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My cousin is a GI specialist. He works 90-100 hours a week and takes call every other night. He has been practicing for 25 years and has only had two weeks of vacation. He has married 4 times and has six kids, although he firmly believes that he couldn't have possibly fathered his last child since he was taking call q1d at the time the wife apparently got pregnant. He rarely sees his kids and has actually seen his 10-year-old daughter only three times, four if you count the time she was sleeping.
Despite all these minor inconveniences, he loves his job. He loves the smell of poop and thinks that with a good rectal exam you can even diagnose thyroid disease. He is happy and extremely dedicated to his work and thinks that his only weakness is dozing off at dinner and behind the wheel (he was at one time thought to have narcolepsy which was later ruled out after they found out he was a gastroenterologist).
Despite all these minor inconveniences, he loves his job. He loves the smell of poop and thinks that with a good rectal exam you can even diagnose thyroid disease. He is happy and extremely dedicated to his work and thinks that his only weakness is dozing off at dinner and behind the wheel (he was at one time thought to have narcolepsy which was later ruled out after they found out he was a gastroenterologist).
DrKnowItAll said:
You forgot the most important part of the story... how much does he make???? Lifestyle is never complete without mentioning $$$. Does he make enough to support his 4 ex-wives, 6 kids and God-knows how many crashed cars?? If so, perhaps we can think about Gastroenterology...
Read the Sticky above about GI. In that thread, there is a link to a thread entitled "GI vs. Cardiology." That gives the best lifestyle description of GI since many people considering GI also weigh Cardiology.
GI has a great lifestyle relative to other IM subspecialties minus Allergy, Rheumatology and Endocrinology. This is the major reason GI has become more competitive than Cardiology recently. Their pay is quite good too. They earn just slightly less than interventional cardiologists but more than non-interventional cardiologists. It has become really competitive recently and people who would have matched in GI 3-4 years ago would have no chance today.
I suppose the only drawback to GI is it's image. It's not a very sexy field. It's much more impressive to tell people you are a cardiologist or an oncologist versus being a gastroenterologist. Many of you might find this trivial but you would be suprised. Many people choose cardiology over GI because of the image associated with cardiology and the intensity involved with the field. You can also become very rich in interventional cardiology particularly if you are willing to move to a smaller city. It's not uncommon for interventional cardiologists in tiny cities to earn well over a million dollars per year. I know one cardiologist in TX who is earning supposedly 2 million a year. I think that is only reason why GI hasn't completely eclipsed cardiology in terms of desire and competitiveness. Otherwise, GI has many advantages over cardiology.
GI has a great lifestyle relative to other IM subspecialties minus Allergy, Rheumatology and Endocrinology. This is the major reason GI has become more competitive than Cardiology recently. Their pay is quite good too. They earn just slightly less than interventional cardiologists but more than non-interventional cardiologists. It has become really competitive recently and people who would have matched in GI 3-4 years ago would have no chance today.
I suppose the only drawback to GI is it's image. It's not a very sexy field. It's much more impressive to tell people you are a cardiologist or an oncologist versus being a gastroenterologist. Many of you might find this trivial but you would be suprised. Many people choose cardiology over GI because of the image associated with cardiology and the intensity involved with the field. You can also become very rich in interventional cardiology particularly if you are willing to move to a smaller city. It's not uncommon for interventional cardiologists in tiny cities to earn well over a million dollars per year. I know one cardiologist in TX who is earning supposedly 2 million a year. I think that is only reason why GI hasn't completely eclipsed cardiology in terms of desire and competitiveness. Otherwise, GI has many advantages over cardiology.
Thank you. I am currently in the midst of my sub-I working 80 hours/week and haven't laughed in a while (I guess this is what residency will be like...
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I volunteer for a GI and don't get why everyone calls it a "lifestyle" specialty. He works his asssss off... and it's boring stuff. Can someone enlighten me?!... Thanks!
