Least Demanding RESIDENCY

[abcde]

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Is is fair to say that Derm, Ophtho, Path are the least demanding subspecialties as far as RESIDENCY (hours/call)?

Any thoughts?

 

[skypilot]

I doubt Optho would be on the list. At least during residency.

 

[prefontaine]

Preventive medicine/ public health is my choice for least demanding.

Is is fair to say that Derm, Ophtho, Path are the least demanding subspecialties as far as RESIDENCY (hours/call)?

Any thoughts?

 

[mosche]

While I am not in residency, I think that it is a bit of a misconception that Pathology is an extremely lush (read: easy) residency. Pathology does have its benefits: typically residents take call from home, no transitional year.... However, most Path. residents to whom I have spoken emphasize that they have a very high learning curve that involves lots of reading. Further, many schools expect Path. residents to be involved in various types of research. So, while the idea of the cush Pathology workplace may seem appealing, the extra reading/research may make it an unappealing choice for many.

 

[bigfrank]

At my school's program, derm residents have 7 half-days/week of clinics, seriously. They take call from home (Q7) and NEVER, EVER come in. I can't imagine an easier residency. These guys/gals seriously work 35 hours/week.

 

[kristing]

Preventive medicine/ public health is my choice for least demanding.

But isn't this actually more of a fellowship or tied into an IM or FP program?

 

[normalforce]

But isn't this actually more of a fellowship or tied into an IM or FP program?

Kinda. You have to have one year of postgrad training. Most people do a transitional year then go into it. Some complete a residency and then do it. The curriculum is usually one acadcemic year and one practicum year. You usually earn an MPH while in the program.

NF

 

[abcde]

I thought ophtho for sure. Any other comments on that?

 

[scootad.]

Derm no question. those lucky bastards!

 

[cytoborg]

Preventive medicine/ public health is my choice for least demanding.

I second this. A friend of mine who did preventive med confirms that it is indeed the nirvana of the residency universe.

The path residents I know work 80 hrs/wk...no more, no less than anyone else. And they have a tremendous amount of reading to do in addition.

 

[Lonestar]

"least demanding residency" is there such a thing? It seems like academic medicine has fu%^ed up whatever resemblence some specialties had to cushness. Perhaps less than 1% of the programs out there work their residents normal full time (around 40 hours/wk). The majority abuse them while saying its good for you. It's all about getting the work done. Education comes in second.

 

[WatchingWaiting]

I second this. A friend of mine who did preventive med confirms that it is indeed the nirvana of the residency universe.

The path residents I know work 80 hrs/wk...no more, no less than anyone else. And they have a tremendous amount of reading to do in addition.

If you include reading time, I could see path residents doing 80 hours/week of work. Same for radiology. However, if you go to freida, which I suspect is more accurate than personal anecdote, you'll see the following stats for specialties:

Dermatology 42.7
Radiology 50.6
Opthamology 51.0
Pathology 48.8
EM 54.4
PM&R 50.1
Gen. Surgery 76.8
ENT 64.5
Urology 64.5
Neurosurgery 74.7
Ortho Surg 70.5
Ob/Gyn 73.9
Gas 60.8
Internal Med. 64.6
Neurology 61.2
Fam Prac. 62.4
Peds 69.0
Psychiatry 52.3



Some of the values seem a little low, although the general trend is probably correct. Also, this doesn't include the internship year. Anyway, seems like people's statements so far, especially about derm, have been pretty accurate.

 

[swedcrip]

The path residents I've seen look well rested. I guess it all depends on how much reading time is put in (or required).

Derm of course is notorious.

PM&R I think is emerging as what you're asking about.

ER is long shifts, but they add up to what's shown above.

Optho residents is a tough call. They look rested but know a whole other language that I must think requires soem serious reading. They strike me as very academic and probably pimped enough to require a good minimum amount of reading. They don't come to mind when I read this topic.

Total hours is one thing. But also consider how intense those hours are.

I'd guess Radiology might depend a lot on the program.

Anesthesia probably a lot of those 60 hours staring at monitors. Probably has its intense moments, but probably not demanding all day long.

Psych isn't too bad if you like it. Some intense call at many programs and some work on the psych wards part of the year, but overall quite different from Gen Surg & IM.

I'd guess FP is really dependent on the program.

 

[Finally M3]

We're #3! We're #3!

Like all residencies, however, it comes with a grain of salt: Some of the programs require in-house call and solo coverage of a 100+ bed rehab hospital with medicine backup & code teams 10-15 minutes away (and yes, sick patients DO come to inpatient rehab...just not often ).

Obviously, at those programs you will work more hours, than say a place with 40 beds with home call.

As for opthy, I've seen residents running around in the ED for occular trauma...again, I think it is program dependent how often you will be on call, however.

 

[cytoborg]

If you include reading time, I could see path residents doing 80 hours/week of work. Same for radiology. However, if you go to freida, which I suspect is more accurate than personal anecdote, you'll see the following stats for specialties:

Dermatology 42.7
Radiology 50.6
Opthamology 51.0
Pathology 48.8
EM 54.4
PM&R 50.1
Gen. Surgery 76.8
ENT 64.5
Urology 64.5
Neurosurgery 74.7
Ortho Surg 70.5
Ob/Gyn 73.9
Gas 60.8
Internal Med. 64.6
Neurology 61.2
Fam Prac. 62.4
Peds 69.0
Psychiatry 52.3

Some of the values seem a little low, although the general trend is probably correct. Also, this doesn't include the internship year. Anyway, seems like people's statements so far, especially about derm, have been pretty accurate.

The 80 hrs/wk I was referring to is NOT including reading time. While it does vary from service to service and between institutions, residents on many surg path services put in 80 hrs easily. At some places they are actually getting scolded for working too much. Of course, the type of work they are doing is different from, say, an internal medicine resident on the floor, and certainly we in path much prefer our type of work and find it less grueling. 😉 As for FRIEDA numbers...they are notoriously inaccurate and don't often reflect what is actually going on in the trenches...the only way to find that out for sure is to hear it straight from the residents who are living the life. But I do agree that they give a ballpark idea of specialty work hours relative to other specialties.

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

Some specialties are very program dependent. While I'd say our average over the 4 radiology years is 50-60 hours, one of our fellows was at a small program where they were on call q4h for the whole 4 years and worked a full post call day.

You also have to take into account in fields like optho, radiology, and anesthesia that these do not include the intern year, which is, for many specialties, the most time intensive. I routinely worked 80-100hrs while on wards intern year. If you add that, it would probably drive up the average somewhat for these specialties.

 

[carol ann]

If you include reading time, I could see path residents doing 80 hours/week of work. Same for radiology. However, if you go to freida, which I suspect is more accurate than personal anecdote, you'll see the following stats for specialties:

Dermatology 42.7
Radiology 50.6
Opthamology 51.0
Pathology 48.8
EM 54.4
PM&R 50.1
Gen. Surgery 76.8
ENT 64.5
Urology 64.5
Neurosurgery 74.7
Ortho Surg 70.5
Ob/Gyn 73.9
Gas 60.8
Internal Med. 64.6
Neurology 61.2
Fam Prac. 62.4
Peds 69.0
Psychiatry 52.3



Some of the values seem a little low, although the general trend is probably correct. Also, this doesn't include the internship year. Anyway, seems like people's statements so far, especially about derm, have been pretty accurate.

I'd also be very hesitant to believe numbers on FREIDA. They are self reported by the programs on the FREIDA forms with no link in most cases to the actual workload of residents. I think the trend is accurate, but the number of hours worked are way low-balled....I remember reading them as an MS1 and I thought, "oh, residency isn't really that hard"...hehehe...how quickly we learn.

 

[GAZZMAN]

I have to agree with the above posts, from what Ive heard, it really depends on where you do your residency and what service you happen to be on. However with that being said I think in general path and derm are less demanding in terms of actual hours spent in the hospital.

 

[doc05]

I have to agree with the above posts, from what Ive heard, it really depends on where you do your residency and what service you happen to be on. However with that being said I think in general path and derm are less demanding in terms of actual hours spent in the hospital.

Don't overestimate the cushness of those specialties. sure, there are virtually no emergencies in path or derm, but they do have work. derm will have clinic every day, so while it might not be as physically (or intellectually) demanding as other specialties, busy clinics can keep you in the hospital until 6 or 7 every day.

path is probably much more hours, same idea as radiology. while they don't have bothersome inpatient rosters, they have lots of specimens that need to be processed quickly so that the medicine and surgery teams can read the reports and figure out what to do with the patients. if you're at a busy center (esp. with high surgical volume), you can be sure they're working fairly long hours to get all the work done.

 

[novacek88]

Is is fair to say that Derm, Ophtho, Path are the least demanding subspecialties as far as RESIDENCY (hours/call)?

Any thoughts?

My top 5

1. Derm
2. Path
3. Psych
4. PM&R
5. Optho

 

[VentdependenT]

I second this. A friend of mine who did preventive med confirms that it is indeed the nirvana of the residency universe.

The path residents I know work 80 hrs/wk...no more, no less than anyone else. And they have a tremendous amount of reading to do in addition.

Agreed. Sounds cakey to me.

 

[mfrederi]

I would rather work on a floor for 80 hours than spend 45 hours in hosp with another 25-30 hours reading some advanced pathology text. I guess path guys feel just the opposite.

 

[Ursus Martimus]

Is is fair to say that Derm, Ophtho, Path are the least demanding subspecialties as far as RESIDENCY (hours/call)?

Any thoughts?

I see you drop these bombs on all these foums looking for what seems to be the path of least resistance. After a while it gets a little old, of course you are always find someone passionate about their field , probably many (but I would suggest not all) comments from people who chose their field because of something crazy like they are actually excited about the possibility of what they could do. I know that this forum is ment to be of help but I am not sure the spirit of your constant questioning is not what this was designed for.

 

[Mirror Form]

As for opthy, I've seen residents running around in the ED for occular trauma...again, I think it is program dependent how often you will be on call, however.

Yeah, like most residency fields, optho is very program dependant. Some programs work you the full 80 hours / week, meanwhile you also have huge amounts of reading to do since there is so much new material to learn. On the other hand, most ophtho programs aren't that rigorous. If you compare optho to any other surgical area, the residencies tend to be very cush.

 

[abcde]

Ursus, thanks for looking out for me dog. I need someone on this board to keep my best interests in mind. Now I know to choose what I want to do the rest of my life by what I think I love during the limited time I am exposed to it during med school. No more information needed for me.

Every time I think that this forum is a place to ask the questions that I wouldn't ask anywhere else I am quickly reminded that this is not true. It is amazing how quickly these questions get shot down here.

Keep scanning my posts so I don't get out of line again.

 

[tom_jones]

My top 5

1. Derm
2. Path
3. Psych
4. PM&R
5. Optho

More like

1. Neurosurgery
2. gen surgery
3. cardiology
4. ob/gyn

 

[ears]

Maybe Ursus didn't phrase it in the gentlest way, but his (her?) point as I understood it is valid. You seem to have been asking (in multiple forums), "Where can I do the least work and make the most money?"

That question and its cousins are not unreasonable questions to ask; for fields you're interested in, understanding lifestyle and compensation are important, and they absolutely should factor into your decision process.

But if you keep asking about those issues, you can come across as lazy and selfish. You're probably not like that in real life, but it's worth being aware of. And if that's what Ursus was trying to tell you, he (she?) was looking out for you.