Cardiology

[rotty1021]

I am a med student, and am narrowing down the specialities that I'm interested in, one being Cardiology. I realize that I must first do an IM residency. How competitive are the fellowships? What is the lifestyle and pay like out of residency. Is cards REALLY bad lifestyle wise? I would like to start and have time for a family, but wonder about Cards inhibiting that. Any help would be appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[rotty1021]

Anyone?

 

[jon_jon]

Cardiology fellowships are still very competitive, but it all depends. Some IM residency programs have a good track record of placing graduates in cards program and you want to definitely start by going to a great IM residency program.

Having said that, in general, the hours and lifestyle during cards fellowship is more arduous than during your IM residency.

Lifestyle of a cardiologist can vary depending on location and practice setting. If you are going to be an inteventionalist, then your schedule can be erratic being called in the middle of the night to go into the cath lab. If you are in a large cardiology group sharing call, then your schedule may be better with fewer evening/weekend calls.

Salary-wise, it's still very good. Anywhere from $200K-$500K is probably a reasonable range for most cardiologists, (not necessarily straight out of fellowship though).

 

[rotty1021]

Having said that, in general, the hours and lifestyle during cards fellowship is more arduous than during your IM residency.

That's strange, since FREIDA lists that the average Cardiology fellowship hours are in the low 50's. Moreover, could you be more specific as to whether Cardiology is a good specialty to have a family? Thanks.

 

[smackdaddy]

why don't you do a search on this topic instead of rehashing the same issues that were discussed a few weeks ago?
yes it is competitive.
cardiologists who want families have them.
they probably run the same range as everyone else-very happy to very unhappy.
no fellow works 50 hours.

 

[jon_jon]

Originally posted by rotty1021
That's strange, since FREIDA lists that the average Cardiology fellowship hours are in the low 50's. Moreover, could you be more specific as to whether Cardiology is a good specialty to have a family? Thanks.

I would recommend that you shadow some cardiologists near your medical school and get a feel for how their work and lifestyle is like. You can ask them the same questions and I am sure they will give you an honest answer.