Residency Commute Length

[studentofsdn]

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I'm looking to do anesthesia residency in NYC and trying to figure out commutes to the hospitals in the tops of my rank list to see if I can live with my SO (will save me a lot of $$, so major factor in my rank list) to make it work. It seems there will be about 55 min. of commute (subway) including walks to and from stations. Is this advisable/doable? Thanks!

 

[doc05]

Not advisable.

 

[gutonc]

Doable? Maybe.
Advisable? Certainly not.

But people do it anyway.

 

[deleted480308]

Gross

 

[Raryn]

I'm looking to do anesthesia residency in NYC and trying to figure out commutes to the hospitals in the tops of my rank list to see if I can live with my SO (will save me a lot of $$, so major factor in my rank list) to make it work. It seems there will be about 55 min. of commute (subway) including walks to and from stations. Is this advisable/doable? Thanks!

You can do it but it will suck, particularly during your intern year. It would take a lot for me to consider it.

Can your SO move?

 

[studentofsdn]

You can do it but it will suck, particularly during your intern year. It would take a lot for me to consider it.

Can your SO move?

Makes sense that it would suck... Unfortunately no, she can't. It's a place that she owns so it would be a huge hassle to lease it out to cover the mortgage.

 

[Ironheme]

20-25 minutes is a bummer for me. Can't imagine close to 1 hour. Every extra minute counts when you need to sleep. I would trade $$$ to live 10 minutes or less from the hospital vs 1 hour.

You can do it.

It will suck.

 

[geripalgal]

It also depends on the quality and number of oncall rooms available. I lived about 45 minutes away from the hospital (with no traffic 45, with traffic 1-1.5hrs) l, and on busy rotations (ICU) where the hours were long or if I was doing night float, i spent 1-2 nights/days per week sleeping at the hospital call room rather than go home (with traffic, driving home didnt make sense). Now for IM this only ended up being ~6 months over 3 years that I had to do this , i imagine anesthesia would be buisier with more calls.

How hard would it be to sublet a room in NYC for a month if you had a particularly busy rotation?

Just some ideas to think about. Overall i agree that the shorter commute is worth the money.

 

[ortnakas]

I don’t mind my 20 minute commute, but an hour would suck.

 

[857937]

I'm looking to do anesthesia residency in NYC and trying to figure out commutes to the hospitals in the tops of my rank list to see if I can live with my SO (will save me a lot of $$, so major factor in my rank list) to make it work. It seems there will be about 55 min. of commute (subway) including walks to and from stations. Is this advisable/doable? Thanks!

Since you're saving on rent maybe your can Uber or Lyft?

 

[AMEHigh]

Would you have to transfer subways?
I did intern year in NYC and my subway commute was 45min-1 hour. To me it was worth it to live in a more desirable location. I typically either slept or read on the subway.

In med school I also did something similar. I had about a 40 min commute on the bus, to once again live in a more desirable location.

It really just comes down to priority. If it’s just 1 subway without transferring then i’d go for it. However if you have to transfer, with all the construction these days on the subway and schedules a mess, I would second guess it because it is very possible it’d be over an hour.

 

[Iso4ane]

One problem with anesthesia as well, depending on the call/moonlighting/emergency setup is how fast you have to respond if you get called in; in many places it is 30mins, so that can be a factor as well.

 

[studentofsdn]

Since you're saving on rent maybe your can Uber or Lyft?

Same amount of time to drive so it'd just be a waste of money :/

 

[studentofsdn]

Would you have to transfer subways?
I did intern year in NYC and my subway commute was 45min-1 hour. To me it was worth it to live in a more desirable location. I typically either slept or read on the subway.

In med school I also did something similar. I had about a 40 min commute on the bus, to once again live in a more desirable location.

It really just comes down to priority. If it’s just 1 subway without transferring then i’d go for it. However if you have to transfer, with all the construction these days on the subway and schedules a mess, I would second guess it because it is very possible it’d be over an hour.

That's helpful to hear from someone whose had the experience! Yes it's just 1 train (31 minutes on the train and 10-15 min walking to stations from her place and the hospital). I agree, I've used the subway enough to know relying on a transfer in a time-sensitive commute is asking for trouble. I guess I can invest in some nice noise cancelling headphones w the money saved..

Would you continue that commute for the rest of residency, or was it too much of a headache after intern year?

 

[studentofsdn]

One problem with anesthesia as well, depending on the call/moonlighting/emergency setup is how fast you have to respond if you get called in; in many places it is 30mins, so that can be a factor as well.

Good point. I don't think this place has home calls like that, but I will make sure to verify that.

 

[studentofsdn]

It also depends on the quality and number of oncall rooms available. I lived about 45 minutes away from the hospital (with no traffic 45, with traffic 1-1.5hrs) l, and on busy rotations (ICU) where the hours were long or if I was doing night float, i spent 1-2 nights/days per week sleeping at the hospital call room rather than go home (with traffic, driving home didnt make sense). Now for IM this only ended up being ~6 months over 3 years that I had to do this , i imagine anesthesia would be buisier with more calls.

How hard would it be to sublet a room in NYC for a month if you had a particularly busy rotation?

Just some ideas to think about. Overall i agree that the shorter commute is worth the money.

Hm those are some good points. I'll really have to see how much I'd save over the year. I don't think subletting a room would be too difficult in the vicinity of the hospital. I'll probably try to crash on some co-residents couches maybe, worst case.

 

[AMEHigh]

That's helpful to hear from someone whose had the experience! Yes it's just 1 train (31 minutes on the train and 10-15 min walking to stations from her place and the hospital). I agree, I've used the subway enough to know relying on a transfer in a time-sensitive commute is asking for trouble. I guess I can invest in some nice noise cancelling headphones w the money saved..

Would you continue that commute for the rest of residency, or was it too much of a headache after intern year?

Yes probably. Right now I drive 25 min without traffic but it can be up to 45 min with traffic.
I’m a city person. So far med school, intern year and residency have all been in cities, but more on the outskirts. Hence my preference to live in the city and commute out. I have no regrets as I put a lot of priority on my life outside of work. Living in the outskirts/suburbs would not make me happy outside of work.
Lastly, whenever I get home I need time to decompress, check email, etc. By commuting on the subway I was able to decompress on the subway so by the time I got home I was ready to move on with the rest of my evening.

 

[studentofsdn]

Yes probably. Right now I drive 25 min without traffic but it can be up to 45 min with traffic.
I’m a city person. So far med school, intern year and residency have all been in cities, but more on the outskirts. Hence my preference to live in the city and commute out. I have no regrets as I put a lot of priority on my life outside of work. Living in the outskirts/suburbs would not make me happy outside of work.
Lastly, whenever I get home I need time to decompress, check email, etc. By commuting on the subway I was able to decompress on the subway so by the time I got home I was ready to move on with the rest of my evening.

Good to hear. Decompressing makes sense, im kinda like that too and need to bum out for a little while right when I get home anyway. I'm just worried about if waking up/sleeping an extra hour earlier will wear on me when I have to be in at super early anesthesia hours, or get off late and dont have a post call day. I guess I'll just have to try it out and see.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I had a resident who had a long commute due to family issues. We purchased the audio MKSAP, which they listened to while commuting -- that way the time wasn't completely wasted.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Most programs will have some sort of a call system, and since rooms and space are at a premium it’s unlikely this will work for you. My residency program required you to be able to respond to the hospital within 30 minutes on call and had no extra rooms if you wanted to stay overnight (aka on backup call). You MAYBE could work something out with a co-resident... but doubtful.

Does your SO live on Long Island, there are programs out there...

 

[studentofsdn]

Most programs will have some sort of a call system, and since rooms and space are at a premium it’s unlikely this will work for you. My residency program required you to be able to respond to the hospital within 30 minutes on call and had no extra rooms if you wanted to stay overnight (aka on backup call). You MAYBE could work something out with a co-resident... but doubtful.

Does your SO live on Long Island, there are programs out there...

Gotcha.. i thought all call would be in house, didnt realize theres backup home call like that. Nah, BK. there are closer programs, but I dont wanna compromise on the program i'm thinking of and its in a diff borough.

 

[deleted875186]

Anesthesia resident here.

Totally doable, and possibly advisable.

I love outside a major city, take the train in, 35-40 min commute each way. Never been late. Love living outside the city, especially since I have a significant other not in medicine. Got lots of studyin done on the train. Crushed my boards, owe a lot to being forced to read on the train.

Some things to consider though. How reliable will your subway travel be. Need to transfer a lot? Will you take home beeper call? Most anesthesia programs you are in house call, much less frequently home beeper call. What is the overall schedule like at the city program? If it’s a lot of weekends off, like my program, it’s very doable living outside the city. Anesthesia as a residency has a lot of days off compared to IM or surgery. If I were doing an IM residency and had a predictable 6 days on 1 day off with long hours, I absolutely would not be able to do the commute for 3 years. If it’s a big cost of living difference, I think anesthesia residency makes living outside the city very desirable. What’s the point of living in the city if you have no expendable income, just so you have a short commute to your prison for the next 3 years??

 

[deleted875186]

And honestly, you can live anywhere for a year. Try it out, if it wears on you just move after a year. It’ll probably be much easier to find an apartment when your working and living in the area anyway.

 

[studentofsdn]

And honestly, you can live anywhere for a year. Try it out, if it wears on you just move after a year. It’ll probably be much easier to find an apartment when your working and living in the area anyway.

sounds good, thanks for the advice. I've recently found out that the program has subsidized housing that is hard to get back into once you give it up, so I think I might just compromise and take the housing for intern year and then move in with my SO for my CA years.

 

[Mass Effect]

Good point. I don't think this place has home calls like that, but I will make sure to verify that.

ALL programs are going to have some sort of backup system. If the person on in-house call gets sick or gets into an accident or can't come in for one reason or another, the backup person comes in. Most hospitals will require you live within a certain distance of the hospital for this reason. Also, there will be weather emergencies. Public transportation may be shut down or running incredibly late and you will be expected to report on time. They won't care whether you have to sleep on the floor of an office in order to make that happen. Always better to live close to work during intern year.

 

[studentofsdn]

ALL programs are going to have some sort of backup system. If the person on in-house call gets sick or gets into an accident or can't come in for one reason or another, the backup person comes in. Most hospitals will require you live within a certain distance of the hospital for this reason. Also, there will be weather emergencies. Public transportation may be shut down or running incredibly late and you will be expected to report on time. They won't care whether you have to sleep on the floor of an office in order to make that happen. Always better to live close to work during intern year.

Yeah that's a great point about intern year. I decided I will opt to live in the hospital housing for intern year at the least and then reassess moving out for CA years.

 

[deleted875186]

Keep in mind the CA1 year will probably be pretty busy as well. It’s not like doing IM, where after intern year you’ll be very comfortable for the next couple years.

 

[studentofsdn]

Keep in mind the CA1 year will probably be pretty busy as well. It’s not like doing IM, where after intern year you’ll be very comfortable for the next couple years.

Yeah you're right. Especialy with getting in so early and leaving late, its gonna be hard to live far away. I realized the best course of action will be to stay in housing intern year, since it's harder to get back into it if you don't start from the beginning. Then just speaking with the PD/co-residents after intern year about moving out for the CA years. This way, if they recommend heavily against it, at least I still have the subsidized housing and can re-up on that.