Classmate's dad telling her not to go into anesthesiology

[GoodmanBrown]

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Was chatting with a classmate the other day and came to find out her dad's an anesthesiologist. He's actively saying she shouldn't go into the specialty. He works in a small, rural hospital with 1 other full-time anesthesiologist and 1 locums. Call is 1:3. Non-call days end between noon and 8pm. Feels he works all the time.

Previous jobs were at a bigger hospital where he apparenantly worked even more and a surg-center which was by most accounts an amazing job (home by 5 every day), but closed due to financial issues.

Should I consider his experience a warning? I'm limited to about 2 states and want a rural setting. Would I be 1:3 at 60 years old?

 

[baily34]

Your signature line pretty much sums up how I feel about picking a specialty.

 

[iwumd07]

Was chatting with a classmate the other day and came to find out her dad's an anesthesiologist. He's actively saying she shouldn't go into the specialty. He works in a small, rural hospital with 1 other full-time anesthesiologist and 1 locums. Call is 1:3. Non-call days end between noon and 8pm. Feels he works all the time.

Previous jobs were at a bigger hospital where he apparenantly worked even more and a surg-center which was by most accounts an amazing job (home by 5 every day), but closed due to financial issues.

Should I consider his experience a warning? I'm limited to about 2 states and want a rural setting. Would I be 1:3 at 60 years old?

Do your research when it comes to getting a job after residency. You can work as much or as little as you want, usually depending how much $$ you want to make and where you want to live. Life is all about balance. Find that which is right for you. Don't let one person's choices affect your decision about your future.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Do your research when it comes to getting a job after residency. You can work as much or as little as you want, usually depending how much $$ you want to make and where you want to live. Life is all about balance. Find that which is right for you. Don't let one person's choices affect your decision about your future.

I guess I technically understand that, but it's easier said than done sometimes. If I'm limited in my range, what are the chances the situation I want won't be available? Anesthesiology relies on so many other factors that you can't really make your own situation.

 

[sevo85288]

That's fine. Don't go in to anesthesia. More jobs for me. 🙂

 

[GoodmanBrown]

That's fine. Don't go in to anesthesia. More jobs for me. 🙂

Even if I go into anesthesiology, we probably won't be competing for a job for 15 years or so. And then, only if you're interested in jobs in rural PA. So, I think we're both safe. 🙂

 

[pgg]

We'll never have it as good as the old timers, either in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars per hour worked, or the hassle of midlevel encroachment, or the overall acuity of our patients.

That doesn't mean that anesthesiology isn't STILL a fantastic specialty, just that we'll work harder and get paid less than our predecessors. It's still great work and good pay. Everything's relative.

Should I consider his experience a warning? I'm limited to about 2 states and want a rural setting. Would I be 1:3 at 60 years old?

Which states? How much money do you want? How do you plan to live?

I occasionally work with an older surgeon who pulls insane hours. In the OR 3 days/week plus 5 PM add-ons most other days and scheduled cases every single weekend. Old, and tired, and broke. And there's a reason why he's broke and still working, and it has nothing to do with surgery or medicine.


Seriously, the anesthesiologist with that rural 1:3 job has got to be making a killing. If he's 60, then he's been an anesthesiologist through all the boom years. If he's still working because he HAS to, he's an idiot. Maybe he's trading in a new $80,000 car every year or supporting a boat habit or a stable of ex-wives.

The next 30 years in the United States are going to be interesting. There are lots of things I worry about in the grand scheme of things, but my specialty choice isn't one of them. My neighbor two doors down abandoned their house about a year ago. A couple weeks ago the bank taped a foreclosure notice to the door. Medicine is still a good gig, and anesthesia still offers the same advantages in clinic-free, procedural, one patient at a time, social work free, personally rewarding work it always has, with superb job security and high pay.


Just out of curiosity, did that classmate's dad suggest any other specialties?

 

[Southpaw]

Was chatting with a classmate the other day and came to find out her dad's an anesthesiologist. He's actively saying she shouldn't go into the specialty. He works in a small, rural hospital with 1 other full-time anesthesiologist and 1 locums. Call is 1:3. Non-call days end between noon and 8pm. Feels he works all the time.

Previous jobs were at a bigger hospital where he apparenantly worked even more and a surg-center which was by most accounts an amazing job (home by 5 every day), but closed due to financial issues.

Should I consider his experience a warning? I'm limited to about 2 states and want a rural setting. Would I be 1:3 at 60 years old?

Sounds like he does work all the time, but it's really hard for me to believe he has no say in the matter. How far out are you from selecting a specialty and applying? There are a lot of great things about this field, but continuing to stay in house after residency isn't one of them. If your concern is lifestyle, there are certainly better choices. If in the end you decide this field excites you and makes you want to learn more continuously, then you should pursue it for those reasons and all the ones pgg listed.

 

[Narcotized]

Was chatting with a classmate the other day and came to find out her dad's an anesthesiologist. He's actively saying she shouldn't go into the specialty.

OH NO!!!! Not the dreaded warning from classmate's dad!!! Quick, I better call up the acgme and get information on residency in a different specialty!!!!!

 

[BLADEMDA]

We'll never have it as good as the old timers, either in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars per hour worked, or the hassle of midlevel encroachment, or the overall acuity of our patients.

That doesn't mean that anesthesiology isn't STILL a fantastic specialty, just that we'll work harder and get paid less than our predecessors. It's still great work and good pay. Everything's relative.




Which states? How much money do you want? How do you plan to live?

I occasionally work with an older surgeon who pulls insane hours. In the OR 3 days/week plus 5 PM add-ons most other days and scheduled cases every single weekend. Old, and tired, and broke. And there's a reason why he's broke and still working, and it has nothing to do with surgery or medicine.


Seriously, the anesthesiologist with that rural 1:3 job has got to be making a killing. If he's 60, then he's been an anesthesiologist through all the boom years. If he's still working because he HAS to, he's an idiot. Maybe he's trading in a new $80,000 car every year or supporting a boat habit or a stable of ex-wives.

The next 30 years in the United States are going to be interesting. There are lots of things I worry about in the grand scheme of things, but my specialty choice isn't one of them. My neighbor two doors down abandoned their house about a year ago. A couple weeks ago the bank taped a foreclosure notice to the door. Medicine is still a good gig, and anesthesia still offers the same advantages in clinic-free, procedural, one patient at a time, social work free, personally rewarding work it always has, with superb job security and high pay.


Just out of curiosity, did that classmate's dad suggest any other specialties?

Ex-Wives probably cost easily in excess of $1 mil each. Nothing will make you broke like 1 or 2 ex-wives.

 

[cfdavid]

Ex-Wives probably cost easily in excess of $1 mil each. Nothing will make you broke like 1 or 2 ex-wives.

Dudes, the woman you marry will either be the very best or very worst investment of your lives. The ramifications of marrying and then reproducing with someone are just staggering....... I say this as a relatively older hold-out because I'm just not into liabilities.

I'm not anti-marriage, btw..... Seriously.😀

Cheers!

cf

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

What's the procedure involved in annulments?? Or is this something only the super rich do?

 

[Ronin2258]

Ex-Wives probably cost easily in excess of $1 mil each. Nothing will make you broke like 1 or 2 ex-wives.

One ex-wife is a Lovecraftian terror in itself. Two?! Forget it.

Dudes, the woman you marry will either be the very best or very worst investment of your lives. The ramifications of marrying and then reproducing with someone are just staggering....... I say this as a relatively older hold-out because I'm just not into liabilities.

I'm not anti-marriage, btw..... Seriously.😀

Cheers!

cf

I have had enough diggers trying to latch on, and then drop me when they find out that the money is a few years away. If they aren't hanging around to deal with me and residency and the hard knocks and stress that happens, I have two words for them: Prenuptial agreement.

Even if they do hang with me, it is a serious consideration. Been burned enough as it is. (nothing involving alimony or attorneys, thank the gods.)

 

[pgg]

What's the procedure involved in annulments?? Or is this something only the super rich do?

Prenuptial agreements, or murder if television can be trusted.

 

[jwk]

I'm limited to about 2 states.

Why?

 

[jennyboo]

Fathers always tell their daughters things like this. My dad told me not to become a dentist because of business issues. Turns out after working in dentistry for twenty-five years, he loved doing it.

I tell my significant other all about the downsides of anesthesiology. It doesn't mean I don't love my job.

 

[GoodmanBrown]

I appreciate all the good thoughts.

Which states? How much money do you want? How do you plan to live?

Just out of curiosity, did that classmate's dad suggest any other specialties?

Central PA and VA, probably 2ish hours away from any major cities like Pitt, Philly, and DC. The range could be a bit bigger, but not by much.

Money-wise, I'm super easy. I'd be happy to take one of those "mommy track" jobs where I'd earn in the high 100's or low 200's and work minimal call, or work locums. However, I don't think those jobs set you up incredibly well for the future as you're the first guy cut when times are tight. Additionally, if I need to move, I don't think it impresses the people who would be hiring you for your next job.

Living-wise, I plan to live frugally. If I get a job that earns me in excess of $150K/yr, I'd like to save 50% and put that towards loans, investments, and savings. I don't really have expensive hobbies or tastes, and my wife and I have lived comfortably on significantly less than that.

My classmate's interested in FM actually, as it's very 9-5 with home call. Not sure if her dad is really recommending that or just her natural inclination.

The rural hospital can be a sweet deal or miserable depending on the setup. -Small rural hospitals tend to have small departments and lots of call.
-Call intensity is everything.
-OB is often the bane of one's existence in the small rural facility.
-Some rural hospitals are desperate for work and will allow any case any time. i.e. surgeons routinely starting to operate on elective cases after office hours, weekends. Of course there is lots of time during the middle of the day. Some administrators clamp down on their surgeons doing this. Some don't. I know of one incident at a rural hospital where the OB called the team in for a tubal at 3 am immediately post vaginal delivery because they were leaving town the next day and wanted to get it done.

Thanks for the thoughts. From the little I heard, this does seem to be the norm at this guy's hospital. I guess my worry is that if your range is limited, you might get stuck at that crazy hospital because it's the only job within 100 miles.

Sounds like he does work all the time, but it's really hard for me to believe he has no say in the matter. How far out are you from selecting a specialty and applying? There are a lot of great things about this field, but continuing to stay in house after residency isn't one of them. If your concern is lifestyle, there are certainly better choices. If in the end you decide this field excites you and makes you want to learn more continuously, then you should pursue it for those reasons and all the ones pgg listed.

I'm a ways out. I'm actually just in my 1st year. My school's big on research though, and pushing us to line up research for the summer, so I'm at least trying to find a field or two that's interesting.

That's a good point about having to work that hard at 60. I have no knowledge of his financial situation, so I wouldn't want to speak to it. It does seem like he wants to spend more time at home, but can't. Not sure about specifics of why though.

OH NO!!!! Not the dreaded warning from classmate's dad!!! Quick, I better call up the acgme and get information on residency in a different specialty!!!!!

But Narc, I make all my important life decisions based on second-hand information from classmates' fathers and SDN posters! 😉

Why?

Wanna live reasonably close to the in-laws. Happy wife = happy life. I'm a bit older, and I'll (hopefully) have a kid by the time I start residency and maybe another 1-2 by the time I get my first attending job. So, we want to live close to family.