How is the job market/possibilities for private practice looking for cardiologists and hem/oncs? I'm still torn between these fellowships.
The general impression I've been getting is that heme/onc is more chill (less work hours/week (around 40-50), better private practice possibilities etc.) than cardiology, or so are at least the
possibilities (they're better for heme/onc than cardiology) for making that happen. So I guess this post is more of a "I-seek-confirmation-that-this-is-the-case" rather than a question
1) Generally speaking, yes, lifestyle in heme/onc tends to be better than cardiology (e.g., heme/onc can usually take call from home from the comfort of their own beds whereas in cardiology you have to go in more often). However, both can have either good or bad lifestyles depending on your practice setting, number of partners, how much call you are taking, how much money you want to make, where you live, your payer mix, etc. And keep in mind cardiology does have some super fellowships including ones like cardiac imaging that apparently can have a better lifestyle.
2) Despite the doom and gloom on SDN, both have fine job prospects if you don't live in saturated areas (e.g., California, Upper East Coast). What I mean is you'll be able to get a decent job in either cards or heme/onc
somewhere. And even if you must live in, say, LA or NYC, then you can probably still find a job in either cards or heme/onc, but at the cost of other things (e.g., lifestyle, money).
3) However, if I remember correctly, I believe you're a pre-clincial med student in Sweden and studying for Step 1? If so, I wouldn't worry about the lifestyle or money of each right now. Do rotations in both and see which one you actually enjoy doing on a daily basis. Cards and heme/onc are quite different subspecialties and have quite different personalities and cultures. Many people change their minds about their desired specialty once they actually do rotations in them.