Ortho vs anesthesia

[golddog21]

M4 with 2 months to decide. Competitive for ortho. Really struggling with the decision because I think that I would get more satisfaction from ortho, but as a nontraditional student im struggling with idea of surgical residency at my age and not being attending until close to 40. I am prepared to work hard in either specialty, but ortho is going to be significantly more taxing on me and my family.

I do not LOVE surgery, but I like it better than other things. I don’t know if this should sway me in either direction.

Having a hard time projecting how I will feel about the decision. Anyone who was in similar situation have any insight? Part of me thinks I will regret not continuing on the path to ortho bc of the job fulfillment, but part of me thinks I need to go anesthesia and achieve some work-life at this point in my life.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[operaman]

ENT attending and fellow non trad here. I was about your age when starting residency as well. Personally I’d go for Ortho, but you’ll probably want to be a bit more selective for quality of life in terms of your rank list. Your life will suck as a pgy2 anywhere, but in many programs it gets much more doable after that. Look for places with favorable call schedules and similarly situated residents who seem happy.

For me I went to a very large program with great call schedule. My residency call was actually less frequent than my attending call which itself is pretty good. I was q8-10 as a junior and q12-14 as a senior. Only worked 4 weekends my chiefs year! I do 8 weekends a year now as an attending!

Look for big programs where all the hospitals they cover are within walking distance so they can have only one call pool. Many larger programs are going to night floats now too - do all your overnight calls in one 4-6 week block and then no call the rest of the year. Many places also have midlevels helping with consults as well which also reduces the scut burden on trainees.

Pretty much anywhere surgical your day to day will roughly be 6a - 6p with earlier and later hours service/volume dependent. Anesthesia starts early too since they’re also in the OR, but will probably get home a bit earlier on average since they won’t have inpatients or consults to see. Even then, they will have some people designated as late stay and have their own overnight coverage as well.

In the end, I think the in training lifestyle difference may be less than you think. And the payoff of getting to do something you enjoy as well as something that pays ridiculously well and has no imminent midlevel threat is probably worth it.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I have to echo @operaman . If you enjoy critical care med, handling sick patients, and small procedures , anesthesia is good. I also went to a large residency, 12 in my class. Call once a week and and every 5th weekend. Go home after call. Now as an attending, I have worked at Unis, Uni affiliates, and small community hospitals. The days get much longer with trauma, transplants, OB, and emergencies. Lots of 24+hr shifts in my past. Even the small hospitals have long days, and they drag on and on. The surgeons dont have partners, so an appy in the ER gets added on at the end of the surgeons day as they have no partners to see the consult. Lifestyle will depend more on the job rather than the specialty. Surgery will definitely be more grueling as a trainee. Pick what you enjoy doing and reading the most. In the end, work is work. The people at work make the difference.

 

[DarkHorizon]

M4 with 2 months to decide. Competitive for ortho. Really struggling with the decision because I think that I would get more satisfaction from ortho, but as a nontraditional student im struggling with idea of surgical residency at my age and not being attending until close to 40. I am prepared to work hard in either specialty, but ortho is going to be significantly more taxing on me and my family.

I do not LOVE surgery, but I like it better than other things. I don’t know if this should sway me in either direction.

Having a hard time projecting how I will feel about the decision. Anyone who was in similar situation have any insight? Part of me thinks I will regret not continuing on the path to ortho bc of the job fulfillment, but part of me thinks I need to go anesthesia and achieve some work-life at this point in my life.

I’d recommend Ortho. I might be biased though.

 

[aldol16]

You should consider the work life balance. The work life balance even as an attending surgeon is not going to be as good as an attending anesthesiologist. The hours are still longer and is demanding.

I wouldn't put too much thought into the years required for residency. Even in anesthesia, you'll need intern year plus CA1-3. Then fellowship which could take 1+ years. So at the end of the day, you're looking at a year or two difference, maybe none depending on the fellowship.

 

[Taco Time]

I just graduated from anesthesia residency and am in a pain medicine fellowship. It varies a ton by program. I would argue that the senior ortho residents had it easier than I did as a senior anesthesia resident. Residency is longer for ortho though.

Apply to both specialties with anesthesia as a backup. Be selective with your rank list and choose a site where you have a strong support system and/or lighter workload. Perhaps the specialty you prefer will become more apparent as application season plays out and makes your decision much easier. Good luck!

 

[CJhooper123]

Ortho >>>
You work hard, but damn it's so much fun