Which specialties that are best for people who like to stand?

[peanutbutter45654]

Hey everyone,
I am a first-year med student, not super sure what specialty I want to go into yet. However, I do know that I love standing (hate sitting for too long...causes me problems). Which specialties would allow me to stand/be on my feet most of the day as opposed to sitting? Thanks!

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[Esmolol]

NOT anesthesia…

 

[Goro]

Surgery
PM&R

 

[whoknows2012]

Hey everyone,
I am a first-year med student, not super sure what specialty I want to go into yet. However, I do know that I love standing (hate sitting for too long...causes me problems). Which specialties would allow me to stand/be on my feet most of the day as opposed to sitting? Thanks!

Medicine and sub specialties of IM with lots of rounding (ie lots of inpatient work) or long procedures

 

[operaman]

Pretty much anything is adaptable as such. Exceptions might be radiology or path, but even then you might be able to use a standing desk - I know some docs who do.

Also may want to avoid certain surgical fields, or at least parts. Ear surgery is usually done seated with a microscope as are a number of Neurosurg cases. Not sure how much sitting you can tolerate, but be wary of prolonged micro work. Some advanced skull base cases can take 12+ hours of sitting under the scope. Those aren’t part of my practice now but I did have to do a handful during training.

 

[Tenk]

Emergency medicine. I probably walk a couple miles every shift.

 

[Redpancreas]

Such an odd question.

To be honest, it's probably not even field dependent as much as it is residency, practice, and personality dependent. Obviously surgeons with long cases stand the longest but if you have ever stood for that long, I doubt you'd be so enthusiastic about standing.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

Such an odd question.

I know right lol. If you want to stand then stand. There is no job out there where you are forced to sit down. On the other hand there are jobs where you are forced to stand like surgery.

 

[cj_cregg]

Agree with operaman above, really any specialty you can just use a standing desk. Sometimes in any care setting, it's nice to be able to sit down at eye level to a patient so your body language isn't intimidating and it doesn't feel to them like you're about to wander out of the room. But other than maybe like palliative care where lengthy conversations are the norm, there's no reason this should be happening for more than 30-45 min at a time at most.

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Surgery
PM&R

Which surgical subspecialty would you say is the best in this case?

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Pretty much anything is adaptable as such. Exceptions might be radiology or path, but even then you might be able to use a standing desk - I know some docs who do.

Also may want to avoid certain surgical fields, or at least parts. Ear surgery is usually done seated with a microscope as are a number of Neurosurg cases. Not sure how much sitting you can tolerate, but be wary of prolonged micro work. Some advanced skull base cases can take 12+ hours of sitting under the scope. Those aren’t part of my practice now but I did have to do a handful during training.

What if I want to become a surgeon that specializes in gender-affirming surgeries? Do these involve sitting?

 

[peanutbutter45654]

I know right lol. If you want to stand then stand. There is no job out there where you are forced to sit down. On the other hand there are jobs where you are forced to stand like surgery.

Let me rephrase this- which specialty is the best if I need to walk a lot (get in a lot of steps) during work? (I have a medical issue that improves with more activity throughout the day)

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Agree with operaman above, really any specialty you can just use a standing desk. Sometimes in any care setting, it's nice to be able to sit down at eye level to a patient so your body language isn't intimidating and it doesn't feel to them like you're about to wander out of the room. But other than maybe like palliative care where lengthy conversations are the norm, there's no reason this should be happening for more than 30-45 min at a time at most.

Let me rephrase this- which specialty is the best if I need to walk a lot (get in a lot of steps) during work? (I have a medical issue that improves with more activity throughout the day)

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Pretty much anything is adaptable as such. Exceptions might be radiology or path, but even then you might be able to use a standing desk - I know some docs who do.

Also may want to avoid certain surgical fields, or at least parts. Ear surgery is usually done seated with a microscope as are a number of Neurosurg cases. Not sure how much sitting you can tolerate, but be wary of prolonged micro work. Some advanced skull base cases can take 12+ hours of sitting under the scope. Those aren’t part of my practice now but I did have to do a handful during training.

Let me rephrase this- which specialty is the best if I need to walk a lot (get in a lot of steps) during work? (I have a medical issue that improves with more activity throughout the day)

 

[PikminOC]

What if I want to become a surgeon that specializes in gender-affirming surgeries? Do these involve sitting?

This is oddly specific. Not sure why this surgeon would get more walking than another type of surgery

 

[operaman]

What if I want to become a surgeon that specializes in gender-affirming surgeries? Do these involve sitting?

Depends on which surgeries you’re talking about. I think top/bottom surgery is typically done standing. Facial plastics stuff is usually done standing.

Some of the voice surgeries are done standing such as a feminization laryngoplasty, thyroid chondroplasty. Others are done seated such as the Wendler glottoplasty and all its variations. Though an experienced surgeon can bang one out in under an hour.

 

[operaman]

Let me rephrase this- which specialty is the best if I need to walk a lot (get in a lot of steps) during work? (I have a medical issue that improves with more activity throughout the day)

Again, you can adapt pretty much anything to this. Ironically, surgical fields may be the least amenable simply because you may have prolonged periods standing in one place. And there’s no easy way to move around. If I’m doing an 8 hour airway recon, my butt is standing there the whole time. When I’m in clinic I have more flexibility and can sit/stand when I want. When seeing inpatients there’s lots of walking too. And when I’m not on call, I’m often out the door by 3-4 and have time to do whatever physical activities I wish.

Your best bet would be to find some fields you like and then delve in to the details on which would work best for your needs over the long term. Look closely at procedural fields with generally short procedures. That’s basically what I do - the 8 hour surgeries are thankfully rare for me - and I’m very active during my workdays.

 

[cj_cregg]

Let me rephrase this- which specialty is the best if I need to walk a lot (get in a lot of steps) during work? (I have a medical issue that improves with more activity throughout the day)

Ah, got it. Agree with above that surgery then might not be great, or radiology or pathology. Anything else hospital based or spending time in clinic would probably be okay because you'd be rounding, walking from exam room to exam room, etc.

 

[AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson]

Can always do all your note writing in IM from a standing desk; that's what our call rooms have and it's pretty nice ngl.

If you work as an attending that has to round with a team (residents, NP/PAs, etc) just make it bedside rounds.

 

[Goro]

Which surgical subspecialty would you say is the best in this case?

Composite tissue transplantation

 

[RangerBob]

Let me rephrase this- which specialty is the best if I need to walk a lot (get in a lot of steps) during work? (I have a medical issue that improves with more activity throughout the day)

Academic internal medicine at a large academic center.

We walked across the hospital and up/down multiple stories in the span of a few hours.

EM involves a lot of getting up and moving.

Radiology with standing desk and treadmill.

Probably not surgery since they’re standing in one place for so long.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Is it truly walking while working that you want, or would you be better off with a specialty that allows you the flexibility in your schedule to do whatever physical activity you find fun and enjoyable? IM rounds can involve lots of walking but it’s not the enjoyable refreshing kind that makes you feel good in your body - mostly it just makes your feet and your back hurt. Everyone is always walking at a different pace than is ideal for you. sometimes it’s better to just get through the day and then go on a nice walk or run or other workout after work

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Can always do all your note writing in IM from a standing desk; that's what our call rooms have and it's pretty nice ngl.

If you work as an attending that has to round with a team (residents, NP/PAs, etc) just make it bedside rounds.

What do y'all think about derm for my situation?

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Again, you can adapt pretty much anything to this. Ironically, surgical fields may be the least amenable simply because you may have prolonged periods standing in one place. And there’s no easy way to move around. If I’m doing an 8 hour airway recon, my butt is standing there the whole time. When I’m in clinic I have more flexibility and can sit/stand when I want. When seeing inpatients there’s lots of walking too. And when I’m not on call, I’m often out the door by 3-4 and have time to do whatever physical activities I wish.

Your best bet would be to find some fields you like and then delve in to the details on which would work best for your needs over the long term. Look closely at procedural fields with generally short procedures. That’s basically what I do - the 8 hour surgeries are thankfully rare for me - and I’m very active during my workdays.

What do y'all think about derm for my situation?

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Is it truly walking while working that you want, or would you be better off with a specialty that allows you the flexibility in your schedule to do whatever physical activity you find fun and enjoyable? IM rounds can involve lots of walking but it’s not the enjoyable refreshing kind that makes you feel good in your body - mostly it just makes your feet and your back hurt. Everyone is always walking at a different pace than is ideal for you. sometimes it’s better to just get through the day and then go on a nice walk or run or other workout after work

What do y'all think about derm for my situation?

 

[peanutbutter45654]

Composite tissue transplantation

What do y'all think about derm for my situation?

 

[deleted1162863]

Yeah I can't imagine picking a field based on this metric. Sounds like a bad idea.

 

[RangerBob]

Derm probably sits most of the time, since it's clinic based.

You can stand in the patient room, but no patient is going to be happy about their doctor standing in the exam room as it would make you look impatient/uncaring.

In the hospital it's usually expected your physician will be standing, which is part of why patients are so happy when we sit--they think we're spending a lot more time with them.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

What do y'all think about derm for my situation?

I don’t do derm so I can’t really speak to it. And fyi you can put multiple quotes or tags in one post so you don’t have to spam the same question repeatedly

But as others said I don’t think this is a good metric to decide. I think you need to decide what kind of medicine you like first, and whether you can tolerate long periods in one position (many surgeries). From there you can see how you feel about the lifestyle and activity level while on your rotations

 

[CJhooper123]

Spine surgery You can stand for 10+ hours straight.
As long as you don't mind using a Burr right next to someone's dural sac.

 

[Sriddymopboi]

NOT anesthesia…

You can stand as much as you want in anesthesia lol