<p>is the lifestyle of a doctor over exaggerated?? i understand that it's a very stressfull career but are we going to far when we say that being a doctor will give you no time to do anything? what is the avg hours that a doctor works a week? I am concerned because basketball is a huge passion in my life and is scared that if i choose medicine i will have to give it up and not play as much as i do now...also, are all doctors always on call, especially at night that you cant sleep?</p>
<p>Depends on what specialty you go into. In residency surgeons work 80+ hrs per week for 5 year, so that can make having free time difficult. Compared to an anesthesiologist who will work about 60 hrs a week for 4 years. After residency work hours vary greatly. Some EM docs I know work 40 hrs a week and there are some anesthesiologist in private practice that get 12 weeks of vacation time. Some of the 'lifestyle' specialties include dermatology, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, radiology, family medicine, pediatrics, pathology..to name a few.</p>
<p>Also some dr.'s (in residency) decide to to moonlighting so they can make more money and that takes out time from your schedule.</p>
<p>60 hours a week would be a very low estimate for an anesthesiology resident.</p>
<p>Hours in private practice can be longer or shorter than in residency, but many new physicians entering a group practice on a two year partnership track find themselves working very hard. Many established physicians work long hours as they try to maintain income by increasing patient volume in an environment of decreasing compensation.</p>
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60 hours a week would be a very low estimate for an anesthesiology resident.
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<p>That is the average at the anesthesiology residency program at my school. A better number would be 60-70, but I haven't met a gas resident who works more than 70. Work horses like UMiami gas program, the average is more like 70-75.</p>