Laziness vs lifestyle

[mdscuba]

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Several of (actually, all of) the laziest slackers and heaviest partiers in my med school class chose and matched in anesthesia or radiology because of the lifestyle. I would say that people in my class that went into pathology definitely have a passion for the science of medicine. However, several people posting here seem to be more concerned with getting drunk every evening than making a difference in medicine. I'm not trying to equate drinking/partying with being a bad doctor and I probably fit more into the "work hard/play hard" category than not; but if you slack in medicine people die...I mean, who wants to have an underacheiver slacker doctor involved in their care? I just don't understand how some of these people can live with themselves and not be ridden with guilt. There are many other ways to work fewer hours and make much more money.

I'm not saying that doctors should be slaves to medicine and I think lifestyle is an important consideration in a person's professional career...I'm just expressing a pet peeve about the personalities at the extreme end of slackerhood.

 

[mdscuba]

I'm not really trying to offend anyone. Lifestyle is definitely important and I'm referring only to a small percentage of personalities- less than 5-10 out of 160 in my class.

 

[pathdawg]

Several of (actually, all of) the laziest slackers and heaviest partiers in my med school class chose and matched in anesthesia or radiology because of the lifestyle. I would say that people in my class that went into pathology definitely have a passion for the science of medicine. However, several people posting here seem to be more concerned with getting drunk every evening than making a difference in medicine. I'm not trying to equate drinking/partying with being a bad doctor and I probably fit more into the "work hard/play hard" category than not; but if you slack in medicine people die...I mean, who wants to have an underacheiver slacker doctor involved in their care? I just don't understand how some of these people can live with themselves and not be ridden with guilt. There are many other ways to work fewer hours and make much more money.

I'm not saying that doctors should be slaves to medicine and I think lifestyle is an important consideration in a person's professional career...I'm just expressing a pet peeve about the personalities at the extreme end of slackerhood.

Ok, I may be a drunk and a slacker, but...wait, what were we talkng about again?

Seriously, I think that the harsh realities of medicine tend to mature those less serious people pretty quick, if for no other reason than for pure survival.

 

[LADoc00]

Who of those that regularly post here actually drink and party?! Even if I did party in residency it was Fri/Sat because path is a M-F gig. If I do it now, its because I have the next day off in private prac.

In my experience, path parties the LEAST of any speciality. Path is not part of the work hard/play hard spectrum. If that is your personality type then I would say path probably isnt for you. Path is more laid back work/laid back partying. Where a orthopod may get totally ripped with his buddies on a Friday, a pathologist would be more likely to drink a glass of wine or a cocktail every night with dinner.

Work hard/play hard really defines the binge drinking crowd that slaves greater than 60+ hours a week and totally cuts loose on the weekend. Listen to this: in all my experience through everyone I have ever met in path, in private practice and academia NO ONE works that much ever.

The reason why neophytes think path is a slacker field because they equate medicine with DOING things, procedures, writing orders and operating. Pathologist carefully ANALYZE, SUMMARIZE and DIAGNOSE. We are admins and directors.

I cant fault you because honestly it can be hard to realize all the things pathologists do on a daily basis.

In conclusion, I know lots of the work hard/play hard-types including many of my family and I would say IMHO pathology is not really for them. You will get bored at times, frustrated at the slow pace we typically diagnose (round #2 of immunostains e.g.) and not really be satisfied.

 

[yaah]

The slacker people bothered me too - at my med school they all went into ER or Anesthesia. They didn't do radiology - the people doing radiology were gunners. I think the ER mindset also fits the partiers because their shift schedules are so often different - can work 2-12, for example. THey like shift work often, because it is more "real" and less subject to variation.

To me, the slacker type in medicine is the one who always talks about how great "doing procedures" is. **** that. Procedures are lame, repetitive, and mind numbing. That's my opinion, by the way, which I am entitled to but no one has to share. I know that procedures pay well but I hate them.

Pathology is definitely not good for people with short attention spans - although there are some who can pull it off. People who "get bored" easily are also not likely to do well. But that's fine. I don't like working with people who are constantly bored or need constant stimulation.

 

[MD Dreams]

I'm glad this issue came up. I have to agree that there are individuals who are wise and want a controllable and rewarding lifestyle while being dedicated to their profession and there are those that are lazy, uninterested and just poor health care professionals. The two groups need to be separated. It really bothers me to see the latter group. I have very little respect and tolerance for them. It also bothers me that so many of them go into anesthesia. However, with respect to anesthesia, I believe it will change to some degree given the fact that the specialty is becoming more competitive. One reason (out of many) I chose to pursue anesthesia is because I got tired of all those slackers screwing up the image of the field and taking all the good pay and lifestyle. It's time to have some dedicated, motivated individuals in the field. I also do like radiology and pathology quite a bit as well, but that's another discussion. I think you can also enjoy both the intellectual aspect of medicine and the procedural, I don't think they are exclusive. I personally love procedures, but I also want my higher cortical functions to be active as well.

 

[Cabbage Head]

In my experience, path parties the LEAST of any speciality. Path is not part of the work hard/play hard spectrum. If that is your personality type then I would say path probably isnt for you. Path is more laid back work/laid back partying. Where a orthopod may get totally ripped with his buddies on a Friday, a pathologist would be more likely to drink a glass of wine or a cocktail every night with dinner.

Work hard/play hard really defines the binge drinking crowd that slaves greater than 60+ hours a week and totally cuts loose on the weekend. Listen to this: in all my experience through everyone I have ever met in path, in private practice and academia NO ONE works that much ever.

The reason why neophytes think path is a slacker field because they equate medicine with DOING things, procedures, writing orders and operating. Pathologist carefully ANALYZE, SUMMARIZE and DIAGNOSE. We are admins and directors.

I cant fault you because honestly it can be hard to realize all the things pathologists do on a daily basis.

In conclusion, I know lots of the work hard/play hard-types including many of my family and I would say IMHO pathology is not really for them. You will get bored at times, frustrated at the slow pace we typically diagnose (round #2 of immunostains e.g.) and not really be satisfied.

This is totally true. You'll almost never meet work hard/play hard people in path, and the ones that do exist tend to get on everyone else's nerves. I remember a surgery intern that would be out until like 3-4AM when he had to be at the hospital for call at 6AM. Or, after an exhausting call, it was nothing for him to go out and party, get 4 hours of sleep, then go back to the hospital. Pathologists just aren't wired like this.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

Although I haven't started residency yet, I am a "work hard-play hard" type of person. I really only need to here the words "go" and "bar" (not even uttered in the same phrase by the same person) to be ready for a night out. Maybe it has to do with going to college in Vegas and staying out til 5 am in the middle of the week, eating some breakfast at one of the cafes on the strip, watching the sun come up on the way home, and then passing out- I don't know. I think most of my friends from Vegas (some in med school) are like this. I met a couple of path residents (not in Vegas) last year who also liked to party in the middle of the week. **** went off no matter what day it was.

 

[deleted113029]

If it weren't for people who annoyed you, life would be annoyingly boring.

I welcome people who are socially ******ed, psychotic, etc. for they exemplify behavior that we shouldn't emulate and they are fun to analyze. 🙂

Really though, the only people who shouldn't be annoying are ourselves. Who cares what other people do? When all is said and done, they represent a fraction of our lives.

rambling to be continued...

 

[mike_rakhabit]

I don’t think that in general pathologists are lazy, or least any more lazy than any other specialty. I do think, however, there is a perception in medicine that lifestyle specialties = lazy specialties. Thus, some view specialties like path, gas, er, and rads as sanctuaries for slackers and partiers. This is, of course, not true. There are lazy-ass people and drunks in every specialty. They definitely are not restricted to the four specialties mentioned above.

I can’t really speak about the work ethic of other “lifestyle” specialties because I am not around them enough to comment but pathologists are generally hard-working (at least the pathologists I know). I do know some path people who party a ton but most don’t or at least not to excess.

 

[cytoborg]

Who of those that regularly post here actually drink and party?! Even if I did party in residency it was Fri/Sat because path is a M-F gig. If I do it now, its because I have the next day off in private prac.

In my experience, path parties the LEAST of any speciality. Path is not part of the work hard/play hard spectrum. If that is your personality type then I would say path probably isnt for you. Path is more laid back work/laid back partying. Where a orthopod may get totally ripped with his buddies on a Friday, a pathologist would be more likely to drink a glass of wine or a cocktail every night with dinner.

Work hard/play hard really defines the binge drinking crowd that slaves greater than 60+ hours a week and totally cuts loose on the weekend. Listen to this: in all my experience through everyone I have ever met in path, in private practice and academia NO ONE works that much ever.

The reason why neophytes think path is a slacker field because they equate medicine with DOING things, procedures, writing orders and operating. Pathologist carefully ANALYZE, SUMMARIZE and DIAGNOSE. We are admins and directors.

I cant fault you because honestly it can be hard to realize all the things pathologists do on a daily basis.

In conclusion, I know lots of the work hard/play hard-types including many of my family and I would say IMHO pathology is not really for them. You will get bored at times, frustrated at the slow pace we typically diagnose (round #2 of immunostains e.g.) and not really be satisfied.

Totally agree with the above.

And though we may joke around a lot on this site, I do think the vast majority of us here take our jobs seriously.

It bugs me to meet apathetic doctors who do a half-assed job and hate their lives. I'm sure they exist in every specialty, though.