Best Specialities for Active People

[The Knife & Gun Club]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm a current highschool junior and even though med school is a long way off, I wanted to start preparing now. I plan to be a pediatric neuro-oncologist. Serious answers only please.

jk jk 😉

More just out a general curiosity I was wondering what specialities tend to be relatively physically active? Basically just a higher proportion of the time on your feet, walking around, maybe doing some procedures and stuff...as opposed to spending most of your time at a desk using a computer.

Things that come to mind as relatively sedentary would be like diagnostic rads or some general primary care stuff (correct me if im wrong).

And more active would be like EM, critical care, or surgery?

Any others?

Edit: Please dont roast me alive I know this is kinda a random question

 

[mistafab]

This was sort of posted in the Medscape "Physician Lifestyle Report" year 2014. Unfortunately, the newer years focus primarily on burnout and not lifestyle.

Here is an image from that report:

So, though not exercise, 1/overweight is a good proxy. Looks like derm, ophtho, and plastics are the fittest.

Go figure

 

[673441]

This was sort of posted in the Medscape "Physician Lifestyle Report" year 2014. Unfortunately, the newer years focus primarily on burnout and not lifestyle.

Here is an image from that report:

So, though not exercise, 1/overweight is a good proxy. Looks like derm, ophtho, and plastics are the fittest.

Go figure

More money = less stress = more happiness = trophy wife = sex = less cortisol = more dopamine = less fat


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Brahnold Bloodaxe]

Derm and plastics are "fittest" because part of what they're selling is themselves.

 

[Terry Toma]

Wilderness medicine? I admittedly don't know a thing about the field, but with a name like "wilderness medicine," it has to involve some kind of physical activity, right?

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

As someone interested in general surgery, I must say:

 

[Zebra Hunter]

If you want fast paced, EM is the way to go. During a busy shift I'm probably only sitting down for max 10-15 min at a time. I love constantly having something to do. I don't do well with down time.

 

[Smurfette]

Moving this to hSDN.

Edit : never mind.

 

[Zebra Hunter]

Moving this to hSDN.

You realize OP was joking, right? Unless this is some next level ish.

 

[Mad Jack]

Derm and plastics are "fittest" because part of what they're selling is themselves.

And CC is amongst the least fit because you don't exactly get to choose when you're going to try and up and ****ing die lol. Also, dat horrible lifestyle...

 

[Mad Jack]

Moving this to hSDN.

OP is a college student, I believe a junior, but maybe a sophomore.

Anyway, I'd say EM if you want to stay busy- constantly up and moving from room to room, lots of time off to stay fit. And ortho, of course, is full of the broest bros that ever bro'ed. Gotta have a 1,000 lb total in the big lifts to even get an interview if the rumors are true. But really, any field with more time off will be conducive to staying active because the most active you will be is time outside of the hospital. Look up the Medscape lifstyle studies, they've actually got a lot of info on which fields are the most active.

 

[Smurfette]

You realize OP was joking, right? Unless this is some next level ish.

I was multitasking while on call and interpreted the j/k to be for only the peds neuro onc part and not the being in HS part.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Haha sorry I guess that joke was less funny than expected. To be clear I'm starting med school at the fall, and am neither a high school nor college student lol.

@Mad Jack I though CC was similar to EM in terms of lifestyle/time off versus on?

I was more trying to get at specialties that are more active while working in the hospital. Stuff like EM where your on your feet the majority of the time.

 

[Mad Jack]

Haha sorry I guess that joke was less funny than expected. To be clear I'm starting med school at the fall, and am neither a high school nor college student lol.

@Mad Jack I though CC was similar to EM in terms of lifestyle/time off versus on?

I was more trying to get at specialties that are more active while working in the hospital. Stuff like EM where your on your feet the majority of the time.

CC is one of the most lifestyle-averse fields out there. You're usually on call for your patients a substantial amount of the time.

 

[Salt Salt]

This was sort of posted in the Medscape "Physician Lifestyle Report" year 2014. Unfortunately, the newer years focus primarily on burnout and not lifestyle.

Here is an image from that report:

So, though not exercise, 1/overweight is a good proxy. Looks like derm, ophtho, and plastics are the fittest.

Go figure

This is a good idea, although there are newer years and in fact they actually ask about exercise habits directly (which is different from 1/overweight—I remember that psychiatrists were nearly an outlier in terms of how little exercise they got, but as you can see in your own chart, not as many were overweight).

Of course, being on your feet at work is different from exercise habits and overall heaviness.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[graviton]

Looks like derm, ophtho, and plastics are the fittest.

More like derm, optho and plastics don't even lift.

 

[IlDestriero]

An anesthesiologist covering 4 busy CRNAs may not sit down much all day.


--
Il Destriero

 

[mistafab]

You are right that they ask about exercise habits. What is weird, and likely due to the buzz about burnout, is that they don't ask those questions on a specialty by specialty basis.

You are right about how 1/heaviness =/= exercise, it was just a decent proxy and an interesting graph to look at and speculate about.

This is a good idea, although there are newer years and in fact they actually ask about exercise habits directly (which is different from 1/overweight—I remember that psychiatrists were nearly an outlier in terms of how little exercise they got, but as you can see in your own chart, not as many were overweight).

Of course, being on your feet at work is different from exercise habits and overall heaviness.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

LOL loved this pic. I was also completely surprised when I saw gen surg topping the charts.

As someone interested in general surgery, I must say:

 

[ofthesaints]

More money = less stress = more happiness = trophy wife = sex = less cortisol = more dopamine = less fat


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

I wanted to agree with your equation here, but more money does not always equal less stess.

 

[Rekt]

I wanted to agree with your equation here, but more money does not always equal less stess.

If you're responsible it does.

 

[Stagg737]

I think it somewhat depends on your work environment as well. If you did FM and really focused on something like sports med you would potentially be doing a lot more physical exams and treatment on people than just taking history, while some FMs I shadowed pretty much just sat there for 90% or more of the patient interview. So you could potentially cater your job to what you want to do if you went into private practice or found the right niche.

If you want fast paced, EM is the way to go. During a busy shift I'm probably only sitting down for max 10-15 min at a time. I love constantly having something to do. I don't do well with down time.

Doesn't this vary a lot though? I know a level 1 center would probably be pretty crazy, but the place I used to volunteer at the docs spent a pretty significant part of their day sitting around, and another place I did a shift at we literally saw 5 people in 8 hours and it was a "pretty typical day shift". I'm sure the latter is very uncommon for EM, but aren't there a good number of locations that aren't nearly as active as the one you're mentioning?

And ortho, of course, is full of the broest bros that ever bro'ed. Gotta have a 1,000 lb total in the big lifts to even get an interview if the rumors are true.

That and there's a minimum bench cut-off at 1.5x your body weight. 2x if you want to be competitive.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

I'm sure the latter is very uncommon for EM, but aren't there a good number of locations that aren't nearly as active as the one you're mentioning?

Yes, but even your average ED is going to get slammed with fair regularity. Mondays and christmas time come to mind.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Ortho trauma surgery?!

 

[Gambler 101]

I was clocking 8 miles/day on surgery call days. There's hardly anytime to sit, and you round on 40-50 patients in 1.5 hours. Then, you stand for hours in awkward positions retracting. I found myself exhausted by the end of the day.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Tenk]

You get fit outdoors or in the gym. Not in a hospital. Any specialty can get you there, the only factor in the equation is YOU!

 

[njtrimed]

I'm a current highschool junior and even though med school is a long way off, I wanted to start preparing now. I plan to be a pediatric neuro-oncologist. Serious answers only please.

jk jk 😉

More just out a general curiosity I was wondering what specialities tend to be relatively physically active? Basically just a higher proportion of the time on your feet, walking around, maybe doing some procedures and stuff...as opposed to spending most of your time at a desk using a computer.

Things that come to mind as relatively sedentary would be like diagnostic rads or some general primary care stuff (correct me if im wrong).

And more active would be like EM, critical care, or surgery?

Any others?

Edit: Please dont roast me alive I know this is kinda a random question

I clock 5-9 miles a day working in the OR. Then again, I'm the low man on the totem pole whose job it is to make sure we're not missing any supplies for every case, bringing everything to central, and scrubbing in on a dozen cases every day. Intellectually, it's easier but more tedious than a surgeon's job, but I can't compare it physically until I'm rounding as a med student or resident. I can say this: the surgeons I work with seem to be on the go all the time, between the office and doing cases at usually multiple hospitals and their surgical center.

 

[WingedOx]

You get fit outdoors or in the gym. Not in a hospital.

Seriously. "running around the hospital" for work isn't going to get you in shape. Particularly given the diet choices that come with specialties that require such activity.

 

[mpdoc2]

I'm a current highschool junior and even though med school is a long way off, I wanted to start preparing now. I plan to be a pediatric neuro-oncologist. Serious answers only please.

jk jk 😉

More just out a general curiosity I was wondering what specialities tend to be relatively physically active? Basically just a higher proportion of the time on your feet, walking around, maybe doing some procedures and stuff...as opposed to spending most of your time at a desk using a computer.

Things that come to mind as relatively sedentary would be like diagnostic rads or some general primary care stuff (correct me if im wrong).

And more active would be like EM, critical care, or surgery?

Any others?

Edit: Please dont roast me alive I know this is kinda a random question

I would start by picking a different specialty because pediatric neuro-oncology doesn't exist.

 

[WingedOx]

I would start by picking a different specialty because pediatric neuro-oncology doesn't exist.

sigh... how are physicians getting through residency without passing their mandatory training in recognizing internet sarcasm?

 

[mpdoc2]

sigh... how are physicians getting through residency without passing their mandatory training in recognizing internet sarcasm?

Maybe because they have a life outside of SDN/ internet. How do you have the time to write 4000 posts? Also most don't consider a psychiatry residency a real residency 😛

 

[WingedOx]

Ironically enough, most of my posts have been from my early days as an attending as I waited for my outpatient clinic to fill up... But I'm also not going to apologize for our wonderful PG3-4 schedules as residents. I knocked 30 seconds of my 1 mile PR during PGY-4. 😀

/also, I'm on call this weekend, so I would appreciate if "real" doctors could recognize uncomplicated delirium in their own patients, thank you.

 

[mpdoc2]

Ironically enough, most of my posts have been from my early days as an attending as I waited for my outpatient clinic to fill up... But I'm also not going to apologize for our wonderful PG3-4 schedules as residents. I knocked 30 seconds of my 1 mile PR during PGY-4. 😀

/also, I'm on call this weekend, so I would appreciate if "real" doctors could recognize uncomplicated delirium in their own patients, thank you.

The only time I consult a psychiatrist is to sign off on the capacity issue. That way the liability can be on them as opposed to on me 🙂