2 answers
katerina
Student
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3
Questions
Asked
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How good is work-life balance as a surgeon #Fall24?
I am curious as to how good work-life is as a surgeon. Would I be able to spend enough time with my family in the future? This is something I highly value.
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2 answers
Michael Cadra
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, physician and dentist
29
Answers
Nipomo, California
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Katerina,
I see that you also had a question regarding stress and being a physician. I will attempt to address both issues.
Dave is correct in that there are some surgical specialties that can be considered "lifestyle specialties". They offer set hours but will generally require that you cover your own patients for any post-operative problems, weekends are generally shared by physicians in a call group. The competition for the surgical "lifestyle type" residencies is intense, there are no guarantees that you will match into your chosen specialty. (talk about stress). Most of the "lifestyle" specialties are in the medical arena (opposed to surgery).
Residencies are definitely stressful, work is intense and very demanding. Residents are now limited to 80 hours a week and there is required time off after overnight shifts.
One of the answers on your other thread suggested that other health care professions may be less stressful with better lifestyle. This is true to a certain extent. However, many of the suggested alternatives can be just as stressful and not give you the lifestyle that you desire.
The path to becoming a physician is in itself very stressful. One of my mentors said that all physicians deserve a "Masters Degree in Delayed Gratification". When you enter college, your performance is graded. Your lifestyle as a student will be impacted by your desire to excel in courses while getting the grades needed to be selected to study at a medical school. It may mean not attending various social events, football games, etc that you would like to but realize that you must complete papers, study for Monday's exam, finish that lab report. Then you will need to retain that information to perform well and validate your grades on the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), again a stressful time leading up to the exam, taking the exam, then waiting for results. Waiting to hear from schools is stressful.
Then comes medical school. You are now competing for grades with the "cream of the crop", students that have done the same prerequisites and have also excelled. The delayed gratification continues, you must now continue to get great grades to match into the specialty program of your choice. I am not sure about the Canadian medical schools but after year 2 of medical school you must pass USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) Part 1 to continue to the clinical years. (more stress, luckily only <10% fail that exam). In year 4, students take USMLE Part 2 on clinical medicine, more stress. Part 2 usually occurs while you are applying to residency programs, the Match occurs in the spring of year 4. There are students that do not match initially and must go through another round of applications immediately on Match Day called the "scramble". (talk about stress).
I recently saw a statistic out of McGill School of Medicine that showed that about 80% of their medical students change their intended specialty between entering med school and the application window. Some do it knowing that they did not preform well enough to match into their initial choice, some change because of lifestyle, some just because interests changed.
Most physicians do find a way to manage stress, I like to work out, ski, bike, and did take time to attend my children's athletic events, school events, and other extracurriculars. Not that I made every event by any means. After 44 years as a surgeon, retrospectively I would not have changed my path. My wife does indicate her wish that I had not been on trauma call so much, but it is what I signed up for.
Examine the reasons you want to be a surgeon, or a physician as well as your other value items, then make an informed decision on your path. There are many physician that do leave clinical work to administrate medical groups or hospitals, some go into research, some into business. One orthopedic surgeon I know changed career to become a professional airline pilot, still practices orthopedic trauma several times a month though.
Good luck on your journey.
I see that you also had a question regarding stress and being a physician. I will attempt to address both issues.
Dave is correct in that there are some surgical specialties that can be considered "lifestyle specialties". They offer set hours but will generally require that you cover your own patients for any post-operative problems, weekends are generally shared by physicians in a call group. The competition for the surgical "lifestyle type" residencies is intense, there are no guarantees that you will match into your chosen specialty. (talk about stress). Most of the "lifestyle" specialties are in the medical arena (opposed to surgery).
Residencies are definitely stressful, work is intense and very demanding. Residents are now limited to 80 hours a week and there is required time off after overnight shifts.
One of the answers on your other thread suggested that other health care professions may be less stressful with better lifestyle. This is true to a certain extent. However, many of the suggested alternatives can be just as stressful and not give you the lifestyle that you desire.
The path to becoming a physician is in itself very stressful. One of my mentors said that all physicians deserve a "Masters Degree in Delayed Gratification". When you enter college, your performance is graded. Your lifestyle as a student will be impacted by your desire to excel in courses while getting the grades needed to be selected to study at a medical school. It may mean not attending various social events, football games, etc that you would like to but realize that you must complete papers, study for Monday's exam, finish that lab report. Then you will need to retain that information to perform well and validate your grades on the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), again a stressful time leading up to the exam, taking the exam, then waiting for results. Waiting to hear from schools is stressful.
Then comes medical school. You are now competing for grades with the "cream of the crop", students that have done the same prerequisites and have also excelled. The delayed gratification continues, you must now continue to get great grades to match into the specialty program of your choice. I am not sure about the Canadian medical schools but after year 2 of medical school you must pass USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) Part 1 to continue to the clinical years. (more stress, luckily only <10% fail that exam). In year 4, students take USMLE Part 2 on clinical medicine, more stress. Part 2 usually occurs while you are applying to residency programs, the Match occurs in the spring of year 4. There are students that do not match initially and must go through another round of applications immediately on Match Day called the "scramble". (talk about stress).
I recently saw a statistic out of McGill School of Medicine that showed that about 80% of their medical students change their intended specialty between entering med school and the application window. Some do it knowing that they did not preform well enough to match into their initial choice, some change because of lifestyle, some just because interests changed.
Most physicians do find a way to manage stress, I like to work out, ski, bike, and did take time to attend my children's athletic events, school events, and other extracurriculars. Not that I made every event by any means. After 44 years as a surgeon, retrospectively I would not have changed my path. My wife does indicate her wish that I had not been on trauma call so much, but it is what I signed up for.
Examine the reasons you want to be a surgeon, or a physician as well as your other value items, then make an informed decision on your path. There are many physician that do leave clinical work to administrate medical groups or hospitals, some go into research, some into business. One orthopedic surgeon I know changed career to become a professional airline pilot, still practices orthopedic trauma several times a month though.
Good luck on your journey.
Dave Brown
Engineering Manager
3
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Dave’s Answer
Hi! I am not a surgeon, but I know a few in various sub-specialties: ocular surgery, orthopedic surgery, cosmetic surgery, general surgery, even a friend who does organ transplantation.
My sense is that the demands on work/life balance seem to vary by specialty: ocular and cosmetic surgeries tend to be scheduled during a normal 9-5 work day, whereas others might have more emergencies that can happen 24/7.
Three commonalities I hear from every surgeon I know, that:
1) the early training - residency - is intense and demanding.
2) after residency, you have more agency to decide your work schedule. Some people like the intensity, others want to be more of a 9-5 work day.
3) elective surgeries tend to be early in the morning - patients usually need to fast before anesthesia, so you don't want them hungry from not eating.
Hope that helps, and that you can connect with some actual surgeons to learn more.
My sense is that the demands on work/life balance seem to vary by specialty: ocular and cosmetic surgeries tend to be scheduled during a normal 9-5 work day, whereas others might have more emergencies that can happen 24/7.
Three commonalities I hear from every surgeon I know, that:
1) the early training - residency - is intense and demanding.
2) after residency, you have more agency to decide your work schedule. Some people like the intensity, others want to be more of a 9-5 work day.
3) elective surgeries tend to be early in the morning - patients usually need to fast before anesthesia, so you don't want them hungry from not eating.
Hope that helps, and that you can connect with some actual surgeons to learn more.