lollipop: Cardiothoracic surgery only compares with Neurosurgery as the most brutal field in medicine. The hours for a fellow in thoracics are, at times, ridiculous. First you must do a 5 year general surgery residency. Plus you will do 2-5 years of fellowship/research in cardiothoracics. The call is usually q3 forever. ALL of your patients are in the SICU. There are no outpatient cases. Your patients are horrendously sick and the outcomes are often poor (more than you'd like). Many people will die in your hands for an "elective" surgery. But after all your training, thoracic surgeons will often work >80 hours/week. Granted, they make an enormous amount of money and the satisfaction of the good outcomes is awesome, but their life is tough. Many of the attendings in training programs are also horribly malignant (i.e. mean). This is not everywhere or everyone but you really have to see their life first hand before you respect their time and energy. They're just a different breed. All complain of the lack of time in their lives.
mcphuguy: I'm sorry that you're only doing lap choles and j-tubes and your experience was not as grand as mine. Surgery is awesome when you incorporate breast cancer, colon ca, vascular surgery (AAA, fem-pop, carotid endarterectomy, etc), endocrine (parathyroid, thyroid, adrenalectomy), transplantation, traumatic injuries, splenectomy, liver disorders, thoracic disorders, and many more. This fund of knowledge, the diagnosis, the decision to perform surgery or not, and the difference you can make for these patients is second to none (of course, my opinion). If all I did was lap choles all day, surgery would probably not be for me (although I actually like lap choles). It's the opportunity to perform the amazing variety of cases and the knowledge needed to do the right thing for your patients. To each his own.
