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Hi all,
undecided MS3 looking for advice on (possibly) entering EM, as I do not know many residents or attendings in the field
I am drawn to everything about the actual work of EM and found that I fit in with people in the field more than any other. My kryptonite is I hate overnights and changes in schedule. I am one that likes a regular routine schedule- not necessarily while at work (I like the randomness of the ER), but as far as when to go to work, sleep, and such. I also have concerns about family life with some of the horror EM schedules I hear of (never seeing kids), because having time for family is very important to me. My s/o is a peds resident and will therefore have normal hours. With that being said, as an undecided M3, everyone keeps telling me to "do what interests you the most" and "do the field you would be happiest in". When I sit back and think about the type of physician and work I would like to be doing, EM fits this perfectly in many ways- acuity, procedures, knowing a little about everything, helping to (directly) save lives, culture and people in ED... I even like the psych and drug overdose patients that so many in the field of EM complain about! I just dont know if i can live with such an erratic schedule for the rest of my career 🙁
I am not as concerned about pay as many others, so I would be happy to take a pay cut if I obtained more normal hours, but is this even possible right out of residency? Some people have told me you can work mainly day shifts after years of "putting in your time". I know I will have to go through this schedule during residency, which is fine and I believe i would handle it ok for 3 exciting years.
I guess my main question is: is it possible to have more "normal work hours" if i am willing to take a pay cut? I fear that the scheduling in the field will make me dislike it in the future and regret not going into something different, but at the same time i dont know if id have that feeling of accomplishment in another field. This concern is huge, so if it has that big of an impact on me, should I disregard EM?
Avoid EM like the plague.
"At 27%, EM physicians ranked fifth from the bottom in happiness at work (either very or extremely happy at work), and less content than they were in 2014 (36%)..."
Medscape Emergency Medicine Lifestyle Report 2016
Plus, as an EM, you are likely to be employed by a medical group, which means you are no better than a monkey on a chain. EmCare comes to mind - they are an evil company. Many medical groups are no better than Hospital Corporation of America: greedy, greedy, greedy businesses.
An ER physician friend told me something last year that really put it in perspective for me. He said it joking but it was too true: "We practice our ABCs: Airway, Breathing, CT Scan"
if the greed, jadedness and addiction won't kill you, the EM patient surveys skewering you, followed by admins running up to bend you over because of the poor patient surveys, will.
You asked
You can cry doom and gloom all you want but you're describing medicines current state over all. Compensation is falling, work load is rising, hospital systems are consolidating and reimbursements are stagnant and may fall. I'm not talking for EM. I'm talking for all fields. Cruise ANY forum here.... anesthesia, path, derm, optho.... there is always some sky falling.
To the OP, no matter what you do in medicine you have to love it. I've said it before in posts and I'll say it again, ANY job is 10% amazing and reminds you why u love the job, 10% terrible and u question ever going in to it and 80% mundane day in and day out stuff that has to hold some meaning to you. The schedule stuff sorts itself out
Make sure you check with the EM programs because this answer may differ between EM programs.Thank you all for the responses! I am a rising 4th year. I understand that you need to obtain SLOEs instead of the traditional LORs, but how many do you need? Do you need 3 or can you have two SLOEs, and one strong LOR from another physician or PI?
You can cry doom and gloom all you want but you're describing medicines current state over all. Compensation is falling, work load is rising, hospital systems are consolidating and reimbursements are stagnant and may fall"
To the OP, no matter what you do in medicine you have to love it.
I agree with everything you said except the "have to love it part". What if you love no work out there? Then you don't work? I love my significant other, do I love work? F*** no. Loving their work is only a phrase that really bodes well with like 10% of working people in general. It's ideal but not even close to being obtainable to everyone.
Nope. Not even close.
More U.S. workers are satisfied with their jobs than at any time since 2005, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) announced today. perhaps its a generational thing:
- 88% of U.S. employees reported overall satisfaction with their current job, marking the highest level of satisfaction over the last decade.
Source: SHRM/2016
Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement
Job Satisfaction by Generation
Baby Boomers > Generation X > Millennials in that order express job satisfaction
Source: SHRM/2016
Vocation, vocation, vocation....
Thank you all for the responses! I am a rising 4th year. I understand that you need to obtain SLOEs instead of the traditional LORs, but how many do you need? Do you need 3 or can you have two SLOEs, and one strong LOR from another physician or PI?