is pediatrics stressful ?

[one11]

Hello,

for pediatrics residents, how many on calls per week you have?
does the majority of your work based on - outpatient - or - inpatient - basis ?
do you consider your specialty more or less stressful compared to other medical and surgical specialties ?

thank you .

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Stitch]

This is sort of a hard, generalized question to answer. Residency is hard and stressful no matter what the field, but a most of what you are asking depends on the program itself and the enviornment. Some programs have more call than others, some have more in or out patient exposure. You really have to explore individual programs to find one that fits. Hopefully someone goes into peds (or any other specialty) because one likes the type of medicine and patients one encounters, and not the perception of how stressful it is or isn't.

 

[coldflare]

Hopefully someone goes into peds (or any other specialty) because one likes the type of medicine and patients one encounters, and not the perception of how stressful it is or isn't.

To play devil's advocate, though, I decided early on NOT to be a surgeon, and it wasn't because I didn't like the OR or patients that needed surgery.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

To play devil's advocate, though, I decided early on NOT to be a surgeon, and it wasn't because I didn't like the OR or patients that needed surgery.

I say with confidence that the pediatric residency at my hospital is tougher than the general surgery residency and they would agree. they have a night float system, so the only overnight call they take is on the weekend.

We're Q4 for every inpatient rotation. That stereotype only goes so far.

 

[coldflare]

I say with confidence that the pediatric residency at my hospital is tougher than the general surgery residency and they would agree. they have a night float system, so the only overnight call they take is on the weekend.

We're Q4 for every inpatient rotation. That stereotype only goes so far.

I wasn't really referring to residency, but life after residency; I think many would agree that AFTER residency, general surgeons lead more stressful lives than pediatricians.

But to respond to your point, there is a lot more to the stress of residency than call schedule. During my entire three years in pediatrics residency, no one has ever yelled at me, thrown things, or attempted to publicly humiliate me because I didn't know the answer to a question they asked. But on my 8 weeks of surgery in med school, I witnessed all of these, some more than once. Perhaps that sounds stereotypical, but there it is.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

I would tend to avoid specialty comparisons as these can end up as a "My life is harder than your life" battle that really serves no purpose. I also think that it's important to focus on stress management in medicine more than stress avoidance.

Pediatrics is not a low stress specialty, either in training or in practice. Certainly there is a huge variability in the stress level depending on one's field, night call and responsibilities. For example, some general pediatricians cover the delivery room and may have to intubate a baby successfully in an emergency. Many other general pediatricians are not placed in that role ever once they finish their training.

Talk to folks doing lots of different pediatric specialties and gen peds and ask them this question specifically. My guess is that most attendings won't see stress as a major drawback specific to pediatrics.

 

[BigRedBeta]

I agree that while perception is that pediatrics is less stressful than surgery, in reality...ask all your adult medicine attendings how enthused they are about dealing with kids. There will be a majority who will have no part of it.

 

[pathstudent]

Hell yeah it must be stressful. Out of the 100 kids that come into your office without absolutely nothing to worry about (colds, earaches, runny noses, etc...) you have to be able to find the one kid that is really sick. I just heard of a 4 year-old who went to his pediatrician for nausea and vomiting. They ped evaluated him and sent them home with instructions for hydration and following up. The kid died due to a volvulus the next morning. How horrible for the parents. Monday your preschooler is fine, Tuesday he is vomiting, Wednesday he is dead. How bad that pediatrician must feel too.

 

[umass rower]

for pediatrics residents, how many on calls per week you have?

Kind of an odd question, phrasing it in a "per week" fashion. Depends on the program. Even for the small number of programs that I applied to, they ranged from 10 months of Q4 call to all night float.

does the majority of your work based on - outpatient - or - inpatient - basis ?

There are requirements for pediatric residency programs that are set by the ACGME. We're required to have a certain number of blocks on inpatient rotations, NICU, PICU, subspecialties, etc., and a set number of clinic days per year. You can find them here: http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_320/320_prIndex.asp. In reality, the differences among programs are more based on the intensity and specific composition of the rotations rather than the number or variety of rotations available/required.

do you consider your specialty more or less stressful compared to other medical and surgical specialties ?

Depends, and again it's a program-dependent issue. Some peds programs are pretty intense, others are more laid-back.

 

[Sweet Tea]

I don't think pediatrician job is a stressful one but rather than that there are many other jobs which are really stressful for eg. look at surgeons, they need to concentrate more on their work and has to stand for a long time while doing operation.

As someone who has done both a surgery internship and is 2/3 of the way through a pediatrics residency, I think you're wrong. They're both stressful, just in different ways. What one person finds stressful another finds enjoyable, and if you're doing something you don't enjoy then you're going to be more stressed regardless of how "easy" other people perceive that task.

You've much to learn, oh new member with 3 posts.

 

[Hilll05]

I believe that being a physician no matter what your specialty is stressful. My best advice is to think beyond residency to when you are 50 years old. Can you imagine doing all that is required of a pediatrician at age 50 ( outpatient, inpatient, ER consults, practice call, C section coverage at 50, consider it. Do what you LOVE and it will never feel like work. I would be a pediatrician for free, it is so fulfilling to talk to and guide parents about their children's health.