which residencies have the best quality of life

[phillyfornia]

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i'm curious as to which residencies are the easiest. i.e. which programs offer the best quality of life as a resident (not attending). i'm getting sick of all this work and want to just chill during residency and afterwards. money ain't a thang anymore b/c anything over 6 figures is great in my book.

 

[roja]

you may have picked the wrong career path. 🙂


There is a thread on this same topic, try a search

 

[medic170]

Otolaryngology, opthamology, and radiology are less "time" challenging according to a book I am reading, but that does not neccessarily mean it will be less work.

 

[roja]

A good friend of mine is a PGY-2 radiology resident. Her life sucks (according to her) They work thier tails off, at least in the first few years of residency.. not to mention a transitional year....

 

[Leforte]

I can assure you that otolaryngology is not one of the easier residencies, nor are most other surgical subspecialties. Our ENT residents routinely work as much, if not more than the GS residents.

 

[medic170]

Like I said, I am just repeating what I read in a book about it. I have no first hand experience yet, so I would listen to these guys rather than me 😉

 

[scootad.]

Derm, derm, derm, derm, derm

good luck getting a position

 

[Mirror Form]

i'm curious as to which residencies are the easiest. i.e. which programs offer the best quality of life as a resident (not attending). i'm getting sick of all this work and want to just chill during residency and afterwards. money ain't a thang anymore b/c anything over 6 figures is great in my book.

These questions are always tough b/c things can really vary between programs. For example, there are plenty of ophtho programs where the residents have a great quality of life, and there are plenty of others where they've had trouble meeting the 80 hour work week. But then again, even if you're doing ophtho for 80 hours a week, most optho departments are still relatively laid back and non-malignant compared to more hardcore dept's like OB or neurosurg. So there are many factors to consider.

That said, there are plenty of fields in which you can find a decent residency program that also has a good quality of life: rads, derm, optho, path, pm&r, fp, psych . . .

 

[axm397]

Some "lifestyle" specialties have HARD residencies - like radiology - test after test and call after call...

Even Psych can be hard seeing all the ER Psych admissions.

I know PM&R can be very cush - q14, one weekend per 3months, home call, etc. depending on program - (of course, there are harder and easier programs - but as a whole, the call schedule tends to be easier)

ER is nice too - shift work - about four-five 10-12hr shifts per week. No call.

Anesthesia after intern year can also be nice. (after the SICU ICU rotations)

Derm is definitely good - after intern year

Bigger programs at community hospitals tend to be easier than academic institutions.

How about a medical informatics residency??

 

[jbernar1]

PM& R, Nuclear Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Derm

 

[CaptainJack02]

PM& R, Nuclear Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Derm

add neurosurgery to that list. those lucky bastards get to eat and poop *almost* everyday, i hear.

 

[Sanman]

add neurosurgery to that list. those lucky bastards get to eat and poop *almost* everyday, i hear.

Ah yes the lifestyle specialty of neurosurgery. Well its a lifestyle alright! I hear Hopkins has a particularly laid back program.

 

[DrBloodmoney]

And nobody has mentioned Path. I have some of the best hours around. Can you say 'call at home' and 'no intern year'.

 

[Fro]

path and derm
I'd give path a slight edge but derm makes more $$$$

 

[LADoc00]

path and derm
I'd give path a slight edge but derm makes more $$$$

WTF, Derm hands DOWN. There were programs that residents actually worked 4 half days a week when I was a med student. The rest of the time was "reading."

 

[bustbones26]

Most FP programs are good for not going over 80 hours per week. If you want cush, check into programs that offer no inpatient service or ICU after intern year.

Preventative medicine, cush!! Intern year, and then basically spend two years after that earning an MPH.

Don't know if derm residency is cushy???? May not be many emergencies, but you may have to work long office hours.

Path has good hours

Most PM&R programs take call from home in senior years.

Well, that is about it. Have fun 🙂

 

[scootad.]

ROTFL! Long office hours for derm!! Yeah 9-5 is so damn taxing!

 

[Mirror Form]

ROTFL! Long office hours for derm!! Yeah 9-5 is so damn taxing!

yeah, derm doesn't have long hours in the clinic or hospital. However, since they're all type A brainiacs they end up having to read like champs outside of clinic and learn all this stupid minutia. So it's one of those things where even though you're outside of the hospital, you still have the reading hanging over your head constantly.

 

[phillyfornia]

sounds like derm has the easiest residency. i guess my lazy ass will become a dermatologist then. do they have any programs in southern california? because that's the only place that i want to do my residency.

 

[scootad.]

Yeah good luck finding a spot in SoCal! lol

 

[VentdependenT]

sounds like derm has the easiest residency. i guess my lazy ass will become a dermatologist then. do they have any programs in southern california? because that's the only place that i want to do my residency.

Its just that simple. One day I wanted to be an anesthesiologist and BLAM here I am. Derm should be easy to land, even easier in California.

Now you can breath easy. Then you can look up the word facetious cause this post is rife with it.

Try Occupational Medicine. I dunno what the hell it is but it sounds easy.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

And nobody has mentioned Path. I have some of the best hours around. Can you say 'call at home' and 'no intern year'.

Amen brutha!

NO INTERN YEAR! NO TRANSITIONAL YEAR! (no more having to deny a drug-seeking malingerer candy at 2 am! Woohoo!)

 

[MrHide]

Yeah good luck finding a spot in SoCal! lol

no kidding, its got to be the king of all residency spots.

do the math. each year, so cal derm programs graduate less than 12 money grubbing residents into a patient population/market of >20 million. a region where running a derm practice with less than a 4 month appointment wait list is a miserable failure. doesn't even matter that the uci program is on probation ... their residents graduating this year have had newport beach practices jocking them since pgy-2, dangling a 300k base and their first born sons.

yeah, i'll put up with 3 years of reading.

 

[mfrederi]

Kinda catch 22, derm may be a lazy docs dream, however only the uber-gunners get derm spots. Sometimes the world is just not fair. Shouldn't the people that have proven they have a maniacal drive to self destruction and working around the clock be forced into FP, Surg, NS, etc. Only the bottom 5% of the class (and people that take the USMLE at least twice) should be allowed to do derm. Anybody want to get behind me on this movement, I'll write a proposal for submission with ACGME?

 

[CaptainJack02]

Kinda catch 22, derm may be a lazy docs dream, however only the uber-gunners get derm spots. Sometimes the world is just not fair. Shouldn't the people that have proven they have a maniacal drive to self destruction and working around the clock be forced into FP, Surg, NS, etc. Only the bottom 5% of the class (and people that take the USMLE at least twice) should be allowed to do derm. Anybody want to get behind me on this movement, I'll write a proposal for submission with ACGME?

then getting to the bottom 5% will be the goal of 40% of the medical school class. it'll be a competition of who can just barely pass and still be at the bottom. 😀

 

[rastelli]

Residency is not meant to be a time to "just chill." I'm a second year peds resident at a top 5 program, and this is tough stuff. Of course, it's never as tough as others make it out to be (from one rotation to another), but it's difficult. When you are awake for over 30 hours, it's tough----doesn't matter too much what you're doing.

I will say that the surgeons have it pretty tough. Despite the 30 and 80 hour rules, many programs (all of the ones I have friends in) are not able to regularly comply. Not only do these guys/gals have to take care of their patients, but also consult in ER and elsewhere. They always look like they're out of gas.

For easier training, consider PM&R or Dermatology. But God help you if you pick your future career solely based on a few years of potential sleep deprivation.

 

[Philo Beddo]

For easier training, consider PM&R or Dermatology. But God help you if you pick your future career solely based on a few years of potential sleep deprivation.

I would say "God help you to pick your future career based on a few years of sleep deprivation."

We all pretend that giving up almost a decade of our lives is worth it, no matter how crappy those years are for us.

What is the rest of your life but a few more decades strung together?

Philo

hippocritis.com <---medical satire by residents, for residents and students.

 

[DrIng]

Do some thing you love, find fulfilment in your work at least some of the time and have enough time left over that you significant other doesn't move out, have time to ahev children one day and earn enough to be 'comfortable'. Which ever speciality will give you that has the ebst quality of life, in my mind.

 

[avgjoe]

Do some thing you love, find fulfilment in your work at least some of the time and have enough time left over that you significant other doesn't move out, have time to ahev children one day and earn enough to be 'comfortable'. Which ever speciality will give you that has the ebst quality of life, in my mind.

the problem is that sometimes what you love doesn't allow for many of those to happen. then it becomes a hard choice..

 

[miamidc]

I totally agree, I feel that I would love doing Ortho but I wouldn't have time to do my other love which is making investments on the side and having time for a family. So then I think Gas would be perfect because I love physio and pharm, and I could do Pain if I needed the patients, and have much more time and could even work part time and make like 200K. So which one am I going to decide on??? I think lifestyle and time outside of medicine might just be the way to go. Anybody have any thoghts on this...

 

[The White Coat Investor]

ER is nice too - shift work - about four-five 10-12hr shifts per week. No call.

:

I hope you're talking about attendings, because residents typically work 5-6 shifts per week, rotating shifts. If you've never rotated shifts before, perhaps you don't realize how much time is lost to poor quality sleep, switching from nights to days etc (i.e. I work from midnight to 9 am on my "day off") plus all your conference days are on your days off because all residents are scheduled off for conferences. It adds up to more hours than one might think just adding up the shifts.

 

[lawmd]

To the original poster:

No offense dude, but thanks for wasting a med school spot for someone who wants to work hard to help a few people and not just want an easy job. Do everyone a favor and quit now and dont steal a residency spot from someone who deserves it. You will not get derm, give it up. Maybe you can write Rx for an online drug company in Canada. Sorry for the harshness, but you suck.

 

[Mirror Form]

But God help you if you pick your future career solely based on a few years of potential sleep deprivation.

there comes a point when you have to say "I'm too old to still be miserable and paying my dues."

 

[Mirror Form]

To the original poster:

No offense dude, but thanks for wasting a med school spot for someone who wants to work hard to help a few people and not just want an easy job. Do everyone a favor and quit now and dont steal a residency spot from someone who deserves it. You will not get derm, give it up. Maybe you can write Rx for an online drug company in Canada. Sorry for the harshness, but you suck.

I feel very sorry for you if you think that things like: quality of life, having time to spend with your family, etc., are just for "lazy people."

 

[medic170]

I feel very sorry for you if you think that things like: quality of life, having time to spend with your family, etc., are just for "lazy people."

Ditto! Anyone who makes it through med school worked hard to help a few people, and who are you to accuse them of "stealing" a residency spot that they earned and chose for perfectly valid reasons? How do you know they "won't get derm?" and who do you think you are to decide who "deserves" it? Grow up.

 

[presidiomd]

To the original poster:

No offense dude, but thanks for wasting a med school spot for someone who wants to work hard to help a few people and not just want an easy job. Do everyone a favor and quit now and dont steal a residency spot from someone who deserves it. You will not get derm, give it up. Maybe you can write Rx for an online drug company in Canada. Sorry for the harshness, but you suck.

Ahh the familiar med student mentality. "I'm doing something noble, and therefore I think i'm better than everybody else." Guess what, your full of crap. Who deserves a med school spot? What is so special about medicine that justifies saying someone deserves a spot or not? If someone got good enough grades to get it, then great. You don't need to be some selfless ass kisser to be a good doc. If I want to work twenty hours a week, then great. That is what this country is all about. So instead of bitching about those of us who don't want to work 5 million hours a week, concentrate on your on life. I guess anyone who works part time, in any field, is a piece of ****, according to your thinking, huh. Well i'll have you know that medicine is just a job.. lets repeat, just a job. Does this mean i'll be a poor physician? No. Am I a saint because I want to HELP people. NO. Teachers,fireman,garbage men,accountants, ect. help people and are no less noble than doctors are. SO GET A LIFE. Oh yeah, you cant, cause your too busy working and kissing some attendings ass to actually have one.

P>S. I love being a lazy ass. Makes more time for me to play with my dog and family.

 

[pez head]

hey dude who's miffed about who gets whatever, alleged residency theft, lazy jerks and what not:

i don't really want to ruffle your feathers, nor add to the pile of poop that you have received for expressing yourself, but i fear you are at high risk of becoming a robot. 01001101010!!!

from: meat-bag

 

[Lonestar]

Some you guys need to wake up and get your head out of the attendings ass. No matter what you do, you will be miserable (99% of the time) working 70+ hours a week. Thats why residency for the most part sucks. The post by miamidc is right on about choosing time off over money. As an transitional year inter for anesthesia, my life is ok. It sucks that I have to jump through so many hoops to get to where I want to go but thats the way it is. I am averaging 65 hours/wk which is not terrible. Now that I look back into my decision to got into anesthesia I realize now that the decision I made in my 4th year keeps getting better and better. I cant wait to start my anesthesia year where I will most likely work similar hours, but will be doing much less BS paperwork and will actually get paid $50/hr if I stay for a case that goes beyond 500 pm. And yes, I can't wait till I become an attending.

Best specialties in my opinion: Rads, Anesthesia, Optho, Derm, Path, Rad Onc. (in no particular order)

Choose wisely!!! Its only the rest of your life. 😀

 

[rehabmd]

I am an attending in PM&R and am currently working on my third subspecialty specialization bc of relatively easy residency training that did not teach me any more skills than I already had upon graduation from med school. I trained in what are considered some of the top rehab programs in the country. Many people pick my specialty bc what they want to do is order PT/OT. Many end up working with workmans comp patients than people with disability due to complex neuromuscular problems such as spinal cord injury/stroke/CP bc workers comp compensates better. I left my last job as an attending at a nationally renowned hospital bc I couldnt understand why I had to ask for patient referrals from PTs and OTs who were getting direct rehab referrals from neurologists, orthopedists and neurosurgeons who did not see why a rehab MD consult was necessary. Although physiatrists should be specialists in nonsurgical aspects of orthopedic and neurologi management, most of my residency time was spent working at the level of a medical intern so that the rehab dept could save the rest of the hospital money on length of stay. Inpatient physaitry attendings and residents essentially babysit patients receiving PT on inpatient rehab units of large academic medical centers. I lacked confidence when i was in med school and rehab seemed a nice field where I could care for the entire patient, but there are so many people who pick my specialty bc they want as little accountability to patients as possible and want to defer the responsibiltiy of patient care to therapists. I love the work I am doing now- working in an outpatient neuromuscular/orthopedic hospital based clinic- but there is very little job security in continuing the work i do now bc reimbursement for non-interventional outpt rehab is so low, even though the need is there to provide chronic neuromusculoskeltal care for pateints with developmental disabilities. Looking back, i wish I had had the confidence to pick another specialty like FP, neuro or peds and then subspecialize in peds rehab, or neuro rehab or sports medciine and then have the credibility I deserve from colleagues in other specialties who share my professional interests.

 

[Filter]

I think the BEST lifestlye fields are neurosurgery, general surgery, ortho, and if you really want to relax a combo of all 3.

 

[southerndoc]

Some "lifestyle" specialties have HARD residencies - like radiology - test after test and call after call...

Even Psych can be hard seeing all the ER Psych admissions.

I know PM&R can be very cush - q14, one weekend per 3months, home call, etc. depending on program - (of course, there are harder and easier programs - but as a whole, the call schedule tends to be easier)

ER is nice too - shift work - about four-five 10-12hr shifts per week. No call.

Anesthesia after intern year can also be nice. (after the SICU ICU rotations)

Derm is definitely good - after intern year

Bigger programs at community hospitals tend to be easier than academic institutions.

How about a medical informatics residency??

ER isn't that cush. You have a nice schedule when you're in the ED, but consider that about 50% of your residency is spent on off-service rotations such as surgery, critical care units, medicine wards, etc.