Hi,
I'm hoping someone who's more familiar with residency will be able to answer this question. I understand that the hours you work from one week to the next vary and it's only 80/hrs averaged over 4 weeks for residency. However, how much time do most residents have to spent outside the hospital doing miscellaneous work that's equally important like studying, reading, and preparing presentations? B/c the way I figure 6 days a week x 14 = 84 hours, but I assume you can't go straight to sleep after your shift. Do residents after their shift have to spend an additional 4-5 hours prepping for tomorrow at home? Why do residents get so little sleep 5-6 hrs?
P.S. 14 hrs/day seems overwhelming enough to me as it is...Plz no comments about how it's only terrible the 1st year. Even if it's just the 1st year I want to know why.
Busy ward services
rape your face. There's no studying, no going to the gym, no partying. Those months suck. Trying to stay afloat while you cap every call with social work and nursing home placement closed on the weekends basically blows balls. You do just that (stay afloat, not blow balls).
But then there are those elective weeks, where I am sitting in the call room at 1130 surfing SDN, having seen my one patient, already rounded, waiting around for a consult that will inevitably result in a bronch anyway. These weeks are boring, so are filled with other projects or studying, getting swole at the gym, and filling my belly with beer and pizza.
Most of the time its a balance between
ZOMFG RALIENS! (which is overwhelming) and
dude, where's my car? (woefully underwhelming). Hopefully you will end up in a program that gives decompression time between busy ward services. If you don't, and roll from one ICU into a WArd, into an ICU, you will burn out, not study, and ultimately fail. Well, you won't fail, since people became doctors when there was no time limit in the hospital, so...
Really, what I want to say is "
being a doctor is not a job, it isnt a profession, its a calling."
If your mentality is "i am the most trained professional in the hospital, I have the most responsibility, and, as such, should have the most knowledge and ability" working a lot of hours, spending time outside the hospital preparing and studying, and generally living a grueling life doesn't seem so bad. You are doing it in persuit of mastery of your profession, setting the example for others to follow, and separating yourself from the mid level providers who think they can do your job because they don't really understand what your job is.
If, on the other hand, your mentality is "hey, this doctoring thing is a good gig. Lots of pay and no hard labor, I could do that" then you are in for a rude awakening. If you care about something other than your profession, at this stage of the game (i.e. in training), you might as well have been a PA or APRN, you know? Those ARE good gigs with decent pay and no hard labor. Being a physician is more than a job, its a calling. I have residents I work with who haven't seen their newborn son in four days. Why? ICU. He knows he will, he missed his child, but you know what's more important RIGHT NOW? Patient care, learning medicine, being present (mentally and physically) to take care of the sick, the weak, and the dying, and to be better for the next encounter he has. Whoa, dedication. Some one I actively try to emulate.
Bottom line: you have less time for the rest of your life the farther you head up the ladder. Get used to the idea of long hours, self-motivated studying, and all around compromise for the sake of your profession.
Dismal? I say no. I say that is what separates those physicians who are real doctors from joe blow.
I dont want to blow joe, do you? (unless your life partner is named joe, in which case, you probably should)
