Residency Hours

[HeyThereJude]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

--

 

[RiceOwl04]

Pathology is probably among the least stressful and intense residencies. Radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesia and dermatology are also considered to be 'lifestyle' specialties by many. In general, surgical specialties are more intense.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Add psychiatry to that list.....

 

[gman33]

Are you asking about fields in general or do you want to know about specific programs within a given field?

Not that I have specific info, but there is great variability in workload depending on the specific program.

 

[HeyThereJude]

Thanks guys!

 

[medicinesux]

disregard--meant as new post. But to answer your question really quickly, I would say preventive medicine. You spend one year out of the hospital doing a MPH if I am not mistaken. Sounds like a win win to me!

 

[peppy]

Are you asking about fields in general or do you want to know about specific programs within a given field?

Not that I have specific info, but there is great variability in workload depending on the specific program.

This is an important point. There is a lot of variation between programs within the same field. Some psych programs have a lot of call and their interns work to the brink of the 80 hour work limits. Another problem is that residencies often change their call schedules from year to year so you can't be certain that just because last year's residents had a good schedule that it will stay that way.
That's just something to keep in mind as you investigate programs!

 

[sunset823]

http://www.scutwork.com/cgi-bin/links/page.cgi?d=1 should be a helpful resource. Basically current or past residents in every program in the country review their program, and usually they address the workload as well.

 

[Caboose]

You might ask your dean if you haven't already. I was concerned about how much sleep I would get being that I have epileptic breakdance sessions if I don't get enough of it. The dean brought out an enormous book in a wheelbarrow and we went through programs by number of hours on the clock and so on.

For me, lack of sleep is a major stressor. I wouldn't last 1 30 hour shift, even is it was divided by a few hours of low quality, sporadic sleep.


Caboose.

 

[RiceOwl04]

Thanks everyone for your responses. So pathology and psychiatry are considered "less intense" residencies? And, are the radiology, anesthesiology, ophthalmology, and derm considered both less intense for residencies and once one is done with the residency, or just the latter?

Without considering hours/intensity during residency or one's career afterward, I find psychiatry and neurology interesting. It would be great to hear what people's thoughts are on the work/load intensity of both of these residencies and careers in each of these fields?

Also, is there somewhere to find out how residency programs in a given field compare in terms of hours and workload, eg: "which California residency programs in neurology are less strenuous?" I heard somewhere that typically community hospital-based, as opposed to university-based program are less intense, but I don't know if that is true.

Thanks guys!

Neurology can be a fairly demanding residency, with a lot of call coverage required. rads/ophtho/derm are all fairly good lifestyle even after residency, and if anything are even better afterwards. I second http://www.scutwork.com if you want to see what people think of individual programs. You're right that in general community hospitals are easier than large academic centers. Psychiatry is pretty good overall in terms of workload.

 

[Winged Scapula]

You might ask your dean if you haven't already. I was concerned about how much sleep I would get being that I have epileptic breakdance sessions if I don't get enough of it. The dean brought out an enormous book in a wheelbarrow and we went through programs by number of hours on the clock and so on.

For me, lack of sleep is a major stressor. I wouldn't last 1 30 hour shift, even is it was divided by a few hours of low quality, sporadic sleep.


Caboose.

Curious - what did you end up deciding to apply for that won't have any extended call?

 

[HeyThereJude]

Thanks for these great responses. I am surprised that the "ROAD"s specialties, in general, also have less strenuous residencies (not sure really why that is surprising though 🙂), why is it that psych, in general, has a less demanding residency? Any other specialties that fit into the less time demanding of specialties? (btw, I am not thinking about any of the surgical specialties), thanks!

 

[yaah]

"Demanding" is also in the eye of the beholder. Be very very cautious about picking a field primarily for lifestyle reasons - if you end up not liking it it is going to stress you out to no end. Whereas in a field you like an 80 hour work week can be much more tolerable. Dermatology would stress the crap out of me. I know people who went into pathology because they thought it would be a nice easy residency. They generally leave it after a year or so when they can't hack it, finding out they have to work "too hard" and bail for something else. That, of course, would mean you just wasted at least a year of your life.

 

[HeyThereJude]

-

 

[Winged Scapula]

"Demanding" is also in the eye of the beholder. Be very very cautious about picking a field primarily for lifestyle reasons - if you end up not liking it it is going to stress you out to no end. Whereas in a field you like an 80 hour work week can be much more tolerable. Dermatology would stress the crap out of me. I know people who went into pathology because they thought it would be a nice easy residency. They generally leave it after a year or so when they can't hack it, finding out they have to work "too hard" and bail for something else. That, of course, would mean you just wasted at least a year of your life.

yaah is exactly right.

Despite the stereotype that Path is an easy residency, the month I spent on service during fellowship was one of the longest of my life.

Not because the work wasn't interesting.

Not because I didn't like the residents, fellows and attendings on service with me.

But because I had daily migraines (full blown with vomiting) when looking into a microscope and smelling the fixatives. Unless I had some effective prophylaxis I could never tolerate a Path residency; surgery residency was easier for me, at least physically.

So, to the OP, the issue of workload really is dependent not only on specialty, but program, patient census and what you consider work. There are plenty of residents with children, even in more demanding residencies. Residencies typically thought of as less demanding in terms of work hours, often have long hours at home reading. Is this feasible with your child? I know many parents who would prefer to BE HOME when they are HOME. Meaning, they don't want to come home at 5 pm and then spend 3 hours a night reading.

So while Rad Onc, Ophtho and Derm sound appealing in terms of lifestyle, they are also very competitive and require lots of time reading at home. PM&R tends to have a better lifestyle, as does Psych (although you have to get through an IM internship) although there may be some rotations which are more time intensive. EM is nice because its mostly shift work, when you're off, you're off. No pager, no call. Its ideal for parents although some of those shifts will be overnight.