Residency?

[coolcucumber91]

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I heard a lot of people saying that residency is intense, requires A LOT of time/ work per day, etc... I can imagine residency being stressful for specialties such as emergency medicine, critical care, surgeons, etc. But what about for specialties such as family medicine, psychiatry, and dermatology? Those don't seem nearly as stressful as the specialties listed above...

And I heard it's easier to get a residency position in primary care (family medicine's what im interested in). What does that actually mean? Does it mean I can do not as well as my peers in med school and still claim a spot in primary care?

 

[drizzt3117]

I heard a lot of people saying that residency is intense, requires A LOT of time/ work per day, etc... I can imagine residency being stressful for specialties such as emergency medicine, critical care, surgeons, etc. But what about for specialties such as family medicine, psychiatry, and dermatology? Those don't seem nearly as stressful as the specialties listed above...

Getting into a derm residency will be a lot of work. The residency itself... not so much. FM/Psych aren't the most strenuous residencies also.

And I heard it's easier to get a residency position in primary care (family medicine's what im interested in). What does that actually mean? Does it mean I can do not as well as my peers in med school and still claim a spot in primary care?

Yes.

 

[JJMrK]

Since you are in high school, moving this to hSDN.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

I heard a lot of people saying that residency is intense, requires A LOT of time/ work per day, etc... I can imagine residency being stressful for specialties such as emergency medicine, critical care, surgeons, etc. But what about for specialties such as family medicine, psychiatry, and dermatology? Those don't seem nearly as stressful as the specialties listed above...

And I heard it's easier to get a residency position in primary care (family medicine's what im interested in). What does that actually mean? Does it mean I can do not as well as my peers in med school and still claim a spot in primary care?

FP residency for example may not be on average as stressful as general surgery, however depending on the program an FP resident will spend significant amounts of time on Labor & Delivery, in the ICU, in the OR as an off-service surgery rotator, etc. Plus in a lot of places FP residents are the 'house docs' in place of internists, meaning they rotate call for all new admissions, take consults, run the ship during a cardiac arrest, etc.

Same thing for psych; you've never been stressed until you're sitting alone in a 6x10 room having just come to the realization that the person you're interviewing is a true psychopath who would feel absolutely no way about mutilating your body right there. Dermatology, one of the most lucrative and cushiest specialties out there, has got to be low-stress right? Nope, 'cause that mole you're calling benign damn well better be. If it's not then your patient is gonna die, and his family is gonna to put your family in the poorhouse.

Just saying, there's different kinds of stress. And differnet kinds of people are able to tolerate stress different ways (your surgeon might actually get stress relief from doing something he's good at i.e. operating).

 

[Vicviper]

My Dad was a PM&R, which I hear is one of the more low stress specialties, and in his residency they worked him pretty hard. He had to work late nights and long hours, cover other wards, stuff like that. He said for much of it, there were nights where he was the only Physician for like 75 beds. So, like the above posters said, it sounds like there's all sorts, even for the "lower stress" specialties.

 

[FuturaDocta]

i shadowed a few residents in child psychiartry... they seemed like the most rested people out of all the doctor i've seen. I bolded residents, because welll.... residents aren't known for looking rested. I think this would be a wonderful specialty to enter if you want to sleep a little on the side.

 

[FuturaDocta]

My Dad was a PM&R, which I hear is one of the more low stress specialties, and in his residency they worked him pretty hard. He had to work late nights and long hours, cover other wards, stuff like that. He said for much of it, there were nights where he was the only Physician for like 75 beds. So, like the above posters said, it sounds like there's all sorts, even for the "lower stress" specialties.

Holy 😱 CCOOOOOOOOWW! That can make you crazier than the patients themselves. Why such a poor patient to doctor ratio?

 

[smq123]

i shadowed a few residents in child psychiartry... they seemed like the most rested people out of all the doctor i've seen. I bolded residents, because welll.... residents aren't known for looking rested. I think this would be a wonderful specialty to enter if you want to sleep a little on the side.

Do you mean FELLOWS? You generally don't have residents in child psych (unless they are doing a rotation) as child psychiatry is a subspecialty after a regular psych residency.

Furthermore, they may look well rested (if they are indeed residents) because this rotation has few requirements and the fellows take on the actual stress.

 

[getunconcsious]

i shadowed a few residents in child psychiartry... they seemed like the most rested people out of all the doctor i've seen. I bolded residents, because welll.... residents aren't known for looking rested. I think this would be a wonderful specialty to enter if you want to sleep a little on the side.

HaH! I'm a triple board resident going into child psych and this poster, while well intentioned is misguided. Child psych is indeed a fellowship, and you must complete residency first. Some of my funner experiences in residency:
--Psych wards call with a suicidal patient actively trying to hang himself with a blanket, a homicidal patient telling me he's going to "choke you and watch the light go out in your eyes"; and a dude seizing in florid delirium tremens (alcohol withdrawal). All of these were going at once in that haven of great medical care, your local VA hospital.
--And then there's always pedi wards: stuck at some poor child's bedside b/c her blood pressure is 60/palp even after an 80 cc/kilo fluid bolus (which is HUGE amount of fluid to give on the floor for those that don't know). Meanwhile, I'm getting angry pages from the floor (this patient needs tylenol!); the ER (We have 6 new bronchiolitis admits for you!); the ICU (We need beds! We're transferring all these slightly-less-critically ill patients to you!)...it never ends and you're up and working for 30 hours and then some.

I haven't gotten to child psych fellowship quite yet, but don't let anyone convince you that the road to it isn't rocky. Just my .02 as a very very tired intern (first-year resident).

 

[FuturaDocta]

Very true^ from my experience, which was short I might add. The only fellow I saw was indeed much less rested. Ehh, in the end, everyone is going to have to work. OP, you should just go with what you are most passionate about because that is what will inspire you to keep going.

 

[smq123]

Very true^ from my experience, which was short I might add. The only fellow I saw was indeed much less rested. Ehh, in the end, everyone is going to have to work. OP, you should just go with what you are most passionate about because that is what will inspire you to keep going.

Yep, that may be, indeed, why the residents looked so rested - the fellow is taking on the bulk of the work and the responsibility. All they have to do is show up!

 

[docB]

Residency is also different now than it used to be. Many of us used to work ~120 hours a week. Those hours are now capped at a max of 80/week average so it's more humane.

 

[FuturaDocta]

Residency is also different now than it used to be. Many of us used to work ~120 hours a week. Those hours are now capped at a max of 80/week average so it's more humane.

Thank God! I can't believe you all had to do that. Every time I see an older attending, I just look at them in awe.

 

[cartoondoc]

My Dad was a PM&R, which I hear is one of the more low stress specialties, and in his residency they worked him pretty hard. He had to work late nights and long hours, cover other wards, stuff like that. He said for much of it, there were nights where he was the only Physician for like 75 beds. So, like the above posters said, it sounds like there's all sorts, even for the "lower stress" specialties.

I'm in PM&R and my residency was nothing like that. There were some hard rotations, but I never had to work more than maybe 60 hours per week. And usually much less.

 

[Vicviper]

I'm in PM&R and my residency was nothing like that. There were some hard rotations, but I never had to work more than maybe 60 hours per week. And usually much less.

Yeah, this was over 30 years ago - I'd hope things have changed since then 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm in PM&R and my residency was nothing like that. There were some hard rotations, but I never had to work more than maybe 60 hours per week. And usually much less.

It totally depends on the specialty. I am most of my peers are averaging somewhere in the 70 hours/week range during intern year. My record thus far is around 100, but that was atypical. I'd say the normal range for most fields will be somewhere in the 60-80 range during residency, which is actually pretty reasonable for a high powered professional job. Finding a program where you are rarely breaking 60 is actually pretty rare outside of EM or derm.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thank God! I can't believe you all had to do that. Every time I see an older attending, I just look at them in awe.

Hey docB - I guess we are "older attendings". Work hour reform has only been around 7 years and many programs struggled (and still struggle) with adhering to them. It wasn't THAT long ago that your attendings worked 120 hrs/week.

 

[FuturaDocta]

Hey docB - I guess we are "older attendings". Work hour reform has only been around 7 years and many programs struggled (and still struggle) with adhering to them. It wasn't THAT long ago that your attendings worked 120 hrs/week.

In AWWWEEE... seriously! You are amazing.

Hmm, about that term "older." I knew I was gonna get called out for that. How about "studly attendings"?

Thank God! I can't believe you all had to do that. Every time I see a studly attending, I just look at them in awe.

Better? I would use something a little more bold, but this is H.SDN.

 

[docB]

Hey docB - I guess we are "older attendings". Work hour reform has only been around 7 years and many programs struggled (and still struggle) with adhering to them. It wasn't THAT long ago that your attendings worked 120 hrs/week.

Eh? You're gonna have to talk louder young lady. Grampa's battery is out in his new fangled hearing contraption again.

 

[Winged Scapula]

In AWWWEEE... seriously! You are amazing.

Hmm, about that term "older." I knew I was gonna get called out for that. How about "studly attendings"?



Better? I would use something a little more bold, but this is H.SDN.

Studly might work for docB, seeing as he is male, but I prefer "hardcore" or something less "manly". 😀

 

[FuturaDocta]

Studly might work for docB, seeing as he is male, but I prefer "hardcore" or something less "manly". 😀

I was going to use the term that starts with "kick" and ends with a word that rhythms with ace. But, I don't think it would be appropriate in this forum. 😉

 

[Winged Scapula]

I was going to use the term that starts with "kick" and ends with a word that rhythms with ace. But, I don't think it would be appropriate in this forum. 😉

"Rhythms with ace".

I don't know what sort of accent you have or why you rhythm your words, but what rhymes with with ace - mace, face, place, case, keeping up the pace? 😉

 

[Gigantron]

Residency is also different now than it used to be. Many of us used to work ~120 hours a week. Those hours are now capped at a max of 80/week average so it's more humane.

I bet a lot of residencies still make their residents work ~120 hours a week, but only make them "log in" 80 hours. 🙄

 

[Winged Scapula]

Yeah but in the past they didn't have as many patients as we do now. Ya know, before the baby boomer generation and all. LLuckily in Mexico sme things have improved since they have opened and or expanded a lot of hospitals trying to cope with increased demand. They just opened a new Level 3 mega hospital in the south part of Mexico City last month.

Vasca that may have been true in Mexico, but the work hour restrictions in the US are only 7 years old. There has been NO change in average inpatient census since then (ie, we saw as many patients as residents are seeing now).

As a matter of fact, "in the old days" (ie, way before my time), inpatient census was quite high, as patients were admitted pre-op for work-up and testing, patients stayed quite a bit longer after surgery, and many things that we now treat as outpatient were inpatient conditions.

Please refrain from making comments on topics of which you know little; which includes US medicine. Every generation thinks they have it harder then the guys that come after them; for some reason, the current crop of residents, you included, seems to think that they are working harder than anyone else EVAR did in the history of medicine.🙄