Residency...

[LB4Life]

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sounds like hell! Does it get easier after your first year? Or are you at the hospital 80hrs/week for 3 years straight?

We'd like to have kids after I'm done with school, but I'm not sure I can be a father while working those insane hours for 3 entire years.

I know this has been asked before, and it depends on the particular program, but how many hours does the average resident work in years 1,2, and 3? Are you there everday Monday through Sunday, Monday through Friday, etc.. Just looking for a few more details than what I've been able to find.

There are several residencies in my state that I would be interested in, would it be presumptuous to contact them directly and ask about their "family friendliness"?

 

[jonwill]

sounds like hell! Does it get easier after your first year? Or are you at the hospital 80hrs/week for 3 years straight?

We'd like to have kids after I'm done with school, but I'm not sure I can be a father while working those insane hours for 3 entire years.

I know this has been asked before, and it depends on the particular program, but how many hours does the average resident work in years 1,2, and 3? Are you there everday Monday through Sunday, Monday through Friday, etc.. Just looking for a few more details than what I've been able to find.

There are several residencies in my state that I would be interested in, would it be presumptuous to contact them directly and ask about their "family friendliness"?

It all depends on where you go. There are some residencies that have very mellow hours. I have friends that are done by 2 or 3 PM everyday. And there is the other side of the spectrum where you work insane hours. And there are a ton of programs somewhere in between.

One thing I quickly learned my 4th year is that training is directly correlated with the hours you work (which is a pretty obvious statement) as long as the hours are well spent. You have 3 years to learn everything you can. I felt like 40 hour work weeks weren't sufficient to teach me everything that I wanted to learn.

I am at what many consider one of the more rigorous residency programs in the country. And I am married with three children. Yes, I do have some long days. But other days aren't so bad. I was home by 5PM today. Tomorrow, I probably won't be home till late. That is the way it goes. And at many programs (mine included), the first year is rough and it gets better from there. Our senior residents have a pretty sweet deal. But they have already put in their time. My turn!

 

[Feli]

...One thing I quickly learned my 4th year is that training is directly correlated with the hours you work (which is a pretty obvious statement) as long as the hours are well spent. You have 3 years to learn everything you can. I felt like 40 hour work weeks weren't sufficient to teach me everything that I wanted to learn..

This is the bottom line. You get out what you put in.^

You have 3 years of residency (and maybe a 1yr fellowship afterwards) to get all of the training that you'll take into your practicing podiatry career. After that, CMEs might be nice for refreshing knowledge or picking up a new trick here and there, but you won't really learn anything new. The occasional surgery workshop might help you learn or modify a procedure, but you have to build your foundation in residency.

If you want to get the most from residency, then you want strong attendings, hard working and smart fellow residents, a lot of different cases, and a lot of patients. That might be rough on your family or social life for a few years, but in the long run, you have to consider what you want. If you look at pods who did the big name and long hour programs, you will generally see that they are the guys doing well financially, writing for journals, directing residencies, or giving CME lectures. If you look at the people who took whatever residency was left, you might see a strikingly different picture in some cases...