OB/gyn resident lifestyle

[kfox926]

Hello everyone,

I hope to pursue this path in medicine, however I'm a non-trad, married and with a child. What can I expect of an Ob/Gyn residency as far as hours per week at the hospital, will I get to see my family more than sporadically? I know there is decent time off available but is it normally grueling 7 days a week? Are the rumors true that you will work 80 hours a week a lot of weeks?

Someone please shed some light onto this for me!!
Thank you so much!!!

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[anonperson]

Work hours could range from 50-80 hours depending on rotation, etc.

On rotations with more clinic, more like 50 hours. On labor/delivery, gyn oncology, hours are worse.

Main issue is call, which is in house and that sucks up hours.

 

[Dr G Oogle]

It really depends on what kind of program you're at, community programs tend to be a little less intense than university programs. On average you will be working at least 80 hours/week, not including independent study time and research (if you're so inclined). There are few specialties with longer hours and all of them are of a surgical nature. You are guaranteed at least one day off/week (averaged over one month) and i think there is some rule about number of consecutive days worked but I can't remember, a few times I remember working somewhere between 14-21 days in a row.

Attending life is not bad, with predictable hours and call schedules. And many people have or start families in residency, it helps if their partner is nonmedical or doing something less intense, but make no mistake it is a grueling 4 years and odds are people will miss out on milestones during that time. You just have to decide if short term sacrifice is worth long term gain.

 

[Oliver Clothesoff]

Hello everyone,

I hope to pursue this path in medicine, however I'm a non-trad, married and with a child. What can I expect of an Ob/Gyn residency as far as hours per week at the hospital, will I get to see my family more than sporadically? I know there is decent time off available but is it normally grueling 7 days a week? Are the rumors true that you will work 80 hours a week a lot of weeks?

Someone please shed some light onto this for me!!
Thank you so much!!!

3rd year here that recently finished my OBGYN rotation. It was in a community setting. Wasn't bad at all, usually between 40-60 hours per week. I believe most residency programs would probably be more intense, mine was mostly laid back.

 

[dabeags]

At a very busy, well regarded academic medical center, I'd say 75% of the time it is a 70-85 hour work week. The other 20-25% of the time is 50-60ish. Occasionally there is a rotation where with luck you'll work like 30-40 hours in the week but those are maybe for one month a year and you'll likely be doing a lot of your weekend call during those easier rotations. You get used to functioning on 5-6 hours of sleep which affords you some extra time outside of work that you wouldn't have if you slept like a normal person.