Which specialty allows you to have a more balanced life?

[caliga16]

Obviously the lifestyle specialties: ROAD and possibly psych.
And obviously not Gen surg.
But how about family medicine, pediatrics, IM? Obgyn?
Which ones are known to be good for someone who wishes to have a balanced work/home life?
Any one better than the other?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Psai]

how is any of this obvious to you? you haven't even rotated in anything yet

 

[Armadillos]

The lifestyle question is really a couple different questions

1- there is residency vs rest of career and the two can be very different. Urology and ENT can be brutal residency but awesome once practicing.

2- there is also what's "possible" and what's common in practice. Some surgeons work 25 hrs a week, but it not common

Overall psych, derm, path and rads are about the only fields with awesome lifestyle in residency, but there are tons of fields that can be very controlled lifestyle once your done.

 

[muhali3]

Dentistry.

 

[seminoma]

Obviously the lifestyle specialties: ROAD and possibly psych.
And obviously not Gen surg.
But how about family medicine, pediatrics, IM? Obgyn?
Which ones are known to be good for someone who wishes to have a balanced work/home life?
Any one better than the other?

Depends how big your trust fund is bruh.

 

[charmiedermie]

Obviously the lifestyle specialties: ROAD and possibly psych.
And obviously not Gen surg.
But how about family medicine, pediatrics, IM? Obgyn?
Which ones are known to be good for someone who wishes to have a balanced work/home life?
Any one better than the other?

Some other ones: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Nuclear Medicine.

 

[Stagg737]

Is anesthesiology really that easy of a lifestyle? I mean, waking up at 4-5 am for the rest of my career isn't exactly easy or the most appealing idea to me...

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Some other ones: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Occupational Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Nuclear Medicine.

If you're a non-radiologist, nuclear medicine is a very chill lifestyle post-residency ... if you consider being unemployed chill.

 

[DrBodacious]

Is anesthesiology really that easy of a lifestyle? I mean, waking up at 4-5 am for the rest of my career isn't exactly easy or the most appealing idea to me...

By the time you are 30, or if you have kids before then, you will be waking up around 5, anyway.

 

[Snoopy2006]

Lifestyle's what you make of it. Some fields inherently have less call / after-hours obligations than others. Derm, rheum, allergy, PM&R all have little to no call.

Ophtho and ENT are more moderate. Good lifestyle (generally speaking) for surgical fields, but they're not exactly 8-5 without call.

Lifestyle can also mean something other than call. EM's shift schedule means you won't get called in after your shift, but the rotating nature of the shifts can make it difficult on some people. Hospitalists can work as little as half the year, but when they're on they can be invisible to their families.

Part of it is figuring out what "lifestyle" means to you. The freedom to not get called back in to the hospital after you go home? A set, routine schedule that doesn't change? Being home every evening for a family dinner / kids sporting events? Different fields have different advantages.

 

[vokey588]

Obviously the lifestyle specialties: ROAD and possibly psych.
And obviously not Gen surg.
But how about family medicine, pediatrics, IM? Obgyn?
Which ones are known to be good for someone who wishes to have a balanced work/home life?
Any one better than the other?

Radiation oncology has an awesome lifestyle. No weekends in residency or as an attending. Call is home call and there are only a few radiation oncology emergencies.

 

[famoussquamous]

If you own your own practice, you get to set your hours OP, why not just do that if you're worried about lifestyle?

 

[Stagg737]

By the time you are 30, or if you have kids before then, you will be waking up around 5, anyway.

I'm still in denial about this, haha. I was talking about the other aspects though. I've heard from some people that anesthesiologists and surgeons are 'the first ones in and last ones out', so I was wondering if that's true or not. I've got no problem showing up at 5am if it means I'm done by 2 or 3 pm and don't have to constantly be on-call. I ask because it's one of the fields I know very little about but am potentially interested in doing.

 

[rodmichael82]

I have no idea why people think EM is a good lifestyle. While I understand EM docs work "40 hours". The shift work especially at a busy hospital man those 40 hours are pretty brutal. The next day "off" turns out to be a recovery day.

 

[DrBodacious]

I'm still in denial about this, haha. I was talking about the other aspects though. I've heard from some people that anesthesiologists and surgeons are 'the first ones in and last ones out', so I was wondering if that's true or not. I've got no problem showing up at 5am if it means I'm done by 2 or 3 pm and don't have to constantly be on-call. I ask because it's one of the fields I know very little about but am potentially interested in doing.

Anesthesiologists have some rough call obligations (think going in to revise an epidural on a miserable laboring woman at 3 am). Usually, they have infrequent call, given how bad it can be. But, they have pure shift work, otherwise. So, they can just tap out mid case at 3pm on a non call day and enjoy the rest of their day. On of the best set ups for having a life outside work, imo.

 

[Frazier]

Just to pile on:

Psych
derm
pmr
A&I
occupational med
REI (?)
RadOnc

 

[famoussquamous]

I'm still in denial about this, haha. I was talking about the other aspects though. I've heard from some people that anesthesiologists and surgeons are 'the first ones in and last ones out', so I was wondering if that's true or not. I've got no problem showing up at 5am if it means I'm done by 2 or 3 pm and don't have to constantly be on-call. I ask because it's one of the fields I know very little about but am potentially interested in doing.

It depends on how long you're doing your job. I know some senior attendings surgeons (think late 50s early 60s) that don't work nights or take call and make the younger attendings do all that. If you work in an academic hospital you'll probably have better hours than if you were at a community hospital, but won't make as much money. You're gonna get people attacking you about not minding long hours, but you get more paid vacation time than 99% of other jobs regardless of specialty you choose, and again, if you own a practice you set your own time.

I have no idea why people think EM is a good lifestyle. While I understand EM docs work "40 hours". The shift work especially at a busy hospital man those 40 hours are pretty brutal. The next day "off" turns out to be a recovery day.

Because it's better to bust your butt for 40 hours a week instead of busting your butt for 60-80 hours and not even getting a full recovery day.

 

[Psai]

It depends on how long you're doing your job. I know some senior attendings surgeons (think late 50s early 60s) that don't work nights or take call and make the younger attendings do all that. If you work in an academic hospital you'll probably have better hours than if you were at a community hospital, but won't make as much money. You're gonna get people attacking you about not minding long hours, but you get more paid vacation time than 99% of other jobs regardless of specialty you choose, and again, if you own a practice you set your own time.



Because it's better to bust your butt for 40 hours a week instead of busting your butt for 60-80 hours and not even getting a full recovery day.

Have you done an EM shift?

 

[Stagg737]

It depends on how long you're doing your job. I know some senior attendings surgeons (think late 50s early 60s) that don't work nights or take call and make the younger attendings do all that. If you work in an academic hospital you'll probably have better hours than if you were at a community hospital, but won't make as much money. You're gonna get people attacking you about not minding long hours, but you get more paid vacation time than 99% of other jobs regardless of specialty you choose, and again, if you own a practice you set your own time.

I'm not really sure how that's possible in that field...do they really have their own practices or is it just more like being an independent contractor for surgeons and hospitals?

Because it's better to bust your butt for 40 hours a week instead of busting your butt for 60-80 hours and not even getting a full recovery day.

^^^True dat.

 

[Stagg737]

Anesthesiologists have some rough call obligations (think going in to revise an epidural on a miserable laboring woman at 3 am). Usually, they have infrequent call, given how bad it can be. But, they have pure shift work, otherwise. So, they can just tap out mid case at 3pm on a non call day and enjoy the rest of their day. On of the best set ups for having a life outside work, imo.

Didn't realize gas was typically shift based. I assumed it was more case based and you came in when your patient was going under.

 

[famoussquamous]

Have you done an EM shift?

One of my good friends is an EM resident, she said it's brutal but that it's enjoyable. I feel like it's not something you should do JUST for lifestyle, but if you enjoy it why not? She did say that you do have to decide as to whether you get to have Thanksgiving off or Christmas off.

 

[famoussquamous]

I'm not really sure how that's possible in that field...do they really have their own practices or is it just more like being an independent contractor for surgeons and hospitals?




^^^True dat.

I think the pain guys can own their own clinic.

 

[KinasePro]

Have you done an EM shift?

EM isn't that bad. I did 1 month of it in an uber busy urban ER. Not my cup of tea, but I don't understand where all the tears come from. I support their complaints about malpractice without batting an eye, but they have a cush lifestyle for sure.

 

[famoussquamous]

EM isn't that bad. I did 1 month of it in an uber busy urban ER. Not my cup of tea, but I don't understand where all the tears come from. I support their complaints about malpractice without batting an eye, but they have a cush lifestyle for sure.

People here like to complain, welcome to SDN.

 

[charmiedermie]

If you own your own practice, you get to set your hours OP, why not just do that if you're worried about lifestyle?

Bc not all specialties allow u to own your own practice or it is cost prohibitive. Also by the time u get to 4th year, u will care about your lifestyle in residency.

 

[charmiedermie]

Have you done an EM shift?

One of my good friends is an EM resident, she said it's brutal but that it's enjoyable. I feel like it's not something you should do JUST for lifestyle, but if you enjoy it why not?

So that's a no?

 

[alpinism]

Is anesthesiology really that easy of a lifestyle? I mean, waking up at 4-5 am for the rest of my career isn't exactly easy or the most appealing idea to me...

Eh, we didn't have to be at the hospital till 615am when I did my Gas rotation. Theoretically if you lived close enough to the hospital you could sleep in till 530 or even 545am. This was for a 730am OR start time though (some hospitals do start a little earlier at 7am). It only takes about 30-45min to meet the patient and set up all the equipment.

Usually we'd have a nice hour long lunch break and be out of the hospital by 415pm. Sounds like a long day, but considering that on surgery we'd routinely stay till 6 or 7pm after being there since 5am, overall its way better hours.

Nice overview: http://anes.med.umich.edu/main/programs/med-students/nuts-and-bolts.html

 

[famoussquamous]

So that's a no?

You would be correct. All I have to go on is hearsay. Maybe I'll do it as an elective and hate it and realize why it gets such a bad rap.

 

[famoussquamous]

Bc not all specialties allow u to own your own practice or it is cost prohibitive. Also by the time u get to 4th year, u will care about your lifestyle in residency.

True, but if OP just wants a great lifestyle, he should look into those that allow you to own your own practice and are not cost prohibitive. Lifestyle in residency it depends on how I feel by 4th year. If I get married/have kids or whatever then yeah I'll probably care. If im single and only have myself to worry about, it wouldn't matter that much to me. I could go through 4-7 years of working my butt off if it leads to 40+ years where I reap the benefits, but maybe I'll be singing a different tune come 4th year.

 

[charmiedermie]

True, but if OP just wants a great lifestyle, he should look into those that allow you to own your own practice and are not cost prohibitive. Lifestyle in residency it depends on how I feel by 4th year. If I get married/have kids or whatever then yeah I'll probably care. If im single and only have myself to worry about, it wouldn't matter that much to me. I could go through 4-7 years of working my butt off if it leads to 40+ years where I reap the benefits, but maybe I'll be singing a different tune come 4th year.

you will value lifestyle in residency regardless of marital status.

 

[chasm-e-baddoor]

Ive heard that emergency medicine and urgent care center practice(emergency and family docs go into that) are great specialties for balanced life.

Set pay. Set hours. Youre free out of hospital. No headaches with managing chronic conditions. Etc.

 

[Mad Jack]

True, but if OP just wants a great lifestyle, he should look into those that allow you to own your own practice and are not cost prohibitive. Lifestyle in residency it depends on how I feel by 4th year. If I get married/have kids or whatever then yeah I'll probably care. If im single and only have myself to worry about, it wouldn't matter that much to me. I could go through 4-7 years of working my butt off if it leads to 40+ years where I reap the benefits, but maybe I'll be singing a different tune come 4th year.

Psych psych psych for the love of god psych...

 

[charmiedermie]

Eh, we didn't have to be at the hospital till 615am when I did my Gas rotation. Theoretically if you lived close enough to the hospital you could sleep in till 530 or even 545am. This was for a 730am OR start time though (some hospitals do start a little earlier at 7am). It only takes about 30-45min to meet the patient and set up all the equipment.

Usually we'd have a nice hour long lunch break and be out of the hospital by 415pm. Sounds like a long day, but considering that on surgery we'd routinely stay till 6 or 7pm after being there since 5am, overall its way better hours.

Nice overview: http://anes.med.umich.edu/main/programs/med-students/nuts-and-bolts.html

Is everything at Michigan hard?

 

[Psai]

One of my good friends is an EM resident, she said it's brutal but that it's enjoyable. I feel like it's not something you should do JUST for lifestyle, but if you enjoy it why not? She did say that you do have to decide as to whether you get to have Thanksgiving off or Christmas off.

Answer would be no

 

[famoussquamous]

you will value lifestyle in residency regardless of marital status.

True, but maybe not enough to change what I want to do. If there is a specialty I REALLY want to do and have the scores for, I wouldn't let lifestyle dissuade me. Although if I were picking between two, and one had a much better lifestyle, that may swing me to that direction.

 

[charmiedermie]

True, but maybe not enough to change what I want to do. If there is a specialty I REALLY want to do and have the scores for, I wouldn't let lifestyle dissuade me. Although if I were picking between two, and one had a much better lifestyle, that may swing me to that direction.

By the time u get to 4th year, what u really want to do and lifestyle will be so intertwined u won't be able to tell which was the real contributor. You'll tell yourself its the former.

 

[famoussquamous]

Answer would be no

see

You would be correct. All I have to go on is hearsay. Maybe I'll do it as an elective and hate it and realize why it gets such a bad rap.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm just going to stop telling people how awesome psych is lifestyle-wise. It is damn near the best specialty that could possibly exist, aside from maybe derm, PM&R, rads, path, and A&I. But no one listens, because it's not a "sexy" specialty, and that leaves it wide open for me, which I'm totally okay with.

 

[Stagg737]

I'm just going to stop telling people how awesome psych is lifestyle-wise. It is damn near the best specialty that could possibly exist, aside from maybe derm, PM&R, rads, path, and A&I. But no one listens, because it's not a "sexy" specialty, and that leaves it wide open for me, which I'm totally okay with.

Sure, but it's also an extremely unique patient set that a lot of people don't particularly want to work with. Personally, dealing with mental illnesses in my family as well as my fiancee's family makes it an extremely unattractive field for me.

Eh, we didn't have to be at the hospital till 615am when I did my Gas rotation. Theoretically if you lived close enough to the hospital you could sleep in till 530 or even 545am. This was for a 730am OR start time though (some hospitals do start a little earlier at 7am). It only takes about 30-45min to meet the patient and set up all the equipment.

Usually we'd have a nice hour long lunch break and be out of the hospital by 415pm. Sounds like a long day, but considering that on surgery we'd routinely stay till 6 or 7pm after being there since 5am, overall its way better hours.

Is that also true for post-residency life or do things get easier afterwards? Not that 50 hours/week is bad, just curious though since many residencies can be absolute hell but lead to pretty great lifestyles. Example from my experience is ortho. Every ortho I talked to said residency was miserable but afterwards were all making well over 300k/year out of the gate and working around 40-50 hour weeks. I wouldn't mind something like that.

 

[Mad Jack]

Sure, but it's also an extremely unique patient set. Dealing with mental illnesses in my family as well as my fiancee's makes it an extremely unattractive field for me at the moment. I don't want to be dealing with those kinds of problems at work and have to come home to the same thing.

What makes it different than being a pulmonologist dealing with asthmatics and COPDers all day then coming home to a family of asthmatics and smokers? Or a FM doc that has to deal with obesity, addiction, and other preventable illnesses both in their family and at work?

 

[Darth Doc]

What makes it different than being a pulmonologist dealing with asthmatics and COPDers all day then coming home to a family of asthmatics and smokers? Or a FM doc that has to deal with obesity, addiction, and other preventable illnesses both in their family and at work?

If you're a resident and feel that way, psych is the right field for you. Most of us don't want to deal with the manipulation and emotional drainage that we get from psych patients. Sure you get some of that in FM and EM, but not to that degree.

I had a patient tell me he had sex with fish and worse; the psychiatrist thinks he was just trying to get my attention (which I agree is likely - at least about the fish part). And lets just say I got a concealed carry permit in Maryland for a really good reason. Maryland, like New York, doesn't like to give them out. My patient population had a high concentration of psych patients at that job.

I don't think psych is a bad specialty, but it's really not for me.

 

[Lawgiver]

Even if it has a great "lifestyle", if you dont enjoy the actual work its going to be torture every single day.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Even if it has a great "lifestyle", if you dont enjoy the actual work its going to be torture every single day.

Enjoy or at least tolerate.

 

[Slack3r]

I'm just going to stop telling people how awesome psych is lifestyle-wise. It is damn near the best specialty that could possibly exist, aside from maybe derm, PM&R, rads, path, and A&I. But no one listens, because it's not a "sexy" specialty, and that leaves it wide open for me, which I'm totally okay with.

I guess it would be "lifestyle" friendly because the hours are incredibly cush, but it just gives you more time to go home and be depressed, IMO.

A week into my psych rotation, I knew it wasn't for me. EXTREMELY depressing and demoralizing patient population, and no, there really is no comparison to any other field.

Maybe if you're aiming to do purely outpatient psych for adolescents or wealthy soccer moms, psych might be alright. But if you're going to do adult or inpatient, better get on a prophylactic SSRI just to get through the day.

 

[drkristy85]

Is anesthesiology really that easy of a lifestyle? I mean, waking up at 4-5 am for the rest of my career isn't exactly easy or the most appealing idea to me...

Exactly. I enjoyed my Anesthesiology rotation in med school and thought about becoming an Anesthesiologist, but I am NOT an early morning person. It's one thing to have to wake up at 4 or 5 am during med school/residency on SOME rotations, but to have to do that for the rest of your life? heck no....

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Is everything at Michigan hard?

It really sounds like you don't really want to work very much at this whole doctor thing. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like you want to take the quick and easy way to a big paycheck...

 

[touchpause13]

I guess it would be "lifestyle" friendly because the hours are incredibly cush, but it just gives you more time to go home and be depressed, IMO.

A week into my psych rotation, I knew it wasn't for me. EXTREMELY depressing and demoralizing patient population, and no, there really is no comparison to any other field.

Maybe if you're aiming to do purely outpatient psych for adolescents or wealthy soccer moms, psych might be alright. But if you're going to do adult or inpatient, better get on a prophylactic SSRI just to get through the day.

Not everyone finds it depressing. Pretty sure psychiatrists always rate super high on physician satisfaction surveys

It's obviously not for everyone, but some of us really like that patient population.

 

[Mass Effect]

One of my good friends is an EM resident, she said it's brutal but that it's enjoyable. I feel like it's not something you should do JUST for lifestyle, but if you enjoy it why not? She did say that you do have to decide as to whether you get to have Thanksgiving off or Christmas off.

EM isn't that bad. I did 1 month of it in an uber busy urban ER. Not my cup of tea, but I don't understand where all the tears come from. I support their complaints about malpractice without batting an eye, but they have a cush lifestyle for sure.

"Cush" isn't the word I'd use to describe EM docs. Yes, it is cool to only work a few shifts a week. On the other hand, when you're constantly changing your sleep cycle to work overnight for three days, followed by a day shift for two days, then another two days of overnights, it's not exactly "cush" in my book. Also, weekends and holidays don't exist, so unless you marry someone with similar schedule constraints, you could weeks without the same day off as your spouse.

Just my opinion and I'm sure people will disagree, but I think being a hospitalist in IM is more cush than being an ED doc.

Regarding psych: it's certainly not for everyone. Frankly, I don't find it depressing. The patient population can be very sick, yes, but that can be said for many fields.

 

[JimmyB123]

"Cush" isn't the word I'd use to describe EM docs. Yes, it is cool to only work a few shifts a week. On the other hand, when you're constantly changing your sleep cycle to work overnight for three days, followed by a day shift for two days, then another two days of overnights, it's not exactly "cush" in my book. Also, weekends and holidays don't exist, so unless you marry someone with similar schedule constraints, you could weeks without the same day off as your spouse.

Just my opinion and I'm sure people will disagree, but I think being a hospitalist in IM is more cush than being an ED doc.

Regarding psych: it's certainly not for everyone. Frankly, I don't find it depressing. The patient population can be very sick, yes, but that can be said for many fields.

Only ppl that have no idea what EM is like say EM is uber cush

 

[Trisomy13]

Didn't realize gas was typically shift based. I assumed it was more case based and you came in when your patient was going under.

Anesthesiology is not "shift" based, unless you are a CRNA. It has the appearance of being shift based to outsiders because we can leave during cases and sign out to the next attending. This is not on a shift basis though, but dependent on the total number of cases running and how many staff are available. When the number of necessary staff outweighs the number of cases, the next person on the relief order goes home. This is definitely a positive on some days, especially when the schedule is light and maybe you are out by lunch. It works in the reverse too - busy schedule can mean a late day, sometimes unexpectedly so if there are a lot of add-on cases. The major drawback that many people seem to miss to this set up is that there is very little predictability in your day to day schedule regarding what time you leave. That being said, when you leave, you leave everything at the hospital.