An apple a day (supposedly) keeps the doctor away, but if you’re that doctor, staying away from work is not easy with long hours, so you can avoid that by checking out the 10 worst medical specialties for lifestyle.
As a journalist and don’t have much of a science or math sided brain, therefore, majoring in anything in the medical field while in college was out of the question for me. I do have a number of relatives and friends, however, who are in the medical field. From what I can tell, they enjoy their jobs and also live very comfortably. The are many long shifts, but it’s a part of the job for most in the medical profession. Doctors work long shifts that sometimes span into days, work overnight and weekends, and also have their share of holiday shifts. The job never stops. I have nothing but respect for them after hearing many stories of what they have to endure on a day-to-day basis.
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You have to be passionate about medicine or at least really want to practice it to make it in the field. It takes years of rigorous schooling and a nonstop, crazy schedule to finally make it. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, an average shift for a medical resident is 16 hours. If you’re weary about the amount of schooling, but still like medicine, there are a lot of other options in the medical field. But, if the schooling has turned you away yet, you serious about the career choice. While the schedule is crazy, the money can be great (after you pay off all the student loans) in which case, you can enjoy the finer things in life. If you don’t believe me, just take a look this list of the 10 Happiest Medical Specialties With the Most Satisfied Doctors.
If a better work-life balance is more of your thing, we’ve compiled a list of medical specialties to help you accomplish that.
To gather the specialties on our list of worst medical specialties for lifestyle, we consulted sites such as ExploreHealthCareers, CareerCenter and MedScape, to see the balance between hours worked in a week versus salary. The use of surveys also determined how often doctors in these specialties worked.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 10 worst medical specialties for lifestyle.
10. Endocrinologist
Working hours: 40 to 50, but 6% reported more than 60 hours per a week
Average salary: $125,000 to $250,000 annually
38% said they would choose the same specialty again;
24% of endocrinologists have 50-70 patients per a week.
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9. Urologist
Working hours: Between 50 and 80
Average salary: $367,000
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8. Pulmonologist
Working hours: Between 50 and 80
Average salary: $281,000
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7. General Surgeon
Working hours: 60-80
Average salary: $322,000
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6. Plastic surgeon
Working hours: Over 60
Average salary: $365,614
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5. Neonatologist
Working hours: More than 60 hours per a week, 12-hour shift that changes daily or weekly
Average salary: $203,126
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4. Cardiologist
Working hours: Over 60 hours per a week without on-call
Average salary:$389,034, most paid in the north at $405,704.
50% said they would choose cardiology again.
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3. Obstetrician
Working hours: 50-70 hours per a week without on-call.
Average salary:$277,000
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2. Orthopedic Surgeon
Working hours: Over 70 hours per a week, including late night calls.
Average salary:$355,545
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1. Neurosurgeons
Working hours: Over 80 without being on call.
Average salary: $629,000, one of the highest paid specialties.
56% would choose neurosurgery again.
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If you’re trying to narrow down a career choice, we hope our list of 10 Worst Medical Specialties For Lifestyle helped to make things a little easier for you.
