General/Ortho Trauma; is it possible to work 40-50 hours on a reduced salary?

[Jack08]

Always been afraid of asking this question as I figured I'd be ridiculed .... but here it goes:

I'm a 2nd year med student now (MD state program). Fiance is a Dermatology resident. Since before med school I've wanted to be a trauma surgeon, still debating general vs ortho route though. She consistently tries to talk me out of surgery due to the lifestyle. So my question is as follows:

After residency/fellowship is over, is it even an option at hospitals & clinics that I apply at to request to work only 40-50 hours a week at a greatly reduced salary rate? (Still on call, willing to come in on any night they need me, but on average only working 40-50 totals per week.) Is this even a possibility in the real world?

Thanks mates.

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[ACSurgeon]

Always been afraid of asking this question as I figured I'd be ridiculed .... but here it goes:

I'm a 2nd year med student now (MD state program). Fiance is a Dermatology resident. Since before med school I've wanted to be a trauma surgeon, still debating general vs ortho route though. She consistently tries to talk me out of surgery due to the lifestyle. So my question is as follows:

After residency/fellowship is over, is it even an option at hospitals & clinics that I apply at to request to work only 40-50 hours a week at a greatly reduced salary rate? (Still on call, willing to come in on any night they need me, but on average only working 40-50 totals per week.) Is this even a possibility in the real world?

Thanks mates.

I think my general trauma staff probably work 40-50 hours/week on average. Some weeks a lot more but some a lot less. They average about 14-15 clinical days a month, with a week of admin duties and about a week off...

The lifestyle problem isn't the total hours worked per month. It's the variability in scheduling/call and back up call. If you have a lot 8-5 friends who are always off nights and weekends, it makes arranging social events a little hard when you have sometimes two weeks of a lot of call/back up call and can't commit to things. That might not sound like a big deal now, but once you're older and have kids and most of you're friends have a ton of free time (vs now and residency all your colleagues are constantly busy), you'll notice how much the lifestyle bites, even if the average remains at 50 hrs/week

 

[Jack08]

I think my general trauma staff probably work 40-50 hours/week on average. Some weeks a lot more but some a lot less. They average about 14-15 clinical days a month, with a week of admin duties and about a week off...

The lifestyle problem isn't the total hours worked per month. It's the variability in scheduling/call and back up call. If you have a lot 8-5 friends who are always off nights and weekends, it makes arranging social events a little hard when you have sometimes two weeks of a lot of call/back up call and can't commit to things. That might not sound like a big deal now, but once you're older and have kids and most of you're friends have a ton of free time (vs now and residency all your colleagues are constantly busy), you'll notice how much the lifestyle bites, even if the average remains at 50 hrs/week

Wonderful answer. Thank you.

 

[GregsAnatomy]

It really depends on the practice situation. By the way, here in the U.S. trauma surgery and ortho trauma are two COMPLETELY different specialties. For trauma surgeons there are tons of different practice models out there but it is really moving towards the shiftwork model. I had two different job offers where your contract stipulated you were to work 180 12-hour shifts per year. So basically one week on one week off type schedule.

 

[Brahnold Bloodaxe]

It really depends on the practice situation. By the way, here in the U.S. trauma surgery and ortho trauma are two COMPLETELY different specialties. For trauma surgeons there are tons of different practice models out there but it is really moving towards the shiftwork model. I had two different job offers where your contract stipulated you were to work 180 12-hour shifts per year. So basically one week on one week off type schedule.

Is contract work possible? As in working a specified number of shifts for 3 months, take a long vacation, then sign another short term contract..etc

 

[joker2400]

Is contract work possible? As in working a specified number of shifts for 3 months, take a long vacation, then sign another short term contract..etc

Not really feasible in ortho trauma. That requires relatively long followup on your patients

 

[Winged Scapula]

Is contract work possible? As in working a specified number of shifts for 3 months, take a long vacation, then sign another short term contract..etc

What you're talking about is locum tenens work. It is available in most specialties, even surgical ones, but is not conducive to "family life" as you are often moving across the country from job to job (i.e., can't uproot the kids and change schools every few weeks); you may also find that its a bit stressful trying to find positions, move especially if you have geographic restrictions.

 

[Follow the Cairns]

I think it's very possible to have reasonable work hours and a decent quality of life as an Orthopedic or General surgeon. I say that because my husband is an Ortho sub specialist (though not Ortho Trauma) and he works about 45-50 hour weeks. And he's been in practice 9 years. In 3 different cities. In a small private practice, in a large academic practice and now in a hospital employed practice. So, we have been in a variety of practice and compensation models, and none of them have been any more than that 50 hour per week threshold, on average. He's on call usually 1 week (M-F) per month and one weekend every 5-6 weeks. And even with those work hours, his compensation is right around 50th percentile for his subspecialty.

So, yes, it can be done, and done easily, as long as you have a good practice arrangement and decent partners and colleagues. OTOH, if you want to be one of those guys who still works 70 hour weeks after training, those opportunities probably abound as well.

And, yes, I realize Trauma surgery is a different animal, but we know several Ortho trauma guys, and judging by their social media posts, they have plenty of time to enjoy their lives.