Question about Physician work hours

[Tamim]

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Hello everyone, I am seriously considering becoming a Physician, but there is one thing that really discourages me from doing so. I recall reading somewhere that 1/3 of all Physicians end up working 60+ hours a week, considering the amount of work and dedication it took to get that job, that is completely unacceptable to me

I greatly value my personal time, being able to discover my self and having fun while im at it.

The two other jobs I am considering are being a Professor, or being an Airplane Pilot. I probably can't be an airplane pilot because I was born in Algeria, so I have ruled that out. The one thing that is awsome about being a professor is that you get to teach people about what you love, as well as having a 2 month paid vacation, and only working a couple days a week for a couple hours.

Are there any jobs like this that I could obtain if I were to go to a medical school and become an M.D.? Or am I practically required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and will only get about 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year like most jobs.


Thank you, in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply 🙂

 

[MedSchoolFool]

You can work part-time as a physician and probably make a higher salary than most professors or airline pilots do. But you'll have to bust your tail getting through med school, rotations, and residency.

 

[inside_edition]

Hello everyone, I am seriously considering becoming a Physician, but there is one thing that really discourages me from doing so. I recall reading somewhere that 1/3 of all Physicians end up working 60+ hours a week, considering the amount of work and dedication it took to get that job, that is completely unacceptable to me

I greatly value my personal time, being able to discover my self and having fun while im at it.

The two other jobs I am considering are being a Professor, or being an Airplane Pilot. I probably can't be an airplane pilot because I was born in Algeria, so I have ruled that out. The one thing that is awsome about being a professor is that you get to teach people about what you love, as well as having a 2 month paid vacation, and only working a couple days a week for a couple hours.

Are there any jobs like this that I could obtain if I were to go to a medical school and become an M.D.? Or am I practically required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and will only get about 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year like most jobs.


Thank you, in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply 🙂

volunteer or shadow a doctor to see if medicine is for you. it is better to find out before you commit any time into medicine.

 

[braluk]

Like other SDN posters, who "plan" on getting high MCAT scores, you can always "plan" on getting ridiculously high board scores and then land yourself into dermatology. 40 hours a week, one of the highest paid healthcare salaries in the country, low stress, low malpractice suits.

or you could plan on shadowing a physician, which makes more sense 🙂
good luck!

 

[Tamim]

I actually just started shadowing the Admonstrinator, so I'm getting some what of an idea as to whats going on, quite a nice buy btw. 👍

 

[dutchman]

Hello everyone, I am seriously considering becoming a Physician, but there is one thing that really discourages me from doing so. I recall reading somewhere that 1/3 of all Physicians end up working 60+ hours a week, considering the amount of work and dedication it took to get that job, that is completely unacceptable to me

I greatly value my personal time, being able to discover my self and having fun while im at it.

The two other jobs I am considering are being a Professor, or being an Airplane Pilot. I probably can't be an airplane pilot because I was born in Algeria, so I have ruled that out. The one thing that is awsome about being a professor is that you get to teach people about what you love, as well as having a 2 month paid vacation, and only working a couple days a week for a couple hours.

Are there any jobs like this that I could obtain if I were to go to a medical school and become an M.D.? Or am I practically required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and will only get about 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year like most jobs.


Thank you, in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply 🙂

As a physician expect to log a good solid 60+ hours. This is the nature of the job. You also do CME( continuing medical education) plus the fact that whatever specialty you do, you have to re-certify i.e take the medical board exams again every 10 years. So there is not going to be too much time to do other things.

BTW what do you mean by "dicover myself". Hope you are not being nasty

 

[Writer1985]

Let me say this: being a professor is not a cushy job. I was considering academia during my recent "is medicine the right choice" crisis. But as much as I love teaching, professorship calls for a very selective group of people, as much as medicine. In the first place, you may love the subject but your students may be forced to take it for graduation requirements, random course in their major, etc. That can be very disheartening, I would think. Then, too, being a professor is not about getting up in front of a room and talking for 50 minutes three times a week. A professor has told me that for every hour he lectures, he has spent 5 or 6 hours preparing lesson plans -- that doesn't count grading papers or exams. What's more, professors don't just teach, they are expected to maintain active research in their field and publish publish publish. Getting tenure is horribly political.

The point of this semi-rant is that no job is going to give you everything you want. Long hours are part of a lot of different professions. And what looks cushy from the student's perspective might be a totally different playing field for the "grown-up." The best thing to do is to shadow physicians, talk to people in other fields you are considering, and make an informed decision. If you're going to be spending 60-80 hours a week doing something, you might as well like it.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

the beauty of an MD degree is that you arent tracked to do a specific task, the amount of hours you have to work to make a decent living often depend on your specialty.

derm, pm&r, pathology, radiology all tend to not require extreme hours.

however, time= money so even in derm you'll find a guy working 70 hrs a week since he wants the money. others choose not to work so much which is just as fine.

fields you might want to avoid: surgery, ob/gyn, cardiology

 

[BNSN]

If you end up in a field you love, 60 hours should be something you can handle.

I hope to become a psychiatrist, so I am testing my ability to work long hours with mentally ill by working at a crisis/suicide hotline. I quite frankly find it very fulfilling, even after a 7-8 hour shift on the phones.

So, I can definitely see myself working 60 hours as a psychistrist where I have a much greater leeway in helping patients (medicines, therapy, etc).

Edit: I am really kinda bothered by your original post. It seems like you really don't want to become a doctor. I mean, honestly, if you get an MD, why are you looking to get a cushy, easy job? Use your MD to the fullest. An MD isn't something you get just to put after your name.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

The hours you work depend on your specialty. As an ophthalmologist, I'm putting about 40-50 hours a week max.

 

[airshad8]

Hello everyone, I am seriously considering becoming a Physician, but there is one thing that really discourages me from doing so. I recall reading somewhere that 1/3 of all Physicians end up working 60+ hours a week, considering the amount of work and dedication it took to get that job, that is completely unacceptable to me

I greatly value my personal time, being able to discover my self and having fun while im at it.

The two other jobs I am considering are being a Professor, or being an Airplane Pilot. I probably can't be an airplane pilot because I was born in Algeria, so I have ruled that out. The one thing that is awsome about being a professor is that you get to teach people about what you love, as well as having a 2 month paid vacation, and only working a couple days a week for a couple hours.

Are there any jobs like this that I could obtain if I were to go to a medical school and become an M.D.? Or am I practically required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and will only get about 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year like most jobs.


Thank you, in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply 🙂

I had to ask...why is that a restriction?

 

[NexusMD]

I had to ask...why is that a restriction?

I was a bit curious about that too..😕

 

[Tamim]

Algeria was part of the "Axis of evil", theres no way in hell their going to let me be a commercial air plane pilot in the U.S. in fear of me flying it into a building.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hello everyone, I am seriously considering becoming a Physician, but there is one thing that really discourages me from doing so. I recall reading somewhere that 1/3 of all Physicians end up working 60+ hours a week, considering the amount of work and dedication it took to get that job, that is completely unacceptable to me

I greatly value my personal time, being able to discover my self and having fun while im at it.

The two other jobs I am considering are being a Professor, or being an Airplane Pilot. I probably can't be an airplane pilot because I was born in Algeria, so I have ruled that out. The one thing that is awsome about being a professor is that you get to teach people about what you love, as well as having a 2 month paid vacation, and only working a couple days a week for a couple hours.

Are there any jobs like this that I could obtain if I were to go to a medical school and become an M.D.? Or am I practically required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and will only get about 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year like most jobs.


Thank you, in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply 🙂

If you are banking on a less than 40 hour work week, I'm not sure medicine is the smartest path. While there are part time options in medicine, you won't be able to consider them until you get through 4 years of med school (during which you will do rotations in excess of 60 hours/wk) and 3+ years of residency in which you will frequently be working at or above your 60 hr figure. Also bear in mind that your job does not end with your shift, and most residents will need to read up on things in their spare time. Medicine is a field of immersion -- you can't expect to dabble in it.
And as more people seem to be attracted to the lifestyle opions, and insurance reimbursement policies making part-time work less profitable (through emphasis on through-put), we are seeing those positions gradually become more competitive and less available. Attached is the JAMA table which lists average salaries and hours. (Note that radiology is actually not one of the fields with the lowest hours, contrary to a quantummechanic's suggestion). Most of the less senior people in each of these specialties will be working significantly more hours than average. (Except EM, where the hours won't necessarilly be longer, just less desirable).

http://www.medfriends.org/specialty_hours_worked.htm

 

[Husky85]

Ok...in order to be a professor (at least a good one at a reputable school) or an airline pilot you're going to be working more than 40 hours a week anyway. I think that if you're looking for something easy or non-labor-intensive to do, you should find some other alternatives.

And in the airline industry there's the added hassle of having to go through the airport every time you want to go to work and fight traffic and angry travelers. And you also end up working all hours sometimes anyway...those 'redeye' flights aren't going to fly themselves. Alternatively, I don't think they'd keep you from flying because you're from Albania...just be fully prepared for an extensive background search.

As was mentioned before, if you're a professor you have to publish and kiss butt to get tenure. That can take lots of time and be frustrating. Unless you want to be an English professor, or something else in the humanities area, plan on working your butt off and not traveling and "discovering yourself" much, because those "paid vacations" will be spent in lab.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Algeria was part of the "Axis of evil", theres no way in hell their going to let me be a commercial air plane pilot in the U.S. in fear of me flying it into a building.

Um, I think you're confused. Algeria was never part of the Axis of Evil. That was Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. And even if you were from one of those three countries, so what? There are muslim airline pilots and one featured on 20/20 or Dateline was even from Iraq.

 

[Misfit!]

Let me say this: being a professor is not a cushy job. I was considering academia during my recent "is medicine the right choice" crisis. But as much as I love teaching, professorship calls for a very selective group of people, as much as medicine. In the first place, you may love the subject but your students may be forced to take it for graduation requirements, random course in their major, etc. That can be very disheartening, I would think. Then, too, being a professor is not about getting up in front of a room and talking for 50 minutes three times a week. A professor has told me that for every hour he lectures, he has spent 5 or 6 hours preparing lesson plans -- that doesn't count grading papers or exams. What's more, professors don't just teach, they are expected to maintain active research in their field and publish publish publish. Getting tenure is horribly political.

The point of this semi-rant is that no job is going to give you everything you want. Long hours are part of a lot of different professions. And what looks cushy from the student's perspective might be a totally different playing field for the "grown-up." The best thing to do is to shadow physicians, talk to people in other fields you are considering, and make an informed decision. If you're going to be spending 60-80 hours a week doing something, you might as well like it.

Both my parents are professors, so I've definitely considered it. There are pros and cons. Getting to the point of professorship is extremely difficult, especially if you want to teach somewhere well-known - unlike medical school where the name of the school is often second in importance to your board schools, getting hired as a professor is all the name of your school. And also your publications. Your life is publications publications publications. Getting your phD is no cake-walk, getting hired somewhere you like is sometimes next to impossible, getting tenured is hell, and becoming full-professor is almost an unattainable goal for many. AND to top it all off, pay is ****. seriously. for the amount of schooling these people have to go through and the sweat blood and tears that were put in, the compensation is not enough. However, most people who take this route are NOT in it for the money, but rather their love of academia.

That being said, there are many pros as well. The amount of time spent on the job in the classroom/office hours/meetings is less than 40 hours a week, and the rest your work time is structured as you choose - you are essentially your own boss. If you're into research, you spend your time doing that. You are not required to go in on weekends. Hell, you have summers off! (although much of that time is usually spent doing research). To top it all off, you get the satisfaction of educating others, you are in a great, encouraging environment, and if you don't like your students, who cares, many high up profs only focus on their research anyways. So in terms of lifestyle and time spent on the job, it is WAY better than that of a physician, if hours are what you care about.

 

[Tamim]

I understand that I will have to bust my ass off in residency, I am well aware of the 80+ work hours a week, and I am prepared to handle that. It's just that, if I have to bust my ass that hard, and then get out when im 30, and I still have to bust my ass off until i'm 60, i'm going to get burnt out, that's just too much for me. I need a job where there will eventually be a laxed amount of work hours, I don't mind working hard at one point or another though, hell, that's what i'm doing right now.

I am majoring in Philosophy and if I become a professor will attempt to become a Philosophy professor, I'm going to go to UCLA and they have a good Philosophy department so I think I would have a pretty good path to follow if I choose that route.

So can anyone specifically answer my question? I'm having a hard time pin pointing some particular professions I could possibly have as an MD that would have laxed work hours. Also no one has answered any thing about vacation time?


And B.T.W. the Axis of evil was changed many a times, at one point every week Bush would be adding and subtracting countries from the list, believe it or not Russia was part of the Axis of evil at one point.

 

[mintendo]

I know a family friend who's an GI who only works 4 days a week (not sure how many hours). She's making $200K which is probably a lot less than others in her specialty, but it's a personal choice.

 

[kdburton]

Hello everyone, I am seriously considering becoming a Physician, but there is one thing that really discourages me from doing so. I recall reading somewhere that 1/3 of all Physicians end up working 60+ hours a week, considering the amount of work and dedication it took to get that job, that is completely unacceptable to me

I greatly value my personal time, being able to discover my self and having fun while im at it.

The two other jobs I am considering are being a Professor, or being an Airplane Pilot. I probably can't be an airplane pilot because I was born in Algeria, so I have ruled that out. The one thing that is awsome about being a professor is that you get to teach people about what you love, as well as having a 2 month paid vacation, and only working a couple days a week for a couple hours.

Are there any jobs like this that I could obtain if I were to go to a medical school and become an M.D.? Or am I practically required to work a minimum of 40 hours a week and will only get about 2 or 3 weeks of vacation a year like most jobs.


Thank you, in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply 🙂

If 60 hours/week is too much for you then I doubt you'll make it through med school even.

 

[swtiepie711]

So can anyone specifically answer my question? I'm having a hard time pin pointing some particular professions I could possibly have as an MD that would have laxed work hours. Also no one has answered any thing about vacation time?

.

 

[Towelie]

Physicians do tend to get a lot of vacation weeks. They usually range from 5-10 weeks per year, far more than most professions.

 

[BNSN]

And B.T.W. the Axis of evil was changed many a times, at one point every week Bush would be adding and subtracting countries from the list, believe it or not Russia was part of the Axis of evil at one point.

No, it wasn't.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

And B.T.W. the Axis of evil was changed many a times, at one point every week Bush would be adding and subtracting countries from the list, believe it or not Russia was part of the Axis of evil at one point.

That's ludicrous. Neither Russia nor Algeria were ever part of the Axis of Evil. Secretary of State Condi Rice visited Algeria in April. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell visited a few years ago after Algeria supported the war on terrorism. I sincerely doubt that would have happened if Algeria were part of the Axis of Evil. I think you need to double check your facts before you post inaccurate information like this.