be okay with the fact that you just won't be around as much if you want to go into these fields. You will still have time for your family, kids, etc. but it may be less than in other careers. The surgeons I have seen who balance family and work very well all have one thing in common: they cherish their time with family when they get it. If you have plans for a family night and you end up getting home later than expected, it is important that this doesn't spite your family and you all are able to smoothly change your plans to something shorter. How you make this up to your family at a later time can make or break your personal life.

Thank you for the response. There are a lot of conditional elements in your statement and that scares me. How can i trust my 15 year old kid wont hate me forever for being the surgeon dad who was never home? Would it surprise me if my wife became increasingly upset with me only being home to sleep and too stressed and tired to spend time with her?

 

[AcademicNeurosurgery]

Thank you for the response. There are a lot of conditional elements in your statement and that scares me. How can i trust my 15 year old kid wont hate me forever for being the surgeon dad who was never home? Would it surprise me if my wife became increasingly upset with me only being home to sleep and too stressed and tired to spend time with her?

Truthfully, I revised my post multiple times because I didn't want to scare you off. Let me put it this way - if you are quite literally never home, that is on you. You will have time, just don't expect to be as home as someone who has a M-F 9-5 job with all weekends/holidays off. Like I said, plenty of surgeons have happy personal and professional lives but it takes work and compromise.

Also, think about the contrary - what if you work a lot less but hate your job? How will that translate to your home life compared to you doing what you love? Look at hospitalists, you can work 7 on 7 off (which means you work half of the year...) and make 200k+. There are reasons why everyone isn't flocking to these jobs, one of which is career satisfaction. It is tough work and you can be miserable if you don't love it. Look around online and you will see hospitalists saying the 7 days off doesn't make up for the 7 days on.

Edit: There is a broad spectrum of what your commitment to medicine can look like. I read about a neurosurgeon who essentially felt that humans go through a pretty boring life cycle (go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, die). He decided the world didn't need more people so he devoted his career to advancing the field. I guess he saw it as shaping the future of neurosurgery versus raising a couple of children. A pretty bleak way of looking at things but he wanted to make sure he left this world better than he found it. Of course, this is an extreme end of the spectrum. I also know a physician (IM) who very much values his family life and personal hobbies. He gives his patients his full attention when he's working but when he's off, he's off. No hospital committees, research projects, etc. He has decided that him taking care of patients is enough of a contribution, and no one can fault him for that. Point being that it's a sliding scale of how much extra time you will have. If you want to do surgery, teach residents, do research, and get involved in politics, you will have less time for family. If you are a community surgeon and don't do much research/admin work, you may have more time. Some broad generalizations here but I hope you get what I am saying.

 

[Newyawk]

Truthfully, I revised my post multiple times because I didn't want to scare you off. Let me put it this way - if you are quite literally never home, that is on you. You will have time, just don't expect to be as home as someone who has a M-F 9-5 job with all weekends/holidays off. Like I said, plenty of surgeons have happy personal and professional lives but it takes work and compromise.

Also, think about the contrary - what if you work a lot less but hate your job? How will that translate to your home life compared to you doing what you love? Look at hospitalists, you can work 7 on 7 off (which means you work half of the year...) and make 200k+. There are reasons why everyone isn't flocking to these jobs, one of which is career satisfaction. It is tough work and you can be miserable if you don't love it. Look around online and you will see hospitalists saying the 7 days off doesn't make up for the 7 days on.

Edit: There is a broad spectrum of what your commitment to medicine can look like. I read about a neurosurgeon who essentially felt that humans go through a pretty boring life cycle (go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, die). He decided the world didn't need more people so he devoted his career to advancing the field. I guess he saw it as shaping of neurosurgery versus raises a couple of children. A pretty bleak way of looking at things but he wanted to make sure he left this world better than he found it. Of course, this is an extreme end of the spectrum. I also know a physician (IM) who very much values his family life and personal hobbies. He gives his patients his full attention when he's working but when he's off, he's off. No hospital committees, research projects, etc. He has decided that him taking care of patients is enough of a contribution, can't fault him for that. Point being that it's a sliding scale of how much extra time you will have. If you want to do surgery, teach residents, do research, and get involved in politics, you will have less time for family. If you are a community surgeon and don't do much research/admin work, you may have more time. Some broad generalizations here but I hope you get what I am saying.

I appreciate that you cared enough about the advice you gave me (a stranger on sdn) to revise and edit as much as you did.

I do understand what youre saying. This also isnt a big change from the life ive known in medical school. Some students aim to honor every course and also do research while others couldnt care less about honoring and party like theyre in college (these are the preclinical years, at least).
Its tough. I guess a guy has to ask how much he loves medicine and how much time hes willing to spend doing it.

That poll that showed that some large portion (50%?) of doctors would choose not to be doctors if given the chance again was alarming to say the least. What happens along the way? Surely every case is different. This guy is upset his colleague makes 100k more a year for similar work, that girl thought she could handle a neurosurgery residency, etc.

 

[AcademicNeurosurgery]

I appreciate that you cared enough about the advice you gave me (a stranger on sdn) to revise and edit as much as you did.

I do understand what youre saying. This also isnt a big change from the life ive known in medical school. Some students aim to honor every course and also do research while others couldnt care less about honoring and party like theyre in college (these are the preclinical years, at least).
Its tough. I guess a guy has to ask how much he loves medicine and how much time hes willing to spend doing it.

That poll that showed that some large portion (50%?) of doctors would choose not to be doctors if given the chance again was alarming to say the least. What happens along the way? Surely every case is different. This guy is upset his colleague makes 100k more a year for similar work, that girl thought she could handle a neurosurgery residency, etc.

Absolutely. After all, there are real people behind SDN accounts who may actually use advice from strangers on here to make life decisions (which I have done too) so it's important.

Yes, it is similar to medical school in some ways. Some people are content with passing, others want more. It is good you are thinking about these factors but I would recommend not to stress about these things too early on, especially since you are just starting clinicals. Your surgery rotation will give you a better idea of how you handle the hours and how much you enjoy being in the OR. Additionally, many decisions regarding your career will happen further down the line when you look for your first job. During residency, you may change from wanting to go into academics to wanting to do PP, or vice versa. The best thing you can do now is make your application the best it can be so you will have more control of your life later on.

And career satisfaction is based on how you approach life. You can always look at someone making more money and be unhappy, it is irrelevant I think. You will make enough and with some smart financial decisions, you will do well for yourself. Besides money, the other major complaint I hear from older physicians is that they have more restrictions these days and less autonomy. So be it, our generation doesn't know any different and so I suspect we will be fine. Other than that, there are many physicians who are happy. The disgruntled ones will always voice their thoughts louder.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Thank you for the response. There are a lot of conditional elements in your statement and that scares me. How can i trust my 15 year old kid wont hate me forever for being the surgeon dad who was never home? Would it surprise me if my wife became increasingly upset with me only being home to sleep and too stressed and tired to spend time with her?

You can't predict the future. Only educated guessing. Both my parents are physicians and I was raised by a nanny. I have a great relationship with my parents. Others hate their parents. There are many other factors than your job.

 

[-Goose-]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? - 11
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty? - best specialty in medicine. seriously. nothing else comes close. derm is nice but damn it was so boring.
3. What's the best part of your job? - making a tangible and often immediate improvement in patients lives. challenging cases.
4.What is one thing you would change about your job? - nothing.
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? - i like my hours. 50 - 60 hours per week.
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? - yes.
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? academic but productivity based.
8. Which state do you practice in? who cares.
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? yes
10. Would you choose orthopedics again? without question.
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? msk radiology? i don't know. honestly something outside of medicine.
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? without question, orthopaedics.
Anything else you can think of that would be helpful for students. Thank you!

 

[HBSlim]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? 10
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty? Improving quality of life as opposed to just prolonging life
3. What's the best part of your job? Making a tangible difference in people's lives every day. Playing with power tools in the OR.
4. What is one thing you would change about your job? Diabetic foot wounds. I never want to see another one
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? 60-90 hrs/wk, depends on the rotation (PGY-3). Relatively speaking I'm at a pretty benign program so I'd say I have a pretty good work-life balance.
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? It would be nice to be able to spend more time with my GF, but I can't complain too much.
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? I'm a resident at a mid-sized academic program. We spend time at the Level 1 trauma University hospital, VA, Children's Hospital, and private surgical hospital.
8. Which state do you practice in? Midwest
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? I wouldn't be against more money, but as a resident I am still in training and my pay reflects that.
10. Would you choose orthopedics again? Absolutely
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? I honestly wouldn't be in medicine if I couldn't do orthopedics. Gun to my head I guess I'd say anesthesia? Morning/afternoon breaks and a lunch break?! I could get used to that.
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? Orthopedics unless I'm trying to sound fancy

 

[EastSide]

Can we add more questions to the list of 12Q?

13. Are you a resident or attending? If a resident, what year are you in?
14. Do you have a family? Wife a stay-home mom? If not, how do you manage to raise kids with a +80hour scheduled week?
15. Worth getting an MBA for the possibility of opening up a clinic?
16. Is this a D.O friendly specialty? Have you seen D.O colleagues use OMM on a pt?
17. Did you ever experience burn-outs? If so, how did you overcome them?

 

[VincentAdultman]

1. Are you happy working in orthopedic surgery (0-10)? 10
2. What is your main reason for choosing orthopedics as your specialty? Instant gratification with procedures, cool surgeries, comraderie of residents at my med school ie they most "seemed like me"
3. What's the best part of your job? Operating, namely the variance in the type of cases I do.
4.What is one thing you would change about your job? More operating
5. Do you like your hours and how many hours do you work/week? Approx 50 hrs per week, varying if I am on call.
6. Do you feel like you have enough time with your family? Yes.
7. Do you work in an academic center, private practice, etc? Private, hospital employed.
8. Which state do you practice in? NY
9. Do you feel you are fairly compensated? No, but no one does.
10. Would you choose orthopedics again? Yes.
11. If you HAD to choose a different specialty, what would it be and why? I guess radiology because interventional does some pretty cool stuff.
12. Orthopedics or orthopaedics? Orthopaedics but Im really pretentious.
Anything else you can think of that would be helpful for students. Thank you!