MDs with the fewest hours/week

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Lisa D

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It is very important that I look into becoming a doctor that does not work upwards of 90/100 hours a week. I am a very hard worker and medicine is my passion so it has nothing to do with a lack of inspiration or laziness. I have always been very family oriented and want to be there to raise my children some day; Medicine is the field for me so changing my career path is not an option. I am just wondering which MDs have the least demanding schedule. Any opinions are appreciated 👍 Thanks!
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Radiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, and Emergency Medicine have good hours. If you don't mind a substantial cut in your salary, you can work part time in other specialties. I shadowed a couple IM and Family Practice docs that had a family with children and worked about 35 hours a week.
 
Use the search function. I hate to be the Nazi that uses this line, but there are so many threads concerning this topic.

In a nutshell, R.O.A.D. Radiology, Opthalmology, Anesthesiology, and Dermatology.
 
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Every doctor works 100 hours a week. There are no exceptions. As a result, doctors are unable to start families and pass on their doctoring genes, therefore we have a shortage of physicians and med schools must continuously recruit to replenish their pool.
 
TheRadiologist said:
http://www.medfriends.org/specialty_hours_worked.htm

Check this list. Notice that Radiologists work longer hours than most of the specialties!
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I think those numbers are both wrong and likely from a long time ago. I know personally psychiatrists nationally work around 42 hours on average and make on average 155,000. I also know that EM nationally work around 35 hours and make 225k-250k. ( source AAMC and us labor)
 
I don't know if part time positions are all that common, but I shadowed an Infectious Disease doctor who job-shared with a partner. She worked ~35-40 hours per week. She took call every other Tuesday and one weekend every 5 weeks.
 
Radiology does not have low hours/week, neither does Anesthesia.
 
Psychiatry. Very close to 40 hour weeks, and according to AAMC pay ranges from $170K-$250K (I'm assuming these are the 1st and 3rd quartiles).
But by all means, kill yourself trying to match into Derm because you just really want to be in a ROAD specialty.
 
not even in med school yet and looking for least hours? You have at least 7 years before you can think of doing those cushy attending hours ... sounds kinda lazy to me. 👎
 
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Ischemic said:
not even in med school yet and looking for least hours? You have at least 7 years before you can think of doing those cushy attending hours ... sounds kinda lazy to me. 👎
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I'm a planner. Don't want to get there and realize I've jumped into a specialty that doesn't allow me to anjoy the family I know I will want some day. Sounds smart to me 😉
 
Lisa D said:
I'm a planner. Don't want to get there and realize I've jumped into a specialty that doesn't allow me to anjoy the family I know I will want some day. Sounds smart to me 😉
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Actually, it sounds impatient to me. You aren't in medical school yet, so you have at least 4 years (not sure where you are in school, or non-trad) to make up your mind. No reason to choose now and pigeonhole yourself into something you end up regretting. Better to keep your options open until you've had a chance to see into the lives of the doctors. Shadow around a bit and you might change you mind (more than once 🙂).
 
Well i can't speak of all specialties, but from what I've seen, probably anesthesia. I'm shadowing an anesthesiologist right now and he told me it's the best specialty, although obviously biased. His reasons are 1.) a significantly less amount of paperwork 2.) no dictations 3.) no office 4.) 100% compliance b/c you're the one pushing the drugs 5.) no long term patient relationship i.e. you don't have to deal with the annoying ones 6.) you can have a family/life. the only con to his job (in his opinion) is having to wait/sit around all the time, which isn't really that bad. But i mean, he seriously doesn't work overload hours. I don't think he works every day, maybe 4 days a week from about 7/8 to 3/4 depending on the cases he's assigned to. If he's on call, he stays a little later. I know he has a family and kids and that he also is an iron man. So he definitely has time outside of being a doctor. Being able to shadow him and see how he's been able to juggle a family and work has been motivational for me.
 
MDs usually work 90 hours as a neurosurgeon and DOs work 50 hours as a neurosurgeon. Yes, I'm being a tool-sorry, but I think all doctors are limited in their residency. As a practicing physician, it depends on your physician group. 😉
 
Chemdude said:
I just did some calculation and it turns out that family doctors make ~$65/hour.

Might as well become a pharmacist if you are thinking about family med. Less schooling, less responsibility, better hours, etc.
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Since when do pharmacists deliver babies?
 
ohgodidonteven said:
Every doctor works 100 hours a week. There are no exceptions. As a result, doctors are unable to start families and pass on their doctoring genes, therefore we have a shortage of physicians and med schools must continuously recruit to replenish their pool.
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lol 👍
 
Lisa D said:
It is very important that I look into becoming a doctor that does not work upwards of 90/100 hours a week. I am a very hard worker and medicine is my passion so it has nothing to do with a lack of inspiration or laziness. I have always been very family oriented and want to be there to raise my children some day; Medicine is the field for me so changing my career path is not an option. I am just wondering which MDs have the least demanding schedule. Any opinions are appreciated 👍 Thanks!
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I understand your concern, but it sounds to me like you're going to pick a career based off the number of hours you'll have to work (which is a horrible approach). I think that once your in med school and you go through rotations you can start deciding then about what sort of career you may like. Because let's face it, if you become a radiologist and hate the job (even if you work less hours) all that hard work and money you put into becoming a doctor would've been a waste. And yes I said waste because you should have a career that you are passionate about, not just one that has a good salary. If you're going to go through all of this effort to become a MD you might as well pick a career that you "naturally" want to dedicate yourself to.
 
Another thing to keep in mind (from what I have heard) is 1) you won't get any type of cush hours until after residency, 2) you will have a small fortune to pay back, and 3) who would want a part time doc on their staff directly out of residency? Part time hours are usually done by established physicians working for themselves or long into a partnership. So even if you are a traditional student going into a 3 year residency, after you pay loans, you will most likely be 35 before you could even consider PT hours.
 
Tapepsi said:
I understand your concern, but it sounds to me like you're going to pick a career based off the number of hours you'll have to work (which is a horrible approach). I think that once your in med school and you go through rotations you can start deciding then about what sort of career you may like. Because let's face it, if you become a radiologist and hate the job (even if you work less hours) all that hard work and money you put into becoming a doctor would've been a waste. And yes I said waste because you should have a career that you are passionate about, not just one that has a good salary. If you're going to go through all of this effort to become a MD you might as well pick a career that you "naturally" want to dedicate yourself to.
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Translation: zomg if medicine isn't your life don't go into it.
 
Ischemic said:
not even in med school yet and looking for least hours? You have at least 7 years before you can think of doing those cushy attending hours ... sounds kinda lazy to me. 👎
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cubssox2000 said:
Actually, it sounds impatient to me. You aren't in medical school yet, so you have at least 4 years (not sure where you are in school, or non-trad) to make up your mind. No reason to choose now and pigeonhole yourself into something you end up regretting. Better to keep your options open until you've had a chance to see into the lives of the doctors. Shadow around a bit and you might change you mind (more than once 🙂).
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Why are you all so quick to judge? People are entitled to having other priorities besides wanting to work as many hours as possible or even the hours that you may find reasonable.

Also, who cares if the OP makes their mind up before they get to medical school? If they don't want to explore other options, then let them do it. It's not like by making a "decision" on what specialty the OP wants now, the OP must actually go into that specialty. If he/she learns something in medical school and changes choices, so be it.

Why do people on SDN get so up in other people's kool-aid? Let people live/plan their lives the way they want.
 
Narmerguy said:
Why are you all so quick to judge? People are entitled to having other priorities besides wanting to work as many hours as possible or even the hours that you may find reasonable.

Also, who cares if the OP makes their mind up before they get to medical school? If they don't want to explore other options, then let them do it. It's not like by making a "decision" on what specialty the OP wants now, the OP must actually go into that specialty. If he/she learns something in medical school and changes choices, so be it.

Why do people on SDN get so up in other people's kool-aid? Let people live/plan their lives the way they want.
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Because I want to be a doctor more than anything else and will sacrifice everything, including my sanity, to achieve that goal! Anyone not willing to do the same doesn't deserve to go to medical school!
 
I really hope all of the judgemental posts on this forum do not constitute a representative sample of actual med students and doctors. :scared:
 
Simplify said:
I really hope all of the judgemental posts on this forum do not constitute a representative sample of actual med students and doctors. :scared:
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As a resident regardless of specialty you will be working 80 hours a week and sometimes more, after that depending on specialty you will still be working same hours, you asking this question seems ignorant and shows that you don't place medicine in priority. It's natural people get pissed of at your thread question.

EN
 
OP - I worry about similar things. I want time for hobbies and family. If that's construed as being lazy, I don't give a damn. I lead my life as I wish to lead it. Anyway, I think at this point it's more important to focus on school and then what specialty you life. Would you really like to work 40 hours a week in something you hate or 60 in something you love?
 
It's all about getting into Dermatology. and you can work 40 hours a week in most specialties, you just have to be willing to take a huge pay cut.
 
Narmerguy said:
Why are you all so quick to judge? People are entitled to having other priorities besides wanting to work as many hours as possible or even the hours that you may find reasonable.

Also, who cares if the OP makes their mind up before they get to medical school? If they don't want to explore other options, then let them do it. It's not like by making a "decision" on what specialty the OP wants now, the OP must actually go into that specialty. If he/she learns something in medical school and changes choices, so be it.

Why do people on SDN get so up in other people's kool-aid? Let people live/plan their lives the way they want.
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I was not judging the OP. I never said there was anything wrong with choosing a specialty now. I was trying to encourage the OP to keep an open mind because it will help them later. If someone on the forums said "I am a freshman in high school, but I REALLY want to do dermatology. It's the only thing I will ever be able to do, and I can't possibly do anything else", I would have given the exact same answer.

Also, I agree that people should "live their lives the way the want", however, posting a question like the OPs on a forum like SDN will just open the OP up to judgement and flames, because thats just the way SDN works.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Because I want to be a doctor more than anything else and will sacrifice everything, including my sanity, to achieve that goal! Anyone not willing to do the same doesn't deserve to go to medical school!
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Hahaha!

On a serious note, directed at the people chastising the OP, I don't think that she is refusing to consider the sacrifices that the medical education process requires. I think everyone should do the same thing -- which is make sure that the end product is exactly in line with what they need to be happy. It's obviously ludicrous to suggest that you must give your life and soul to become a doctor, or that you're not allowed to have a family, friends, or pleasure yourself at night because you became a doctor.

Lifestyle matters. We have one life to live (haha I said the name of a soap opera). I like to know that if I am able to get into/make it through medical school, I have the option to choose between greater or less of a commitment to work. Obviously intellectual and emotional satisfaction should enter into the equation as much as lifestyle should. If you aren't as certain as you can be at this point that this training will allow you to be happy, then why would you go into it?
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Translation: zomg if medicine isn't your life don't go into it.
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No the point I was trying to make is that she should really be careful in deciding what she wants to do. And I'm not denying that the amount of hours isn't a factor, because it is. But there are other factors that you should take into consideration as well. Even though medicine isn't (nor should it be) your life, a good chunk of your time will be dedicated to it. I personally would not want to have a job that I hated and I assume others wouldn't either.
 
There's a pain management physician in my city that's only open three days a week, normal business hours.
I once heard a rumor that "all he does is prescribe Xanax", but I haven't met/watched the guy or anything.
 
Tapepsi said:
No the point I was trying to make is that she should really be careful in deciding what she wants to do. And I'm not denying that the amount of hours isn't a factor, because it is. But there are other factors that you should take into consideration as well. Even though medicine isn't (nor should it be) your life, a good chunk of your time will be dedicated to it. I personally would not want to have a job that I hated and I assume others wouldn't either.
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Yes, but wouldn't it be nice if you had a job that you loved, that had perfect hours for you too?
 
Evergrey said:
Yes, but wouldn't it be nice if you had a job that you loved, that had perfect hours for you too?
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--> "And I'm not denying that the amount of hours isn't a factor, because it is"
 
Electronegative said:
As a resident regardless of specialty you will be working 80 hours a week and sometimes more, after that depending on specialty you will still be working same hours, you asking this question seems ignorant and shows that you don't place medicine in priority. It's natural people get pissed of at your thread question.

EN
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Not really not all residency programs have the same hours. Some can work more than 80 in some places. Some are 70-80. And others like derm work 50 hours in residency.
 
portlandpixie said:
... I'm shadowing an anesthesiologist right now and he told me it's the best specialty, although obviously biased. His reasons are 1.) a significantly less amount of paperwork ...6.) you can have a family/life. the only con to his job (in his opinion) is having to wait/sit around all the time, which isn't really that bad. ....
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I don't know if this is a fair depiction of the AVERAGE anesthesiologist. First if you count charting as paperwork (I sure would) then they do paperwork ALL DAY. They are supposed to be recording information throughout every procedure in 5 minute intervals. In a 10 hour surgery that can be a lot of paper. They also have to take a good history on EVERY patient to clear them for surgery, and get a consent signed by every patient they are going to put under. From what I can see, their job significantly involves paperwork. As for having a life, I think a lot of anesthesiologists work longer hours than you think. You have to realize that elective OR cases start at 7am most places, and don't wrap up until early evening. And there are lots of emergent (non-elective) cases that don't fit into that long time stretch. And at every case that there's a surgeon, there has to be an anesthesiologist who gets there BEFORE the case and stays around AFTER the case. So you can easily end up working surgeons' hours because somebody needs to be there from beginning to end of the OR day. I know an anesthesiologist who is quick to point out how his career more or less cost him a marriage and his relationship with his kids (not everyone has this kind of issue, but it's something you will come across). The hours can be very long. Now, with a big staff and lots of CRNAs, you can break up the day into lots of shifts and coffee breaks. But it's still going to be a long day for some, and is a field where taking frequent call is a must because those pesky emergent operations don't always cooperate and happen during business hours.
 
Brigade4Radiant said:
Not really not all residency programs have the same hours. Some can work more than 80 in some places. Some are 70-80. And others like derm work 50 hours in residency.
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Derm folks do a prelim or transitional year, and may hit 80 hours during that year at least. I think folks exaggerate when they say derm residents work 50 hours/week. They probably work 60, but it feels like 50 when you compare it to the 80 that the surgeons are working. Derm residents do take call overnight and some weekends, and it's kind of hard to integrate call into a schedule and not break the 50 hour mark. Residency is hard no matter how you slice it. Sure derm can get away with a lighter lode than most specialties, but don't kid yourself into thinking any residency is a 8-5, no call kind of schedule.
EM folks can sometimes get away with the fewest hours, thanks to shift work, but they are more often undesirable hours (overnights).
 
Tapepsi said:
No the point I was trying to make is that she should really be careful in deciding what she wants to do. And I'm not denying that the amount of hours isn't a factor, because it is. But there are other factors that you should take into consideration as well. Even though medicine isn't (nor should it be) your life, a good chunk of your time will be dedicated to it. I personally would not want to have a job that I hated and I assume others wouldn't either.
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The amount of hours shouldn't be a driving factor. You are going to do this career for 40+ years so you have to like it. Thinks like lifestyle and salary are nice perqs to look at once you have decided what specialty you enjoy the most. Never do this consideration the other way round or you put the cart before the horse. A 50 hour/week job you hate is going to feel like a lot more than 50 hours, while a 70 hour/week job you love is going to fly by like it's nothing. You should not go into a career where you have to live for the weekend. Someone with the credentials to be a physician has choices in life. There is simply no reason to settle for a job that has decent hours, but you are living for the weekend and watching the clock all the time. Joe Sixpack with no choices in life can live like this. But someone with the kind of opportunities in life to become a physician has more choices, and it is his/her duty to find something satisfying, not merely tolerable. Otherwise you are serving a life sentence as your career, for no reason.
 
Medwell said:
There's a pain management physician in my city that's only open three days a week, normal business hours.
I once heard a rumor that "all he does is prescribe Xanax", but I haven't met/watched the guy or anything.
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Considering xanax is a short acting benzo and not an analgesic he would be a pretty ****ty doc.
 
Law2Doc said:
The amount of hours shouldn't be a driving factor. You are going to do this career for 40+ years so you have to like it. Thinks like lifestyle and salary are nice perqs to look at once you have decided what specialty you enjoy the most. Never do this consideration the other way round or you put the cart before the horse. A 50 hour/week job you hate is going to feel like a lot more than 50 hours, while a 70 hour/week job you love is going to fly by like it's nothing. You should not go into a career where you have to live for the weekend. Someone with the credentials to be a physician has choices in life. There is simply no reason to settle for a job that has decent hours, but you are living for the weekend and watching the clock all the time. Joe Sixpack with no choices in life can live like this. But someone with the kind of opportunities in life to become a physician has more choices, and it is his/her duty to find something satisfying, not merely tolerable. Otherwise you are serving a life sentence as your career, for no reason.
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I realize this and I by no means am suggesting that I find the amount of hours to be a main factor. However, Lisa is clearly saying that she wants a career with the minimal amount of hours and so it appears to be her main factor. What I was trying to say is that even though this may be a factor, she needs to take other things into consideration as well like job satisfation (like I already said).

Seriously guys I try and stand up for one side and then get criticized by the other. Sheeh :laugh:
 
Seriously guys I try and stand up for one side and then get criticized by the other.
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You'll find that's usually what happens when you do something like that.
 
Electronegative said:
As a resident regardless of specialty you will be working 80 hours a week and sometimes more, after that depending on specialty you will still be working same hours, you asking this question seems ignorant and shows that you don't place medicine in priority. It's natural people get pissed of at your thread question.

EN
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Many things that come natural to us are not justified. Heaven forbid someone has their own hours in mind and a separate life that they want to live.

Law2Doc said:
The amount of hours shouldn't be a driving factor. You are going to do this career for 40+ years so you have to like it. Thinks like lifestyle and salary are nice perqs to look at once you have decided what specialty you enjoy the most. Never do this consideration the other way round or you put the cart before the horse. A 50 hour/week job you hate is going to feel like a lot more than 50 hours, while a 70 hour/week job you love is going to fly by like it's nothing. You should not go into a career where you have to live for the weekend. Someone with the credentials to be a physician has choices in life. There is simply no reason to settle for a job that has decent hours, but you are living for the weekend and watching the clock all the time. Joe Sixpack with no choices in life can live like this. But someone with the kind of opportunities in life to become a physician has more choices, and it is his/her duty to find something satisfying, not merely tolerable. Otherwise you are serving a life sentence as your career, for no reason.
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Strongly disagreed. Hours working on the job are a component of the job as much as the intellectual stimulation, the challenge, the responsibility, and all the other factors involved with a job.

Let's put it this way. If you were forced/expected to work 120 hours a week to be a physician, people would not clamor for the job, nor would they chastise others for avoiding the job for this reason. However, when the hours drop down to say 70 or 80, some people are OK with it. However, others still may not be, and who's to say that you're concept of what is a proper amount of hours is any better than Joe Smoe who thinks that the job shouldn't require more than 40 hours or 30 hours?

You're exactly right, you'll be doing this career for 40+ hours. If you're going to be at the end of this feeling overworked and like you're missing out on life, you're going to feel like you're in prison. Sure, maybe you should consider another career. But there's no guarantee you'll like some other job any more than medicine. We are neither obligated nor qualified to make statements about what people should decide is most important for their life choices and I find this constant attempt here to force ideologies and priorities on each other an overstepping of one's bounds.

Again, let people live their life the way they want and according to their principles. For some people, it's just a job. Not saying it's my view, but just because it isn't mine doesn't mean it can't be right for someone else.
 
Medicine is a career NOT a job. You either like what you're doing or you don't. Shoveling ****, that's a job. Trash collection is a job. Medicine is a career. Law also. Career implies you're doing it because you want more than just the paycheck, etc but because you have passion for it.

I get it, who doesn't want to work less and still earn a good pay. I also agree that you should come into medical school with some type of goal. However, the OP comes of as "I want to do these specialties or nothing at all" and that just screams closed-mindedness. To refuse to consider anything else is unfortunate at best. Furthermore, the specialties with good hours are highly competitive, what happens if OP can't do those? Just quit because the hours are too long? That being said, medicine should not be your entire life but it will be a HUGE part of it so you might as well choose something that you actually enjoy doing. Even the most tedious jobs will seem short if you're interested and the easiest will feel long if you can't wait to leave for whatever reason.
 
Ischemic said:
Medicine is a career NOT a job. You either like what you're doing or you don't. Shoveling ****, that's a job. Trash collection is a job. Medicine is a career. Law also. Career implies you're doing it because you want more than just the paycheck, etc but because you have passion for it.

I get it, who doesn't want to work less and still earn a good pay. I also agree that you should come into medical school with some type of goal. However, the OP comes of as "I want to do these specialties or nothing at all" and that just screams closed-mindedness. To refuse to consider anything else is unfortunate at best. Furthermore, the specialties with good hours are highly competitive, what happens if OP can't do those? Just quit because the hours are too long? That being said, medicine should not be your entire life but it will be a HUGE part of it so you might as well choose something that you actually enjoy doing. Even the most tedious jobs will seem short if you're interested and the easiest will feel long if you can't wait to leave for whatever reason.
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Exactly. Medicine is going to be what you do for the vast majority of your awake life. So the MOST important thing is to find something you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, do something else. Don't kid yourself into thinking you can learn to like some specialty because the hours are better. You cannot. There will be people who like and dislike every rotation in med school. You have to figure out what your likes are, and pick a career based on that. It is *****ic to say, well I don't really enjoy this, but the hours are better so I'll suffer through it so I can have more of a life. The 10 hours/week you save won't be worth the 50 hours/week at work you have to suffer. They just won't. As mentioned, if you have no real choices in life, then sure, you can take a job where the pay/hours are decent and live for the weekend. But if you have choices, as all people smart enough to get into med school do, then you are OBLIGATED to find something you enjoy. This is your career -- something not equivalent to some 9-5er's job. You are investing far more human capital to get it, and you are supposed to enjoy and be interested in it. It is not a "job" you can plod through counting the hours and living for the weekends (to the extent you are off). A career is different. A profession is different. And so your analysis has to be very different as well.
 
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