People who liked surgery but chose another specialty - what are your hobbies?

[CanIBeAnonymous]

On my last rotation of 3rd year there was a discussion among my classmates about those who loved surgery but didn't want to enter it as a profession, but still wanted to do things as a hobby that involved manual dexterity, thought, delicacy, etc.

What hobbies have you chosen, or which hobbies would you add to this list?

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[Gilakend]

Currently: Jiu-jitsu, DIY projects, fixing my POS car, working out, video games.

Once I move for residency or am an attending and have more space again/a garage/hobby farm: **** level woodworking / fabricating

Edit: also have to add my soon-to-be wife and future kids after seeing the posts below

 

[mistafab]

Weight lifting, running, being a dad, building businesses, learning about forensics.

Always plenty to do. Even though surgery was awesome, glad im not logging my 100th lap chole right now. Psych turned out way better than I thought.

 

[Tenk]

Snowboarding, mountain biking, video games, body building, archery, guns, stonks, and bratty toddlers.

Fk work. Would never go back and be a surgeon.

 

[NegativeMargin]

Reading these responses, I have kind of a follow-up question:

If you didn't have any hobbies, or otherwise weren't able to fill your time as effectively as you all seem to, do you think your answers for not regretting your choice of avoiding surgery could potentially be different?

I ask because one of the consistencies I see in over 90% of people's answer to these sorts of questions is that people don't regret the choice they made as far as specialty.. even surgeons. And yet in the surveys I see that are sent out to physicians that you see posted later on twitter, youtube, reddit, etc. shows that a noticeable number say they have regrets, aren't enjoying themselves, and are even thinking about leaving medicine. And I am wondering why there is such a stark difference in answers to these questions when asked in this format versus being asked in a survey?

Might I just be seeing studies before and after COVID with numbers that seem to disrupt the "real" response that most people are generally happy? Or are we just less likely to see people come out and say publicly that they have regrets as it's a bit of a faux pas?

 

[operaman]

Reading these responses, I have kind of a follow-up question:

If you didn't have any hobbies, or otherwise weren't able to fill your time as effectively as you all seem to, do you think your answers for not regretting your choice of avoiding surgery could potentially be different?

I ask because one of the consistencies I see in over 90% of people's answer to these sorts of questions is that people don't regret the choice they made as far as specialty.. even surgeons. And yet in the surveys I see that are sent out to physicians that you see posted later on twitter, youtube, reddit, etc. shows that a noticeable number say they have regrets, aren't enjoying themselves, and are even thinking about leaving medicine. And I am wondering why there is such a stark difference in answers to these questions when asked in this format versus being asked in a survey?

Might I just be seeing studies before and after COVID with numbers that seem to disrupt the "real" response that most people are generally happy? Or are we just less likely to see people come out and say publicly that they have regrets as it's a bit of a faux pas?

My guess is that docs who hate medicine aren’t hanging out posting on a medicine forum. They probably want nothing to do with it. I think people in practice who still post enjoy teaching and helping out students and offering insight and perspective. That surely selects for people who are happier in practice.

 

[putmeincoach]

Fix my car and build gundam.

 

[Gilakend]

Reading these responses, I have kind of a follow-up question:

If you didn't have any hobbies, or otherwise weren't able to fill your time as effectively as you all seem to, do you think your answers for not regretting your choice of avoiding surgery could potentially be different?

I ask because one of the consistencies I see in over 90% of people's answer to these sorts of questions is that people don't regret the choice they made as far as specialty.. even surgeons. And yet in the surveys I see that are sent out to physicians that you see posted later on twitter, youtube, reddit, etc. shows that a noticeable number say they have regrets, aren't enjoying themselves, and are even thinking about leaving medicine. And I am wondering why there is such a stark difference in answers to these questions when asked in this format versus being asked in a survey?

Might I just be seeing studies before and after COVID with numbers that seem to disrupt the "real" response that most people are generally happy? Or are we just less likely to see people come out and say publicly that they have regrets as it's a bit of a faux pas?

I fully agree with operaman above. Additionally, you are talking about 2 different things. The numbers are generally higher for people choosing the same specialty if they have to again, versus if they would choose medicine again.

For example, in ortho only 81% would choose medicine again, but 96% would choose the same specialty. For radiology, only 74% would choose medicine again, but 93% would choose the same specialty. So in these cases, many people would happily choose the same specialty, but if they had to do everything over would not go into medicine.

To answer your first question, I don't think it would change my answer for not going into surgery, but I probably would have considered it more closely. For me, I enjoyed a non-surgical specialty and a surgical specialty comparably and probably could've been happy in either. The biggest deciding factor for me was family/hobbies/travel. So if none of those existed it would've been a closer decision, but pretty certain I would have come to the same choice.

 

[njtrimed]

I worked in the OR for years prior to deciding to go to med school, and I explicitly wanted to do anesthesiology, or at least anything BUT surgery, as a parent who loves being with my family. But I realized during MS3 that if I wasn’t totally happy with my path as a physician, then med school would have been a mistake.

As a PGY3 surgical resident, I have zero regrets and love my life. I have plenty of family time…maybe not as much as I’d like, but the same would be true in almost any other residency. I spend most of my free time with my family, but I also do triathlons and train before work, and ski and go to the beach, and occasionally go out. I’m not missing out on anything. I’m fulfilled.

You chose medical school and now you’re committed. What will fulfill you the most long-term? Don’t choose surgery if something else makes you happy, but don’t avoid surgery if it gives you a sense of purpose that nothing else does.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

I worked in the OR for years prior to deciding to go to med school, and I explicitly wanted to do anesthesiology, or at least anything BUT surgery, as a parent who loves being with my family. But I realized during MS3 that if I wasn’t totally happy with my path as a physician, then med school would have been a mistake.

As a PGY3 surgical resident, I have zero regrets and love my life. I have plenty of family time…maybe not as much as I’d like, but the same would be true in almost any other residency. I spend most of my free time with my family, but I also do triathlons and train before work, and ski and go to the beach, and occasionally go out. I’m not missing out on anything. I’m fulfilled.

You chose medical school and now you’re committed. What will fulfill you the most long-term? Don’t choose surgery if something else makes you happy, but don’t avoid surgery if it gives you a sense of purpose that nothing else does.

This

 

[CanIBeAnonymous]

I worked in the OR for years prior to deciding to go to med school, and I explicitly wanted to do anesthesiology, or at least anything BUT surgery, as a parent who loves being with my family. But I realized during MS3 that if I wasn’t totally happy with my path as a physician, then med school would have been a mistake.

As a PGY3 surgical resident, I have zero regrets and love my life. I have plenty of family time…maybe not as much as I’d like, but the same would be true in almost any other residency. I spend most of my free time with my family, but I also do triathlons and train before work, and ski and go to the beach, and occasionally go out. I’m not missing out on anything. I’m fulfilled.

You chose medical school and now you’re committed. What will fulfill you the most long-term? Don’t choose surgery if something else makes you happy, but don’t avoid surgery if it gives you a sense of purpose that nothing else does.

This

I will say, my original post wasn't about people avoiding surgery because of the lifestyle. They (myself included) really enjoyed the OR but didn't want to make a career out of it for one reason or another, and were looking for hobbies to mimic the satisfaction they'd get in the OR despite obviously never really being able to replicate it.

 

[operaman]

I am a surgeon so hard to say what I’d do if I weren’t. I think a couple hobbies really similar to surgery would be rebuilding old cars/motorcycles or woodworking or something else along those lines. I know a number of surgeons who also do those as hobbies and I think there’s a lot of overlap.

I’ve also noticed that people that do those things are the patients who most quickly understand how an operation works.

 

[Neopolymath]

I am a surgeon so hard to say what I’d do if I weren’t. I think a couple hobbies really similar to surgery would be rebuilding old cars/motorcycles or woodworking or something else along those lines. I know a number of surgeons who also do those as hobbies and I think there’s a lot of overlap.

I’ve also noticed that people that do those things are the patients who most quickly understand how an operation works.

I do both of these things (and as very successful businesses) and that satisfaction outside of work from these projects was what ultimately wouldn't allow me to justify surgery from a time value standpoint. Two separate surgery mentors ultimately shared that thought based on my life and I couldn't fault it.

It's easily the type of specialty and people as a whole that I align with 99%. Not to say I don't enjoy radiology, I love radiology and love being a physician, but they aren't my people. The 1% difference was that I wasn't going to give up hours of time at home doing something I enjoy just so I could spend that time at work also doing something I enjoy. It just didn't make sense with what I have literally and figuratively built in my life outside of medicine.

If I had typical casual and superficial engagement with my hobbies then I would have done surgery without hesitation. Ultimately, one must fill their time with things they enjoy. If they don't already have those things taking up a lot of time and investment then I think the decision is easier.

All that to say, yes, building a high end china cabinet or bringing a rusty air-cooled 911 chassis back life gave me the same high as any of the awesome surgeries I was a part of but it took decades to reach the top of these crafts. Who knows if the peak of surgery feels that much better.

 

[operaman]

I do both of these things (and as very successful businesses) and that satisfaction outside of work from these projects was what ultimately wouldn't allow me to justify surgery from a time value standpoint. Two separate surgery mentors ultimately shared that thought based on my life and I couldn't fault it.

It's easily the type of specialty and people as a whole that I align with 99%. Not to say I don't enjoy radiology, I love radiology and love being a physician, but they aren't my people. The 1% difference was that I wasn't going to give up hours of time at home doing something I enjoy just so I could spend that time at work also doing something I enjoy. It just didn't make sense with what I have literally and figuratively built in my life outside of medicine.

If I had typical casual and superficial engagement with my hobbies then I would have done surgery without hesitation. Ultimately, one must fill their time with things they enjoy. If they don't already have those things taking up a lot of time and investment then I think the decision is easier.

All that to say, yes, building a high end china cabinet or bringing a rusty air-cooled 911 chassis back life gave me the same high as any of the awesome surgeries I was a part of but it took decades to reach the top of these crafts. Who knows if the peak of surgery feels that much better.

Beautiful post. And I suspect the highs are very similar. Perhaps another ding against surgery relative to those other endeavors is that surgery certainly has lower lows when you consider complications.

I think complications haunt us in a way that’s hard to explain. I’m sure there are complications in other crafts as well, but maybe a bit less haunting since some of that human element is removed.

 

[Neopolymath]

Beautiful post. And I suspect the highs are very similar. Perhaps another ding against surgery relative to those other endeavors is that surgery certainly has lower lows when you consider complications.

I think complications haunt us in a way that’s hard to explain. I’m sure there are complications in other crafts as well, but maybe a bit less haunting since some of that human element is removed.

That's very kind of you to say.

There is no complication from other crafts that compares to disfiguring, maiming, killing, or disabling someone despite putting in 10k plus hours and years of your life into surgery. You can do everything the right way until that point and suddenly it doesn't matter. I respect that mindset and replicate it in my unsafe scenarios. Embracing that feeling makes one perform better and have a great respect for the work and training. That's a large reason I admire surgeons.

Worst thing I did was back a 6 figure car into another even more expensive 6 figure car haha. I did a paint correction, replaced a piece of trim, and changed my underwear.