Lifestyle of Women in Non-Invasive Cardiology

[apple21]

I am currently interviewing for a cardiology fellowship position, and as I go through the interview process I am very torn about what career choice would be best for my life. I plan on starting a family within the next couple of years and would like to have 3-5 children. I plan to eventually work part-time, for my family will come before my career.

Are there any female non-invasive cardiologists who could give me honest insight into the lifestyle of their career? Going through the interview process, I understand that having a baby during fellowship would not be ideal, but I could make it work. What I am worried about is that it won't get any easier once I have completed fellowship. I have spoken with some cardiologists and they speak of NPs covering some of their call schedules. Realistically, could I avoid going into the hospital and leaving my children in the middle of the night? Could I avoid working most weekends? Could I keep my practice mostly outpatient and avoid most inpatient responsibilities?

I am passionate about non-invasive cardiology, but would it be better to pursue a career in primary care with my personal goals?

Thank you 🙂

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[dragonfly99]

The noninvasive academic attendings @my fellowship program rarely ever come in at night. Working some weekends (during the day) will be hard to avoid as a subspecialist in cardiology. Even if you are in academia, sometimes you'll be likely to be asked to cover the inpatient service/CCU or cardiology wards, at least early on in your career. The imaging guys (and ladies) work significantly less than the invasive people, but cardiology is still more work than stuff like endocrine, rheum, etc. I'm not sure that having 5 kids and being a female cardiologist is very realistic (I feel like I can say that even though I might get flamed, since I AM a female cardiologist). Having a couple kids should be doable.