I would appreciate having a life...

[Flobber]

Does anyone know whether or not its possible to do an IM residency, specialize (in something like cards or GI) and actually be around to have a normal family life? Provided I don't have the uber-grades to land a derm residency... is my best shot to go into FP? Not that that's a bad thing, I think FP would be great. Just curious about how much freedom in designing one's lifestyle there is after specializing.

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[doc05]

It is well known that once you've paid your dues in med school, residency, and fellowship, you can tailor your practice to your desired lifestyle. That said, this can be very hard to do in certain specialties: cardiology, surgery, ob, and many others.

some posters will disagree, and cite physicians they know who've been able to practice cards at 30 hours a week with a very generous on-call schedule, but this is not realistic. Keep in mind that in cardiology (even non-invasive), emergencies are non-predictable, and cannot be delayed. More importantly, your patients will want to see you at the hospital, not the ER docs. They will depend on your availability to see them in the office. Noone ever said cardiology was a lifestyle field...because it isn't.

That said, there are numerous specialties where you can have a normal family life, and you not necessarily limited to dermatology.

 

[Ross434]

It is well known that once you've paid your dues in med school, residency, and fellowship, you can tailor your practice to your desired lifestyle. That said, there are numerous specialties where you can have a normal family life, and you not necessarily limited to dermatology.

This is true, but its not that well known.