Doctors Don't Work "Hours"

That quote has really been on my mind for the past few days.  I write this with slight ignorance since  I'm in no way a practicing doctor and out in the real world.  The thing is though, I think there's a blurring of work-hours between specialties when you look more into it.


Derm, rads, EM, and ophtho I can understand being "lifestyle" specialties, because of either the shift work, dearth of medical emergencies, lack of call, or another factor.  The thing is, the blurring begins when you take for example, an emergency doc working all nights, or working 12+ hour shifts 7 days a week.  Or being an internist who works in a hospital and then runs his/her own clinic.  Or being a neurologist who works at two hospitals AND runs a clinic.  


My entry here is just to say there's not one type of specialist who works harder or puts in more/less hours than another by some kind of law of the universe.  You can probably be an internist working as many hours as a transplant surgeon; you can work part-time as a pediatrician, or even a part-time surgeon.


I probably simplified it a little bit as some residencies and specialties do have, by default, more call and time dedication.  I also heard "as a doctor, patients will always need you." And that's true, call happens, and all kinds of emergencies do as well.


The complicating factor is: you can be one of two surgeons in a rural town managing all the surgical care of the town and surrounding areas, or you could be a surgeon working in a large group, with call split up.  That's one thing that makes choosing a specialty difficult when you're more in the know: the hours you work are really up to you, the contract you sign, the group you join, the location of your practice.  


The AMA has a super-handy website called "FREIDA" that gives a breakdown of what each residency's average hours are like, number of accredited programs, and the length of training (For example, pediatrics: https://freida.ama-assn.org/Freida/user/specStatisticsSearch.do?method=viewDetail&spcCd=320&pageNumber=2).

I hope that's some guidance for you out there; I know I have a lot of soul-searching to do myself.  I do hope at some point I can mentor med students and stuff and teach.  I'm just kind of this big hippie type who wants to reach out to everyone and make sure they're doing well and I can do everything to help them reach their full potential.  Thanks for reading.