<p>Hi, I have recently become interested in a career in medicine (mind you, I am only 17, so I am not 100% sure about what I will be doing for a job :]). However, I do want a job with reasonable hours that are practical for having a family. I was looking most closely at radiology - it seems to have consistant hours and the topic itself interests me (diagnosis, interpretation, etc). Are there any radiologists/people familiar with the field that could tell me more about it? What kind of hours you have? How extensive is residency/training? Also, if anyone has any other fields that come to mind as good for me, please share! Thanks</p>
<p>What is it interventionist? or something to that nature...in radiology ...they have longer hours.</p>
<p>Interventional radiologist I think is what you were shooting for aspen.</p>
<p>Other fields known for "lifestyle"</p>
<p>Derm - closest to "normal" business hours - very few derm emergencies that would necessitate being on call once in practice.</p>
<p>Ophthalmology - again fewer emergencies</p>
<p>Emergency - entirely shift work. You may be working 10-12 hour shifts though. Also, a holiday is pretty much just another tuesday on the schedule. If you'd normally work that day, you'll be there.</p>
<p>Anesthesia - lot of hours, but typically you're in early and out early. Of course there is a fair amount of call b/c traumas can happen at any time, but depending on the hospital and how many Anesthesiologist or Nurse Anesthetists are on staff it might not be bad of schedule. You could also work at an outpatient surgery center and be in greater control. Also there are plenty of options in sub specialties like pain management or being part of hospice care if just passing gas is not all you want to do.</p>
<p>In larger cities, the concept of hospitalists is becoming more and more common. These doctors only work on the inpatient services, and don't have their own patient population, just whoever happens to be on the ward that day. Entirely shift work.</p>
<p>Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation - few emergencies, chronic conditions that have been stabilized by other physicians - think about these doctors as an advanced combination of Physical and Occupational Therapists, along with expertise in prosthetics and pain management.</p>
<p>As for residency training in radiology - it's 5 total years, with the Post Grad year 1 (PGY1) being a transitional or prelim in pretty much any general field (Medicine, peds, surgery, family, OB/GYN). After the first year you'll spend 4 years doing radiology specific training. Most house officers will pursue a two year fellowship when they are finished with residency - fellowships include Interventional, pediatric, neuro, cardiothoracic, abdominal, musculoskeletal, endovascular, and Nuclear. </p>
<p>On more of a personal note, while it's great that you are thinking about radiology, I think it's wise to keep your mind open. Many medical students enter thinking they want to do one thing, but quickly realize that they have a lot more options than they originally thought, and thus don't decide definitively until well into their third year. Most of my classmates have little idea of what they want to go into, or only have it narrowed down to several possibilities - I only know that I want to do some sort of peds sub-specialty (and that I don't want to do pulmonology), and that has me a lot farther ahead than most. So keep an open mind, not only about medicine but also about other career possibilities.</p>
<p>Cool, I'll definitely look into those and keep my mind open... I still have a few years before I really need to worry about this.</p>
<p>I was also looking around and found a couple non-MD professions I was interested in: Optometry and Pharmacy ... any thoughts on these in regards to training and then hours working after becoming certified? Thanks!</p>
<p>don't forget pathology (which is often ignored by the CC "I wanna be a neurosurgeon at JHU" or "I wanna make $38748347384738 year in rads" crowd). For the right kind of person it's perfect</p>
<p>true. I can't believe I forgot that. But you do have to be the "right" type of person for it.</p>
<p>And don't forget rad-onc (I didn't see it on the above list) for lifestyle specialties. The the original poster should know that some rads think IR is being taken over by cardiologists, so be ware.</p>
<p>In regards to Pharmacy...</p>
<p>I am not really sure what you consider to be practical for having a family, but the pharmacists that I work with seem to have enough time spent with their families. Three of the four pharmacists I work with have children, and seem to be happy with their lives. They usually work 3-4 days a week - but these days are 12 hour days. They go in at 8 or 9, and leave at either 8 or 9 that night. I guess that really isn't spending enough time with your family each day, but they do have 3-4 days off of work as well. It all depends on your views of reasonable hours. If you want off at 5 each day to be with your family, I would have to say that Pharmacy isn't for you.</p>