Information about Residency Specialties

[PrincessFiona]

Many of our members have specific questions about the types of specialities available. Lets use the following format to answer questions for other spouses. (Questions were submitted by Michelle and tweaked by me.)

1. What type of Residency: ie internal medicine, ob, fp, er, etc.

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer)

3. How long are the work weeks during training?

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training?

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...)

Once we have compiled this for awhile, I will also add it to the Training FAQ

[PrincessFiona]

1. Infectious Disease


2. Becoming an ID doc requires 3 years of internal medicine residency followed by 2-3 years of fellowship training. There are two 'tracks' available: a two year clinical track and a 3 year research track. Many research fellowships require the fellow to secure funding through grant-writing for the year (s) in the lab. With research, 3 years can sometimes turn to 4 too

3. During Fellowship training the work week depends greatly on the residency program itself. Most ID fellows have call from home. They are also required to do a certain amount of research. My husband worked anywhere from 60-80 hours a week.

4. Call hours vary depending on whether or not they are doing a research month. In the program that we were in, the fellows took call for 6 weeks every day and then were off for 6 weeks.

5. Attending salaries vary with geographic location, but they tend to start at about $120 and max out at $180-190K.

6. The hours again depend a lot on where you choose to practice, but they are generally speaking pretty humane. My husband works between 45-60 hours a week depending on the week...but it is most often towards the 45 hour mark.

7. My husband takes call from home every other night. He rarely needs to go in to see a patient though because of the specialty. He is able to order lab tests, etc on the phone. He only goes in when a patient is in critical condition.

8. Choosing to start a family....I guess it depends on your expectations of family life. If I had it to do all over again and would be guaranteed the exact same children, I would have waited until training was over. The moves and financial hits were pretty challenging. Now that we are out of training and have had another baby I recognize how much easier it is without all of the stress of USMLE's, Moves, Boards, etc hanging over our heads.

9. We get 5 weeks a year.

10. I'm not sure...people who tend to enjoy the basic sciences and working with critically ill individuals....as to their personalities...I'll skip that part of the question

kris

[mommax3]

1. What type of Residency: OB/GYN

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer) four year residency....there are four sub-specialties that take three years of fellowship: Gyn-Onc, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Uro-Gyn, and Maternal-Fetal Medicine

3. How long are the work weeks during training? My husband finished training in 2001, before the 80 hour work week was mandated, and he averaged 95 to 100 hour weeks for four years.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training? My husband generally left for work between 5 and 5:30, and got home between 6 and 7 if he wasn't on call. If he was on call, he got home between 6 and 7 the next day. The program he was in had a night float for the fourth years, but it was a horrible schedule....they were on from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. every weeknight. Thursday they had to stay until noon for conference, which gave them only ~4 hours to sleep, and Friday they had to stay until noon for their continuity clinic. So even though they were off every weekend, they were pretty much comatose throughout.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in) The average (so I have heard ) is 200K. DH is fulfilling his military obligation now, so we are not making the big bucks yet. ETA: Post-military, I think the average is still about 200K. DH makes more than that, which is uncommon for a practice with two male providers on the edge of a major metropolitan area. However, I am pretty sure he works far more than average, at least more than most of the OBs at the hospital where he practices.

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours) His military schedule goes something like this: leaves for work around 7, earlier if he is in the OR that day. He gets home between 5 and 6. He shares call with two other OBs and is on call 9 - 11 days a month, depending on the month. While on call, he still sees clinic and is still expected to put in a full day post call. I expect his hours to be the same or slightly worse once he leaves the military. Update now that we are civilians: He is in a two-person practice that shares call with another two-person practice on weekends. He is on call for his own practice either T-Th or M-W-F (Friday until 5:00) and is on every fourth F-Sa-Su. He has the opportunity to work in-house shifts and is paid by the hospital for doing that.....nice extra $$$$. He works for a large company that has many individual practices. His practice pays a fee to them for some of the services they provide, but basically his compensation is based on how much he works. He has post-call weekend Monday afternoons off, as well as some of the non-call Fridays. Additionally, he takes about 3 weeks of vacation a year. He works between 60 and 80 hours a week.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house) (partially answered above) He is able to monitor patients in labor from home via the computer, so he goes in only when it is time to "push" or when a mom or baby is in distress. He also goes in for post-operative patients who are having difficulty and to admit/see patients that come into the ER.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times) Either before or after residency.....depends on the program, how independent the spouse is, support system you have, etc. During will be tough, but it can be done.

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? Don't know.....I have seen between 3 and 5 weeks in job descriptions.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...) OB/GYN kind of straddles the line between primary care and surgical specialties, so you find a mix of personalities. Some are very driven, more like the surgeon stereotype and others are more nurturing, more like a family practitioner stereotype.
DH is a mix of both......mostly, he loves delivering babies but also appreciates the opportunity to do surgeries. He considers it a happy specialty. ETA: DH and his partner feel that they are at a disadvantage in attracting patients due to the fact that they are both males. So something to consider about practice opportunities would be the number of female providers already in the practice.

Sally

[Rapunzel]

Re: Information about Residency Specialties

1. What type of Residency?

Radiology

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer)

Radiology is a five year residency. The first year is a "transitional year" that can be served either as a part of the radiology residency (rare) or at another residency program in internal medicine or surgery. The following four years occur at the radiology program. Because of this, those wishing to match in radiology must generally apply to BOTH transitional programs for surgery and/or internal medicine AND radiology residency programs. This entails quite a bit more interviews prior to match.

Fellowships include muskulo-skeletal, chest, peds, sonography, women's imaging (ie mammograms), interventional, neuro, and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head.... The commitment for fellowships last between one and two years in addition to residency.

3. How long are the work weeks during training?

It depends on the program and the rotation as well as the year of residency. Radiology is referred to as a "lifestyle" specialty because life after residency involves high pay and short work hours with a great deal of control over one's work-load. Generally the worst weeks during residency involve 100 hours per week with the lightest weeks incurring only about 50 hours.
Additionally, some programs (such as Brigham and Women's Hospital) have a night-float system rather than traditional "call" - thus contributing to less hours worked during each week overall during the year.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?

Again, this depends on the program. My husband's program has no out-of-house call. The in-house call only occurs occasionally and even then, only during the day on Saturdays and Sundays (either Saturday OR Sunday - never both in the same weekend), otherwise all residents must work two weeks of nights during each year in the ER rads dept. (these are usually alternating with two weeks of days in the ER rads dept. during one month).

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)

We have friends who have gotten starting offers fresh out of residency at between $350K and $400K with partnership opportunities within from one to three years. Five years out of residency those radiologists we know are making $500K+. There are numerous locum tenens opportunities for those who are free spirits that offer the opportunity to make between $500K and a cool million per year!

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)

They are pretty much up to the radiologist. Some radiologists choose to work longer hours to bring in more money whereas some radiologists only work part-time (which still brings in a huge amount of moolah).

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)

Depends on the group and its patient population. Generally "nighthawk" radiology groups take care of on-call coverage for a hospital not affiliated with a radiology residency program - although not always. The amount of call for most radiologists who must take it is dependent on the number of radiologists in the group (ie more in the group=lighter call schedule).

What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)

This is not a good question for me to answer because I think anytime is a good time to start a family.

How much vacation time do you get post-training?

The figure I've heard banted around is approximately 13+ weeks of vacation during the year. Of course, those radiologists going the lucrative locum-tenens route have wide open schedules for vacation time.

What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty

LOL Nerds who want to make a TON of money (ie think of Bill Gates). Almost all of these people have various entreprenuerial things going on the side - most related in some way to medicine.

Jennifer

Re: Information about Residency Specialties

1. What type of Residency: Dermatology

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer):

4 years including internship (there are a handful of 5 year programs). Specialty options include: derm surgery (Mohs fellowship), dermatopathology, pediatric dermatology, laser/cosmetics. The fellowships are usually one year. I think it is important to consider that this is a highly competitive specialty and the application process (and 4th year) can be stressful.

3. How long are the work weeks during training?
Varies a fair amount by program, but about 55-65 hours per week. This includes some scheduled study time.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?
Varies by program. Most programs have home call, approximately 2 months per year. A few programs have an inpatient derm service but call is still from home.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)
Depending on region and level of cosmetics offered, starting salary is typically $200-275K for 5 day work week (8 clinics per week plus follow-up care).

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)
40-50 hours.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)
Essentially none for most practices.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)
This is hard to answer because there are so many other factors to figure in. Starting a family during derm residency wouldn't be too harsh.

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training?
Variable depending on practice environment and contract. Probably 3-5 weeks per year.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...)
Derm people tend to be med school gunners but laid back once they start derm. Derm is a happy specialty allowing for outside interests and family.

[DCJenn]

1. What type of Residency: Pediatric Neurology

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer) There are two ways to get there- either do the peds residency (3 years) and neuro fellowship (3 years) or do a neurology residency with an emphasis on peds. My husband has chosen to do the peds residency plus the neuro fellowship which will make him board eligible in both.

3. How long are the work weeks during training? He started before the 80 hour work week change so at first it was insanity- now, it's at 80 hours, but he's Army and we all know how the military can be about rules!

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training? It depends entirely on how many of them that there are. Right now there are two child neurologists (one is deployed and one is retiring) so they're on call for two weeks on, two weeks off.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in) Neurologists are apparently the second-most commonly sued after gyns. (and Sally and the boys and I will be living in a tent in Indiana) Starting salaries in the boonies is ridiculous- 350k for BC/BE was one that I saw in Wyoming. The closer in you get to the cities, the less they make. But, there are more opportunities to do specialty work.

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours) When he's not on call, he works from 7:30am-5:30pm. When he's on call, all bets are off.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house) - depends on the practice- there are no in house child neurologists at any of the hospitals here- they're all consultants w/ admitting privileges. There is no call unless they choose to be on-call. There is lots of money to be made in on-call coverage. My husband isn't interested in the time suck, however and isn't licensed in Texas (military doesn't care as long as they're licensed somewhere) so it's not an option right now anyway.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times) Hmmmm. No answer here either. A lot of the peds residents had children (8/15) and it seemed to be a very family friendly group. That said, it did bother the childfree to have to cover for those at home. However, in a military residency you don't get a ton of time anyway. (6 weeks) None of the neurology people have kids that I know of. But they're all pathological freaks so I'm not surprised. (and I mean that in the most respectful way possible- as I have worked with freaky neuros for my entire career.)

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? The Army gets 31 days. hahahahahahha- you just can't take it, unless approved in triplicate by 3000 people. So, my poor hubby lost leave during residency. Now, however- we take the leave and have fun.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...) The few peds neurology people I've met other then my gorgeous and wonderful husband are...strange. The adult neuros are slightly stranger...I think my husband has elements of odd, too. Every single neurologist that I've ever worked with ( in a 15 year career with MR/DD populations) has been- not quite right. But usually smart as hell, very entertaining, and utterly fascinated by the human brain. (thankfully) I mean my husband LOVES my work stories. I bring home diagnoses. I call with medications- just to double check. We have the most bizarre conversations- in public. I feel sorry for whomever might overhear us. They live, breathe, sleep the human brain. But, he also loves children and misses clinic- to a point. He says the key thing about peds neurology is that kids rally and adults crash, and that's what makes it a hopeful not hopeless specialty.

Hope this helps!

Jenn

1. What type of Residency: Pediatrics

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer)? The general Pediatric residency is three years, there is also a combined Med/Peds that is four years.
Specialties can range from 1-4years+, they are the likes of Neonatology, Cardiology, Hem/Onc, ID, ID+MPH, Allergy, Derm, Nephrology, Psych...the list is long. Some can be backed into, as listed before, but generally they are 3yrs of Peds, then fellowship at x-yrs....that allows for certification boards at both levels.

3. How long are the work weeks during training? At the start, intern year, expect long hours even with the "new" 80hr/week. There are still ways around it although, it is being pushed nationwide. The actual hours worked will vary from month to month...ie-Ortho clinic is half days for Ped resident, not so for the Ortho resident...this means less hours than inpatient months. Expect anywhere from 45-100+hrs during training.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training? For Peds, most call is in house. Outhouse call at some programs just stinks! DW started at Oklahoma State peds program and they had to take "mommy calls" when out of house. These are calls routed to them via the hospital operator. One night, DW, took nearly 30 of these calls. This is something that will vary with programs. Here the out of house call is merely back up for Dr's that can't make their shift...it is paid back, eventually.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)? This is going to vary greatly from region to region and also in what the Dr is going to be doing. For instance, in Kansas City, there is a saturation of Pediatricians. Going rate for a hospitalist with limited clinic duties (maybe a three or four clinic days a month) is about $65K. That is shift work at 12 hours a shift/ 15 or 16 shifts a month. If the Dr wants to work in the clinic full time the pay increases, but the amount of time with patients decreases. Scheduling needs to be about 10-15 minutes/patient for a good 8hr day. The paying usually starts with a 1-3 yr guarantee of about $120K, then when the patient base is built up whatever is billed plus bonuses is the going salary. This type of pay varies greatly from region to region (ie. SE $140-180K, NE $60-110K, Midwest $80-120K, NW $85-120K..and so on.) When speicalizing the pay starts at a higher rate, for example, Neonatologist in KC can start at $200K, Peds Cardiology= $165K, Adolescent Med=$145K, Peds surgeons=$200+...right now there is a national phenom Cardio/thoracic surgeon working in KC that is making high 6's, with a bonus that puts him over $1M. He also did two residency programs and a fellowship after the peds training...so you take the good with the time put in.

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)? We have friends that work in clinic and as hospitalists. The clinic hours are a usual day checking on new patient kids in hospitals at 7a, clinic patients from 8:30a-4:45p, home by 6p. Hospitalist are usually shift work about 15-16 shifts a month at 12 hours a shift with clinic coverage one day a week. These are all items that can be negotiated in the employment contracts.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)? The hospitalists are no call as there is always someone in house 24hrs and there are enough in the group to be call free...also there are plenty of residents working the call shifts! It is different in other areas of the US. The clinic Dr's call is based on the # in the group. If there are only two Dr's then every other day or week, the more Dr's the less frequent your call days. This is also something that can usually be negotiated with the employment contract.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)? That question is a very personal question and can only truly be answered by the asker. (when to have/start the family...). In Peds, the Dr is usually someone that can tolerate kids at their worst...maybe not for extended periods, but they are pretty good material for raising a family! As far as how helpful the spouse can be will depend on the program/hours worked/# of hours awake in a row and so on. It is all pretty relative to the working situation of the Dr and the flexiblity of the non-med spouse. Vacation times should be taken as often as possible especially adult type vacations (St. Thomas, romantic cruises, weekend away on a days notice)....this all changes when kids are in the picture. Then vacations turn into DisneyWorld, Sea World...not that those aren't fun but they are different when it's "family" and not "couple".

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? This is something that can be negotiated upon. General time off is something like 3-5 weeks, with another week or two for CME that is paid as well. I knew a program director that had written into his contract that the he would get 90 paid days off plus two weeks of paid CME...so again, it varies!

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...)? From what we have seen there are two types of Dr's that enter Peds. One is the kid friendly type that you would love to have your child go to, or that you wish you had as a Dr when you were a kid. The other is the type that may not have the best bedside manner, but have the knowledge and desire to do something good for children's health, so they go on with some type of fellowship.

[SueC]

1. What type of Fellowship: Pulmonary Medicine/Critical Care

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer): After residency is completed, the fellowship is an additional 3 years of training.

3. How long are the work weeks during training? It depends on the month. The first year, my husband was in the ICU 4 months out of the year. During those months, he probably worked over 100 hours per week. The other months, hours varied depending on whether he was doing consults (more like 50-60 hour weeks) or PFT's (pulmonary function tests) which was more like 40-50 hours. The second year, he has had 2 ICU months, and the third year, there are no ICU months.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training? During fellowship, he has home-call. While on the ICU, he is on call 24 hours a day during M-F and has weekends off. Other months, he takes call one weekend a month. When on call, whether or not he has to go into the hospital depends on who the resident is and whether new patients are coming in. He usually goes in overnight if a new patient comes in so he can make sure they are being "worked up" properly. If he has a good resident that he can trust, he doesn't go in as often.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)? I have no idea--I think they can probably earn anywhere from the upper 100's to possibly over 200 or 300 if they are in a really busy practice.

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)? The attendings where my husband have fewer ICU months, and when they are on, the fellows can absorb a lot of the work. However, I know on a hectic night, the attendings often stay into the night and go in during the middle of the night of they are needed. I imagine if you aren't working at a teaching institution that has fellows, then you would probably have very long hours.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)? Yet to be seen.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)? I would suggest starting a family during the tail end of residency or after the first year of fellowship. That first year is kind of brutal and the spouse in training would be too exhausted to be of much assistance. I think my husband gets about 3 weeks of vacation, and 1 week of paternity leave if you do have a baby during that time.

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? I don't know.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...) Most of the pulmonologists/intensivists I have been met have been fun and laid-back. I think that working in the ICU and dealing with such critical patients has made them more easy-going outside of the unit. At the social events I have been to, the group really seems to have fun together. I think working in those conditions also has brought them pretty close together. They also tend to be "hands on" people--my husband loves to intubate, do bronchs, and other various procedures that I cannot recall at the moment. When we were at a conference recently, he and his friend spent hours looking at all the little gadgets that were being displayed, even though most of them they regularly use at work. They have to kind of thrive in chaos and not get overwhelmed if some patient is crashing in the ICU. As sick as it sounds, my husband has actually admitted that he loves the excitement of running a code.

[migirl]

1. What type of Residency? Urology

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possibilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer)? Urology residency programs are generally 5 to 6 years, this includes a 1-year general surgery internship. The internship is completed at the same location as the residency, so there is only one match process. The 6-year programs include a built-in research year, while the 5-year programs do not. (The exceptions to this are a few programs that have a 2-year general surgery requirement and then 4 years of urology, with no research year.) Post-residency fellowships generally run from 1 to 3 years, depending on the field of specialty.

3. How long are the work weeks during training? During the general surgery internship, my husband probably worked 100-110 hours per week (even though the 80-hour work week was in place at that time). Once he started the urology service, his hours got better and he's probably working closer to 70-80 hours.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training? Each program has a different policy regarding in-house or home call. The urology service at our program is strictly home call. As PGY-2's the call schedule is Q3, while the 3's and 5's are approximately Q6 (4th year is the research year, when the lab residents are taken completely out of the call pool). During the 2nd year I think he's only had to go back to the hospital maybe half the time, while the 3rd and 5th year calls are consult calls so they're pretty much guaranteed to have to go into the hospital during a call night.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn (when do the big bucks start rolling in)? As in other specialties, private practice is obviously much more lucrative than academic medicine. I've heard salaries for urologists going into private practice (fresh out of residency) start at $250K and go all the way up to $750K.

6. How long are the hours post-training (regular hours)? Again, there are differences between private practice and academic medicine. Private practitioners have more 'normal' hours (e.g., 8a-6p), which can vary depending on the practice and how hard they want to work (i.e., how much money they want to earn!). I've heard of some urologists working only 3 days per week. Hospitalists generally start operating at 7-7:30a, and probably finish up around 6 or 7p.

7. How much on-call is there post-training (home vs. in-house)? Post-training it is all home call, the attendings at our program take call maybe once or twice a month. In private practice the call schedule probably depends on how big the practice is.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty (how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)? About half of the residents in our program have children, so it seems quite manageable to start a family during residency. The first year (general surgery internship) is probably not a good time. Many of the residents wait until the 4th year (lab year) because of the more humane hours. We get 4 weeks of vacation per year, and either Thanksgiving or Christmas off every year.

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? It probably depends on the practice, I'm guessing 3-5 weeks per year.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...)? Although it is a surgical subspecialty, it is typically very 'family-friendly' so I think urologists in general are very laid-back and easygoing. My husband was attracted to it because it offers a good mix of clinical and surgical opportunities, with good patient outcomes.

1. What type of Residency?
Emergency Medicine

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer)

Residencies can be 3 or 4 year depending on either MD or DO. DH did a DO residency of 4 years. The first year was a fast-track internship of 6 months EM and 6 months traditional internship.

3. How long are the work weeks during training?

It seemed continuous as this was before the 80 hour workweek rule. In house call was murderous during EM months as shift work was hard to schedule around call. That coupled with required weekly didactics was difficult.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?
During the first year, call was both in and out. Depending on the service you might have specialty call and house call in the same months. DH internship class had 49 residents to divide call between two hospitals and he might have call every week and then specialty call q4. Specialty call could be taken from home for him because we lived across the street from the hospital.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)

Depending on what part of the country you live in, what size group and hospital, the range is quite substantial. I have seen new attendings accept positions of $80 per hour or less and ones like DH land $150 per hour. Some are fee for service, RVU, or set hourly. You can be a independent contractor also but have to cover your own taxes. Some have to pay their own insurance. It can be hit and miss as these factors can mean making either $150K or $300K. Big Difference.

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)DH works on average 160 a month divided up into 8-10hr shifts.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)
Generally EM physicians rarely take call. DH group has about 25 physicians for two large EDs and he is on call at the most 2 a month for extreme problems in the ED or if a physician is sick.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)

During a DO residency I would say second or fourth year. First year is hard in any specialty. We had our first during September of first year and it was hard on me as we had just moved from Texas to OHio and we did not have any family here. Third year is the year they do 2 months straight of Trauma and you rarely see them. We had our second during fourth year and DH was Chief Resident so his schedule was much better. Any time after residency is great too.

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? Do to the fact that EM is very flexible the vacation time for DH is 3 weeks a year. He can request blocks of time off during the month and not count towards vacation time.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty?

Your typical adrenaline junkie. The kind of person who loves proceedures out the rear but enjoys a variety of medical specialties. They see them all. Risks are burnout from intense shifts consistantly. This is seen less in smaller rural hospital settings.

[houseelf]

1. What type of Residency: General Surgery.

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer). General surgery requires 5 years clinical training. Fellowships typically require a fair amount of research and this often extends residency 1-4 years. Of the top of my head, there are surgical fellowships in the following subspecialties: Cardiothoracic (3 years); Transplant (3 years); Vascular (2 ? years ); Burn (1 year); Colorectal (1 ? year); Hepatobiliary (2 ?years); Trauma (?); Pediatric (2 years); Surgical Infectious Disease (?); and others.

3. How long are the work weeks during training? Never less than 70 hours but we have had months of 100+ hour work weeks.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?
Q2 to Q5, although "officially" Q2 is now illegal.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)?

This really depends on whether a surgeon has fellowship credentials, practices in academic medicine (making less money but has the help of residents to make life more humane), or private practice. Also, like other specialties, it depends on the market. I think that $225 is a typical starting salary for a gen surgeon from this program.

6. How long are the hours post-training(regular hours). While I can't speak intelligently about this from my perspective, I hear that this runs the gamut. Academics usually have residents to help out but additional research demands on their time. Private practice depends on the number of partners in the group. Nonetheless, I'm sure that the hours are never going to be 9-5.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house). Again, in a small town, you might have home call for an entire week because you only have one other partner. We have heard of q15 + one weekend every other month call for a local general surgery group.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times). When your partner is around and awake. This questions contains too many variables to even begin.

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? a month to six weeks.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...). While I could have a field day with this question, I'll try to play nice.

passionate,
dedicated,
Type A,
leaders,
people who..um...like to be in charge ,
individuals who are able to defer gratification,
no shrinking violets,
multitaskers,
detail oriented,
thick skinned,
ultra confident.
people who can forgo some amount of physical comfort due to lack of sleep, inability to eat or use the facilities during long operations.

[Sheherezade]

Re: Information about Residency Specialties

1. What type of Residency: gynecologic oncology

2. How long is the residency?
4 year ob/gyn followed by 3 year fellowship in gyn onc

3. How long are the work weeks during training?

Pre-80 hour work week, my husband's hours were solidly 90-110 hours a week. Rumor is that's changed with new regulations to night float system. Gyn onc fellowship has been 100 hour weeks except one research year in which he regulated his own hours. As a surgical specialty, he is often a slave to the OR--some days are better than expected but others are surprisingly long. Nobody can really tell what to expect so as a spouse you always need a back up plan in case he can't come home. It is typical for his day to start around 5:30 am and end around 7-8 pm. Some patient loads push it to 5 am till 10 pm. He often operates on Saturdays as well. It can also get light from time to time.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?

During residency, lots of Q3 schedules some Q4 in hospital. During fellowship, he was on call 24/7 from home for his entire 2nd year except during vacation. His third year, he's on call from home every other weekend. Calls can usually be handled at home, but could also mean an emergency trip to the hospital as they back up OB/GYN for surgical complications. This is complicated as a spouse with kids, because you can't leave him alone with the kids if he's on call without a back up plan--he might have to rush into surgery.


5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)?

I've heard of people starting at 140 K at the low end. My husband was offered 200K to start. I think that's average-high. I've heard of people starting higher. Post boards, you can renegotiate. We've been told to expect a significant bump--upper level people are in the 300 K range. (This is academics - private practice makes more.) As with many specialties, our experience has been the more prestigous the institution, the lower the salary.....

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)

Don't know yet....

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)

Every third weekend is in the contract. During the week, fellows cover call---gotta love that about academics--but if your patient is sicker than the fellow can handle or goes to the OR, you get called.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)?

Post-training, if this isn't too late for the couple to get started.
Training allows little time for the spouse to be involved in childcare. Both my kids were induced around call schedules (the joys of OB residency). My husband would love for us to have another now that he is done so he can be around, but that seems like a big gamble since he hasn't accurately predicted the demands of his profession thus far....

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training?
Four weeks per year, plus 3 conferences that are considered "work".

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty?

Surgery driven types with a gentler, better patient relationship. Oncology demands sensitivity and (dare I say)some type of spirituality or you can burn out quickly. The surgery can be intense so it attracts the mechanical types. Finally, my husband and co workers are fond of the term "cowboys" - they all seem to enjoy having the ability to rush in and assist the gyn staff when things get complicated/urgent. In this specialty, things are truly on the edge--you see people who will die regardless of what you do and you also actually save lives everyday.


Angie

[Flynn]

General Surgery addition

The previous comments from "kmbsjbcgb" were incredibly complete. I just wanted to add my two cents.

1.) General Surgery

2.) How long is the training?

Do you want to be a General Surgeon or is it a means to something else? My husband always wanted to do CT so we knew with labtime we would be spending 9, maybe 10 years in training. The actual residency is 5 years.

3.) How long are the work hours per week?

LONG LONG LONG. Despite efforts to the contrary, many programs in GS go over the 80 hour work week. My husband rarely gets lunch, or dinner. If he gets one snack in a 16 hour period we think it's a good day. Never every expect less than 70 hours per week!

4.) In house/out of house call schedule?

I agree with the previous writer....expect Q3-Q4, hope for Q5, and hope the program you choose has phased out Q2. Some have and some have not.

5.) $$$$ after training?

Totally depends but I think you can count on starting at $175,000 in most areas and it goes up from there. $225,000 is not unreasonable to hope for as a beginning salary.

6.) Post training hours?

This varies a TON! My husband did not want to be a GS due to lifestyle and the number of emergencies this speciality can have which untimately gets you up in the middle of the night. As a result, hours on call can be very busy and the hours can add up. I think shooting for a job that requires 65 hours per week is a reasonable goal.

7.) On call post training?

This varies as well. One practice can require weekly call while others only have you on call twice a month.

8.) When do you start a family with this specialty?

Well, do the math. Your spouse works 80 hours per week and most programs give three weeks off a year. During non-vacation times, expect two days off a month but hope for 4 days.

Don't kid yourself. General Surgery is NOT a family friendly specialty in any way, shape or form. There are some weeks when my husband sees our daughter 5 hours total. In this respect, General Surgery IS AWFUL. Would we have waited to have a family had we known how challenging it was going to be? No! Just don't kid yourself going in. It is a DIFFICULT lifestyle.

9.) Vacation post-training?

4 weeks to 6 weeks to begin usually

10.) Personality types that go into this specialty...

(Like the previous author on this subject, I will TRY and be nice here)

dedicated
logical/rational
calm during a crisis
TYPE A (YES YES YES)
confident
takes criticism
has a machine-like drive
does not need 5 hours of sleep to function
able to lead
able to follow at times (you have to take a LOT of crap from attendings)
does not get overwhelmed easily
goal oriented

Pathology

1. Pathology

2. 4 to 5 years depending on the program, + 1 to 2 of fellowship

3. 45-60 hour weeks (honestly!) plus lots of reading @ home

4. In-house call during clincal pathology portion only, usually for 3 to 4 months of 2nd yr and 6 months of 3rd yr (I think). Frozen room coverage in anatomical pathology for 3 or 4 months 1st, 3rd & 5th years .... that's more than it really was I think.

5. Avg. salary is around $225K, starting salary is $125 to $150K

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours) 50 to 65 hrs

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house) I can think of 5 weekends he's been on call this year (in home)

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times) Path is really family friendly. We started trying to get pregnant while he was still in general surgery and got pregnant the July that he switched programs. I guess it helped that he was home!

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training? 4 weeks

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...) Really, really bookish people. (my dh is the exception, which is why he loves the ONLY sub-speciality of path where you still interact w/patients).

[alison]

My husband is only about 6 months along in his internship, so this will be rather incomplete. My husband's in an ANESTHESIOLOGY residency.

I noticed no one has yet to post anything in this specialty, so I'll modify this entry as we get futher in training. But if there's someone out there who has anything to add, feel free to chime in or modify my stuff!

*I'm editing this now that dh is a CA-1 (PGY-2). When I first wrote this, he was in his internship year.

1. What type of Residency: ie internal medicine, ob, fp, er, etc.
Anesthesiology

2. How long is the residency (and specialty stuff afterward and the possiblilities that will make our spouses be slaves longer)

4 years (one of which is the intern year)
1-year fellowships (for example: Critical Care, Pain)

3. How long are the work weeks during training?
When my husband's in the OR, he's out of the house by 5-5:15am. Home usually by 5-6pm (on really light days, 2-3pm, sometimes even 1pm). His program honors a so-called "10-hour rule." If you stay late, you have 10 hours to go home and sleep before you have to be at the hospital again the next day. So, if he doesn't get out until 9pm, he skips the morning conference the next day and shows up at 7am. Generally, I would say he works between 60-65 hours/week. Busier weeks are somewhere around 70 hours.

4. What is the in-house/out-of-house call schedule like during training?

There is home call on some of his rotations. For the most part, there's first and second call. If dh is on second call, there's the possibility that he goes home and may get called back sometime overnight. In these cases, if he has to go back in, he usually doesn't have to go to work at all the next day.

5. How much does an attending in that specialty earn(when do the big bucks start rolling in)

I'm really not sure, but I heard someone at the departmental holiday party mention 300,000 to start. It also depends on the environment - private practice or university setting.

6. how long are the hours post-training(regular hours)

Very good.

7. how much on-call is there post-training(home vs. in-house)

I'll have to get back to you on this. A neighbor of mine growing up was an anesthesiologist in a physicians group, and was rarely on call. This is a decision he made for himself, though. He was also usually home in time to pick up his kids from school and take part in carpools.

8. What is a good time to start a family with this specialty(how helpful the spouse can be and vacation times)

This doesn't seem to be a huge issue in this specialty--in fact, at the holiday party the other day, there were 2 pregnant residents. Also a couple of other female residents in the dept. already have 1+ children. I think in our case, it's more when *I* will be able to fit in children. I plan to go into academia (in a different field - Liberal Arts and Sciences).

9. How much vacation time do you get post-training?

I don't know.

10. What type of people generally tend to go into the specialty (ie. peds people are more child friendly....neurosurgeons are hard to talk to....plastics spouses are superficial...)

-Calm and laid back
-very detail-oriented
-Odd sense of style outside of work (they wear scrubs all day at work and never really have to wear a tie)
-family-oriented