Getting a real sense of surgery

[BDog]

Hey all,

 

I find it interesting that every single person I talk to has a different perspective on what is a feasible lifestyle in surgery. I'm concerned because I really enjoy surgery, but I also enjoy life. It's difficult to obtain a real sense of the lifestyle. In past threads, the common response is, "Each surgeon can cater to their own needs." Yet, I find this ambiguous and possibly misleading from the reality. On the job conversations usually go, "Make sure you are prepared for this. You have to like life inside the OR more then you do outside it."

 

To make it more tangible, assume one wishes to work in an urban/academic center (tertiary care, level I trauma) as a surgeon. Can s/he expect a 7am-5pm average work week with reasonable call (1/5-6?) as a:

 

-Ortho surgeon

-General surgeon

-Plastic surgeon

 

Any insight is much appreciated!

[Kirsteen]

To make it more tangible, assume one wishes to work in an urban/academic center (tertiary care, level I trauma) as a surgeon. Can s/he expect a 7am-5pm average work week with reasonable call (1/5-6?) as a:

 

-Ortho surgeon

-General surgeon

-Plastic surgeon

Hi there,

 

Before plonking on Radiology, I was gunning for a career in Gen Surg and had a good opportunity to see the practices of surgeons in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal via my electives at each centre. The practices varied greatly, primarily because of the sub-specialty in which the surgeon was practicing. In Montreal, for example, the staff surgeons in the hepatobiliary unit worked like dogs. That is, if organs became available, they had to come into the hospital to perform the transplants. There was one week where at least two of them worked 4-5 days straight. Conversely, I also worked with a surgical oncologist whose hours were very predictable (7 or 8am to 4pm or so) and his call was around the frequency that you describe above, i.e., very manageable.

 

I observed the same sorts of patterns in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. The hepatobiliary folks tend to work longer hours (the operations are extremely involved and their patients tend to be, on average, very sick) whereas the surgeons in surgical oncology have much lighter and more predictable hours.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[BDog]

Thanks for the info Kirsteen. Other than just liking radiology more, was there anything in specific that steered you away from gen surg? Did you encounter something you didn't expect?

 

The issue I'm dealing with is that there's a difference between working hard and too hard. The common perception is that most surgeons work too hard, and they suffer a great deal from it. I'm just trying to get a sense if it's realistic to think I may be able to create a feasible work environment without sacrificing the respect of my colleagues and my bank account too much.

[coastalslacker]

What you outlined is achievable for an attending orthopod. Easy. The attendings in my centre take call a week at a time, so they end up doing 7 days in a row every 2+ months. If you want 1 in 6, you just have to go somewhere with at least 6 people.

 

If you're lazy or can't get up early in the morning surgery (besides plastics) isn't for you. However, you don't have to be a retard who spends every waking hour working or studying to fit in. As a first year resident I've cracked 100 hours a week twice so far. Those weeks sucked. But this week I'll work just over 50, which is a breeze.