MD & DO Happiest Doctors

[DasNotRacist]

Which types of doctors are truly happy? That doesn’t just include specialty, but type of practice setting, compensation, autonomy, work life balance, personality type, etc

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[Govols22]

Specialties with better lifestyles in general tend to breed less stressful and happier people. There is a reason most of the OBGYN’s I know are in a more stressed and tired mood than say the average pediatrician for example. The reality is unless you absolutely enjoy working more than anything else, you are probably going to have a more enjoyable life working a 8-5 with weekends off than working 6:30PM-8AM 6 days a week in labor and delivery. With that said the happiest people are the people who do what they love and who genuinely enjoy going to work. A lot of it changes after residency, as you can also choose a better lifestyle and sacrifice your income and work less hours. There’s a reason fields like PM and R are growing in popularity, people fear burnout.

 

[kopftonmd]

Work me less, pay me more, and I will inevitably be happier.

Always ask yourself, "What would Marx say?"

 

[flapjack3d]

M4 here so limited experience but have rotated through many specialties. I chose the one to go into with the happiest doctors I found. Meetings with PMR docs have always been like “at the end of the day we have to remember why we’re all here and that’s to make long lasting friendships [between physicians] and make a difference in our patients’ lives” or something else nice like that. N=1 but convinced me!

 

[deleted480308]

Which types of doctors are truly happy? That doesn’t just include specialty, but type of practice setting, compensation, autonomy, work life balance, personality type, etc

I think it’s the people who set reasonable expectations for what they want from life and do that....some want to be in the or 40hrs a week before clinic, some want to work only 30hrs/wk total, some want to publish every month, some just want to go rural and chase cash.

but you don’t get to have all the things, so pick reasonable goals. You don’t get to be at every soccer practice for your kid, publish every week, make 900k and live in a 6000sqft home in Manhattan

 

[thumbz]

Hospitalist here - I love going to work, love what I do and love the people I work with. I honestly couldn't be happier. Compare that to the multitude of miserable hospitalists. There's no one size fits all - as mentioned above it'll depend on you and what you want out of life.

We have a couple of PM&R docs here who seem absolutely miserable, so it really is not specialty dependent.

 

[bananafish94]

I think the happiest doctors are the ones who go into the field that best matches their goals and desires in life. If you know that time outside of work, being present at every school event, etc. are extremely important to you, going into neurosurgery is probably going to create some internal conflict. If you feel like you're best suited for a high-octane stressful environment with longer hours, working in an outpatient clinic might burn you out more than doing 100 hour weeks in a surgical specialty. That's why it's so important to really critically evaluate every rotation you are on in medical school and pay close attention to what you think you can see yourself doing for decades down the line.

 

[Tenk]

The happiest doctors are the ones that don’t get divorced.

 

[odyssey2]

The happiest doctors are the ones that don’t get divorced.

Can’t get divorced if you never get married

 

[Tenk]

Can’t get divorced if you never get married

This is true as well. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Hospitalist here - I love going to work, love what I do and love the people I work with. I honestly couldn't be happier. Compare that to the multitude of miserable hospitalists. There's no one size fits all - as mentioned above it'll depend on you and what you want out of life.

We have a couple of PM&R docs here who seem absolutely miserable, so it really is not specialty dependent.

That's amazing to hear - how/when did you realize that being a hospitalist was for you? I'm only a M1, but a hospitalist job has always seemed appealing to me.

 

[Splenda88]

I think it’s the people who set reasonable expectations for what they want from life and do that....some want to be in the or 40hrs a week before clinic, some want to work only 30hrs/wk total, some want to publish every month, some just want to go rural and chase cash.

but you don’t get to have all the things, so pick reasonable goals. You don’t get to be at every soccer practice for your kid, publish every week, make 900k and live in a 6000sqft home in Manhattan

I think these are reasonable...

 

[Damson]

This is true as well. Different strokes for different folks.

Never heard that expression before. Thanks.

Which types of doctors are truly happy? That doesn’t just include specialty, but type of practice setting, compensation, autonomy, work life balance, personality type, etc

I second what the veterans said above, but also review medscape physician lifestyle & happiness report

 

[thumbz]

That's amazing to hear - how/when did you realize that being a hospitalist was for you? I'm only a M1, but a hospitalist job has always seemed appealing to me.

I went through all of med school thinking I wanted to do outpatient IM (pregnant ladies and kids are terrifying to me). After intern year of resident clinic my mind was changed and I saw the sweet light of being a hospitalist. I tell people my job is basically to solve complex puzzles in people who are sick, and I get the satisfaction of watching them get better (usually) up until I kick them out the door. It's very rewarding for me. And I work in BFE so I don't just run a service of subspecialists.

 

[CliveStaples]

I'm happy when I don't have to work too much. 120 hours per month and I'm sitting pretty; could do this job until I'm 60. 160 hours per month and all of a sudden I'm snappy with people. The important thing is to not depend on working more than is healthy for you.

 

[Chelsea FC]

People saying pm&r I would agree with them but they also do rank pretty low on the job satisfaction surveys that go out. The theory is that people go into it wishing for plenty money and relaxation and end up disappointed when they see the negatives of the field.

 

[Damson]

Hospitalist/FM FTW!

 

[Laradd]

So long that you love the profession, you will be happy ever.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

This is true as well. Different strokes for different folks.

Literally

 

[YeOleBoneWiz]

Probably the one that attracts the most content people