Work-Week Trauma Surgery

[Peshie_99]

So I understand that a trauma surgeon works long hours (possibly >80+ hours). But my question is, how many days a week do trauma surgeons work. I.e. 5 days, 7 days?? Thanks in advance for the input.

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[WedgeDawg]

moving to hSDN

 

[sonofva]

Most places ive seen work blocks. So you end up working 11-14 days per month, probably 12 hours a shift

 

[Instatewaiter]

So I understand that a trauma surgeon works long hours (possibly >80+ hours). But my question is, how many days a week do trauma surgeons work. I.e. 5 days, 7 days?? Thanks in advance for the input.

Everywhere i have been, the trauma surgeons worked like dogs- 6 days a week. From Annals on average Trauma surgeons take about 2 overnight calls per week. Obviously there are different practice patterns.

From the annals of surgery in 2011:
Trauma has the highest workload of all surgical specialties (meaning really the highest workload of all specialties) with a mean work week of about 73 hours. That is a MEAN work week. This isn't an occasional workweek of 80 hours, that is basically the mean work week.

It has the highest burnout (52%), lowest quality of life scores with a quality of life score that was a half a standard deviation between the population norm with a 62% rate of work/home conflict and more than a third with depression with a 7% rate of suicidal ideation.

It's sexy to say you want to be a trauma surgeon. The reality of high divorce rate, high burnout and depression rate and very long hours is less sexy. There are many who are able to make it work. There are more for whom something has got to give.

 

[Law2Doc]

This is not a decision you need to make in high school. Get into college and then med school first. What sounds "sexy" from TV might be less so when you get up close. What sounds cool to a 17 year old might not be cool when you are a 30 year old coming out of training.

Fwiw, a 70-80 hour work week sounds a lot worse from the outside looking in. Those hours fly by pretty fast when you are actually engaged and in the thick of it-- medicine is not a good career if you are looking at your watch, living for the weekend. But yes if you spend that many hours at work each week you will absolutely be making trade-offs with other things in life (things you also probably aren't weighting appropriately in high school).

 

[frosted_flake]

This is not a decision you need to make in high school. Get into college and then med school first. What sounds "sexy" from TV might be less so when you get up close. What sounds cool to a 17 year old might not be cool when you are a 30 year old coming out of training.

Fwiw, a 70-80 hour work week sounds a lot worse from the outside looking in. Those hours fly by pretty fast when you are actually engaged and in the thick of it-- medicine is not a good career if you are looking at your watch, living for the weekend. But yes if you spend that many hours at work each week you will absolutely be making trade-offs with other things in life (things you also probably aren't weighting appropriately in high school).

FWIW, I also had an ER doctor tell me the same thing, except about his specialty choice... He said EM looked awesome in his 20's, but now that he is in his early 50's he said he wished he would have picked another specialty that is not so rough on your body and sleep schedule.

 

[sonofva]

FWIW, I also had an ER doctor tell me the same thing, except about his specialty choice... He said EM looked awesome in his 20's, but now that he is in his early 50's he said he wished he would have picked another specialty that is not so rough on your body and sleep schedule.

If the dude is still working er the same when hes 50 as when he was 30, he didnt plan his retirement well

 

[Law2Doc]

If the dude is still working er the same when hes 50 as when he was 30, he didnt plan his retirement well

Nobody retires at 50 anymore.

 

[sonofva]

Nobody retires at 50 anymore.

Roger that. But as an EM physician if you play your cards right, you can move from working a crazy swing schedule when you're young to working a more regular schedule once you hit your 50's, assuming you invested properly when you were in your 30s

 

[organdonor]

My biggest disappointment from trauma surgery rotation was that you start to realize after a while that the kinds of people who get shot, stabbed, chewed on by police dogs or fighting dogs, or that wreck their cars going 100 mph are generally not stand up citizens and are some of the worst, most non compliant, self centered (expletives) that I've ever had the displeasure of caring for. Despite what these patients say, those kinds of injuries are rarely sustained either
1. on the way to church
2. standing on the corner minding my own business aka SOCMMOB (pronounced sock mob)

Then there was the occasional innocent bystander that was injured through the actions of one of the above that you generally felt sorry for.

 

[sonofva]

My biggest disappointment from trauma surgery rotation was that you start to realize after a while that the kinds of people who get shot, stabbed, chewed on by police dogs or fighting dogs, or that wreck their cars going 100 mph are generally not stand up citizens and are some of the worst, most non compliant, self centered (expletives) that I've ever had the displeasure of caring for. Despite what these patients say, those kinds of injuries are rarely sustained either
1. on the way to church
2. standing on the corner minding my own business aka SOCMMOB (pronounced sock mob)

Then there was the occasional innocent bystander that was injured through the actions of one of the above that you generally felt sorry for.

"See what had happened is, there i was standing on the corner minding my own damn business, and then SOME GUY who i never ever seen before in my life comes up and just lays into me with his knife."

I would love to meet this "Some Guy." Hes responsible for 90% of traumas in the USA.