Medical Residents Burning Out, Missing Life

Posts regarding considering EM as a specialty belong here. Examples include: Is EM a good career choice? What is a normal day like? What is the work/life balance? Will I burn out?…

“I've been reading residency posts lately, and since its been some time since my own training, I've been thinking about how much residency taught me about people...in a bad way. First, the residency system absolutely has problems. Residents are underpaid, overworked, burned out, and sometimes treated terribly and that needs to change. But two things can be true: the system can be broken, and you can still have a responsibility not to make your colleagues lives harder. I watched people cal”

“TLDR; I work two days a week in specialty medicine. I accepted a new remote position in primary care. Im currently credentialing but am having intense regret because of logistic and emotional concerns and am considering backing out, but know it will burn a bridge with the other major health system in my state. My priority is my child and my family, but I also really value my career. Advice needed! I’m currently working part-time in specialty medicine at a major hospital in my area. I’ve been the”

“Does anyone else feel like they're not doing enough clinically related things, or things people tell them med schools want to see? I am currently only in one org, that is sort of medical (NMDP) but I do theatre production as an EC (publicity, dramaturgy, stage management) for independent shows. I also work two jobs (learning assistant and tutor for gen chem I and I work for the performing arts center at my school). I just feel like I am doing a lot, as in I go home to sleep, shower, and eat”

“I’ve only ever done outpatient jobs since graduating. I did my internship in peak covid and my inpatient rotation was psych ward only. I’m so burnt out working so hard every visit to set the same goals and so few ever make any progress. The few I am able to help are off my panel quickly when they don’t need any more counseling. I don’t really care what people eat for lunch and there’s only so many ideas for what you can pick for your lean protein option. Short visits with people I’ll never see a”

“It's been a long time coming but it's amazing to actually have and end in sight and to be excited for something new is refreshing. An 8-5 M-F feels like a nice change of pace after 4-10's and working holidays (I have worked on Christmas every year since 2021). I'm moving to an Ophthalmology specialist and I'm so excited. Hopefully it'll be a great place to work going forward. Wish me luck submitted by /u/Bem395 [link] [comments]”

“What are some "things that never fail" you've noticed in your specialty, or in medicine in general? I'll start: If you step away from your phone for even 15 seconds, your attending will call in that time. submitted by /u/kuru_snacc [link] [comments]”

“PGY1 in FM in an unopposed Texas residency program. I genuinely asking here to make sure I’m staying in my lane but also getting at least something out of residency. What is the general rule of thumb or other people’s experience in asking questions as an intern? Here is my experience: I’m talking about when we are not slammed in the hospital, on service etc. I will asking question following up a topic in rounds or to an upper about why a certain course of treatment keeping in mind that I looked”

“Hi everyone! This is a bit of an odd question but I recently had an opportunity come up to get involved with research about physician wellness. I think its super cool but was wondering if that looks weird on a med app for me to have done physician-based research? This may sound like a dumb question but I'm unsure of whether it would be looked down on for some reason. submitted by /u/dorywithglasses [link] [comments]”

“We have a pretty sad in basket team. I think there's a lot of turnover so training has been poor. Any message from the patient gets forwarded to me. Like patient saying they hurt their ankle and wants XR/MRI or patient wants lab orders for xyz they saw on social media or thinks they're having side effects from a medication they've been on forever. All those messages get forwarded to me to address and they tell the patient I'm going to respond back. I think it clogs up my messages”

“I’m gonna start with the fact I’m Canadian. It’s so competitive. I had a friend with a 3.8 GPA and she didn’t get in. My grades are nowhere near that. Neither are my experiences. She went to Australia. I’ve been rethinking a lot. Med school is smthn I’ve wanted since I was a kid. But I think over the years I just got. Burnt out. I’m exhausted. University is tiring. I want to take a break but my mom keeps telling me not to. Then my grades aren’t good and we all get frustrated. The recent adhd dia”

“I've decided to apply to a few DO schools last minute (have only applied MD so far) but between work and MD secondaries (which are mostly done, thankfully) I've been feeling very burned out. I haven't filled anything out on AACOMAS yet. By when should I have my AACOMAS primary application done to still be competitive? 3.44 uGPA 511 MCAT, ~2k clinical work ~500 hours nonclinical volunteering if that helps. submitted by /u/kasanari [link] [comments]”

“Hello all. If you’ve been in this page long enough, you probably know my journey so far. I graduated it seems like forever ago, moved to New York for a general surgery job that ended up being trauma more than surgery and did not see it as a good supportive fit. I then tried to get a position in a clinic with a doctor that basically was paying me nothing and told me I wasn’t going to be credentialed for a year. I left that position. Now I am entertaining, as the title suggests, a jail PA position”

“I'm a preliminary internal medicine resident and just scheduled Step 3 for April, I will have 6 months of wards under my belt (one of them ICU). Got a 265 on Step 2, how long do people in similar scenarios study to succeed on this test? submitted by /u/rehabricated [link] [comments]”

“When did things start to turn around for you in residency, for those that actually experienced this? I'm a psych resident at workhorse program, and things started to turn around for me immediately after PGY-2 going into PGY-3 due to significantly less frequent call and basically no more inpatient. submitted by /u/undueinfluence_ [link] [comments]”

“So I graduated a few months ago, and while a resident I really had no issues with sleep, anxiety, depression. But then the last 2-3 months of residency I started to randomly feel panic, get flushed, and uncomfortable in situations I used to be chill in. Then I started waking around 3-4am and not falling back asleep about 2 months ago. And now I’ve progressed to low key having a few full panic attacks and not going entire nights not sleeping even a single minute. Decided I probably need meds, got”

“Thinking about commissioning into the military like the title says. I'm thinking either Air Force Reserve or Navy Reserve based off of research. Currently in an orthopedic residency program looking to get my OCS then perhaps after that (only have about 3 months left) so hoping that might make my application more competitive. Anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? submitted by /u/tofulx [link] [comments]”

“My doctor asked me a question the other day. Went in to get a med refill, and the she looks at me. She asked me, "Still enjoying life, still wanting to be alive?" And I just looked at her in shock because no? I lied, obviously, because the only place admitting anything like that will get me is the psych ward and they don't do shit expect guilt you, and I already have fucking plenty of that on my own. But like. Are you fucking kidding me? "Enjoying life"?????? Be serious r”

“Idk how to put this really. I’ve always been a very passionate person about getting into med school and idk if it’s burnout or being at home that’s making me feel this way but I’m just frustrated and sad. I haven’t stopped working on school since before 9th grade. I’m 21. I don’t feel responsibility to succeed all the time. I put that pressure on myself, nobody does it to me. In elementary school I got diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and now I’m realizing I have ADHD so what a fun combo A”

“IM PGY-3 doing my neurology rotation. I'm with general neurology. Man I've never felt so dumb. Do I even deserve to graduate and become an independent hospitalist. Segmental myoclonus, thalamic aphasia, cpt enzyme deficenies. Did I even go to medical school and do almost 3 years of IM residency? submitted by /u/FondantBig1893 [link] [comments]”

“I’m trying to figure out which medical specialties give you the most free time / best lifestyle. I genuinely don’t care much about salary, prestige, or competitiveness. My #1 priority is having as much free time as possible outside of work. I also don’t have a strong specialty preference, I find pretty much every field interesting (except obgyn/peds) Which specialties would you recommend if free time and work-life balance are basically the only things I care about? And which ones tend to have th”

“I’m an anesthesiology and critical care resident in Europe, and I’m almost at the end of my first year. I’m just wondering, does this ever get better? Every time I feel like I’ve got things working well something happens and I’m back to feeling totally frustrated and pissed off. My level of responsibility and authority fluctuates enormously every day. On Monday I’ll be doing ortho trauma with an attending who hands me the room, tells me I’m in charge, and tells me to call him if I really need he”

“Hey, graduating PA program this December. I feel a lot of things, and browsing through subreddits like this is kinda just making my head spin more. Sorry if this is unorganized. Looking for advice on specialties/things to look for when picking a job, or if I should be looking for jobs at this stage. So how soon did you start looking? Or did you take a lot of time after graduating? I'm terrified about finding a job, or picking the right field, and I sometimes curse my 17 year old self for pic”

“I’m in my last year of FM residency but don’t have the will to carry on. The reward at the end of the tunnel seems like it’s more work that does not interest me. I am open to transferring residency into a PGY-2/3 spot in a different specialty or even starting over as as a PGY-1 if needed. I have a strong interest in a traditionally 4 year specialty (psych) but even with 2 years of residency under my belt, I’m tempted to open a solo practice focusing on one or two things and just seeing people fo”

“Early in residency I used to feel weirdly bad when I couldn't immediately place a patient I'd taken care of a few weeks earlier. Someone would mention a name and I'd have this awful blank moment of: I spent hours thinking about this person's labs, meds, discharge plan, family situation... how do I not remember them? At first I tried to compensate by mentally cataloging everyone. That lasted about five minutes. Now there are patients I remember in absurd detail years later, and ot”

“Hi everyone. I just want to say that I joined this subreddit because I decided to be a future PA but since joining and reading most of these posts, it makes me a bit scared how much some of you guys hate it and are struggling. Can I also get some good advice or something good about your jobs and how everyone likes it? Thanks! submitted by /u/Working-Quiet1515 [link] [comments]”

“My fiancé is in her first year of residency and things have been getting progressively and rapidly worse. The hours and workload are bad but not unexpected, but the work environment is incredibly toxic and reaching what I would consider to be emotional abuse. The concentration of horrible people throughout the program is incredibly high - some residents and attendings are great, but a significant portion of them are truly awful people. Belittling residents (privately and publicly), racist to pat”

“I know it’s not my fault, and I don’t particularly feel it’s my fault. I just feel an overwhelming sense of sadness for the patient and the family and I just feel so so angry towards the doctor. They said things to us, ordered things and then made a note after the patient went into surgery contradicting what they told us and lying in their charting about what was ordered. They physically wrote the orders, so if it ever went further it would prove they lied in their charting, but I just feel so a”

“Could you please share your evaluations or experience so far as an intern ! I am feeling so dumb and sad looking at my evaluations submitted by /u/Ok-Situation5604 [link] [comments]”

“This is super broad, but I’m starting a 14 shift ED rotation (1 month) as a pgy-1 psychiatrist. It is at an away hospital, with no other psych residents on at the same time, and I’m the first one of my class to do this rotation this year. I haven’t had an ED shift in the years. Obviously things depend on the hospital, culture, layout, etc, but what are some general things I can do to survive the month? I do not have an assigned attending, nor am I accustomed to picking up patients on the epic tr”

“New grad in derm, started a couple of months ago and boy do I feel overwhelmed. My SP is the least supportive. My training was very minimal so I'm practically on my own. I'm constantly thinking about my patients and feeling like I'm doing something wrong. I'll ask my SP for help, and they will give me no insight or education. If I show a rash/lesion I don't feel familiar with, they will just tell me what to do. Without saying too much, there is no higher up because this is a”

“I can’t see myself working a 9-5 for the next 40 some years. My solution to this was becoming a physician to work part time and still make enough money to raise a family. Ali Chaudhary is a good example of my goal. He works 8 EM shifts then takes 30+ days off to travel or do as he wishes. I would probably want to do something less extreme like 5 days straight then take the month off. Anyone else with the same dream? submitted by /u/moe_34567 [link] [comments]”

“I’m only a month into my new ICU position and I’m struggling so much with my mental health. Ive been diagnosed GAD since I was 16 but have never dealt with depression. Since graduating college, nothing has brought me joy, my friends have all moved away, I’m doing long distance with my bf, and I’m living with my parents again. I have no social life but no energy to go out and do things on my days off. I’m doing everything “right” at work. I haven’t made any errors (I stare at the MAR for 5 minute”

“I’m starting residency in about a month, and I already deal with depression and anxiety. Honestly, the thought of going into residency while already struggling mentally is hitting me pretty hard. I know residency is going to involve long hours, sleep disruption, a steep learning curve, and a lot of pressure, and I want to be as proactive as possible before Day 1 rather than waiting until I’m already struggling. For those of you who started residency with depression/anxiety, or developed it durin”

“Why is general surgery so popular? Brutal residency, not so great lifestyle as an attending, mediocre pay (comparing to other 5-year long residencies)… so what’s appealing about it? submitted by /u/tetmonjaro [link] [comments]”

“How do you guys stay motivated and stay focused on the goal? This is my 2nd, going on 3rd gap year, and I’m really struggling to hold on to my desire to become a doctor. I feel the interest slowly creep away from me, and i’m trying to hold on to my dreams, but i just feel like it’s such a long road with little to no payback, reward, or recognition. Every day, i keep seeing more and more reason to NOT become a doctor- residency burn out, private equity buying out hospitals, insurance companies ta”

“I’m am writing this as I have 15mins to spare before I head out to my 80k/year job in Clinical research. Together with my wife we make 120k together. We have a 5 year old as well. We only see each other Saturday because she works nights. We live in SoCal where our income feels like it’s still not enough. I honestly don’t feel happy. I’m so sick of the stress and constant worrying of the future. How and what to I do need to do to get to FATFIRE level? How can I get out of the rat race? I have zer”

“Thats so crazy and shitty. What a horrible situation for the patient and for you to be put in.”

“Resident here. Trying to figure out if this is just my hospital or if this is what medicine is like everywhere now. Does anyone else feel like you're held responsible for the medical plan but sometimes have basically no authority to make sure the plan actually happens? I'm not talking about a nurse questioning an unsafe order. Obviously that's appropriate. I'm talking about orders just not being done, messages about patients going unanswered, or parts of the plan being delayed/ig”

“Started out prelim intern year with a month in the ICU and now two weeks on nights which is basically ICU and floor cross coverage. Already hit my limit on patience with certain questions I’ve been getting overnight from nurses and respiratory techs. Any senior residents here with tips on how to not become rude? lol submitted by /u/LamerMayfield [link] [comments]”

“I'm only a couple months into fellowship, and this transition is hitting me hard. I never expected to struggle this much mentally. I've always been passionate about medicine, especially cardiology, but I'll be damned if this hasn't been the hardest transition of my life. New city, new people, new culture, new hospital system, and very little that feels familiar. This program was my #2, and in retrospect I'm glad I didn't end up at #1. Still, I keep wondering whether I wou”

“Can an EM resident please review my personal statement and give me their opinion submitted by /u/Friendly_Rough3155 [link] [comments]”

“Just wanted to check in on how all the parents are doing? I’m having such a hard time balancing time with family and working an absurd amount of hours and studying after but not being great at either one of them. Subpar in both. Just not enough time or enough me to go around submitted by /u/Simple-Difficulty773 [link] [comments]”

“I'm a first year resident in my country and I have 2 other colleagues at my level at my hospital, and I’m clearly the weakest one. I’ve already had senior residents and attendings call me out for making wrong clinical decisions, and I've been the only one who didn’t know how to perform a procedure that the others knew how to do. I talked to one of my colleagues about it, and she noticed that I really am the only one they criticize. Apparently, they even talk about me behind my back. Mayb”

“I feel embarrassed because there are more things discouraging me from continuing to practice than keeping me going. I’m not in a particularly lucrative speciality but lifestyle is better than most others. Every day just feels like a battle between employers, insurance, and entitled/hostile patients. I end up with very little of myself left to deliver good care to the rest of my patients. The threat of having a medico-legal nightmare has tripled with the current climate, it’s making me want to wo”

“Helle hello, for some context, i m a freshly graduated doctor in morocco who suffered from cold feet after choosing a specialty. (Not into residency yet we just made the choice a month ago) So, as every med student, when it comes to choosing specialty, they usually reach to people's opinions forgetting about what they truly want I ll be starting with people's opinions, what i concluded is, everyone has their own story about his practice but what i noticed is mostly negative (very rare on”

“I feel you I can’t cry either Till I met my new understanding primary care physician I couldn’t cry Broken bones, surgeries, bleeding, it didn’t matter, I’m an amazing “masker” 🎭😷 Now Every freaking time I see him or his understanding nurse I just breakdown uncontrollably It’s crazy, I’m super safe at home My boyfriend is my amazing soulmate Best giant mainecoon cat ever 🐈‍⬛ But finding my new forever doctor 👨‍⚕️ True tears from no where, just started uncontrollably, but in a happy way 🍀🦓”

“I was talking with some friends and the answers were all over the place and for various reasons. I am curious to know what others’ experiences have been. What’s your specialty and what PGY did the novelty start to fade and it felt more like just a job? Any particular reason/event? submitted by /u/AdEffective2408 [link] [comments]”

“posts from this sub came across my feed and just remember the days when I was anxious out the wazoo and reading literally every post on this sub currently working today, but very happy with my life. there are better ways to make money, there are shorter paths to gratification, but being able to do a job that matters despite working all the time is something irreplaceable. its my 13th day working out of the last 14 days but still feeling like all the apps, all the mcat studying, all the random ho”

“seriously tho? i keep feeling like a nobody next to these guys...it feels like i dont even deserve to call myself a "doctor" simply bcz of the huge gap btwn us. it sucks being average iq man, with zero talent... submitted by /u/Dr_PacingSpike [link] [comments]”

“PGY-1 here, near the end of my third service, and I am starting to think the hours are not the part that messes with me most. It is the constant switching of invisible rules. On one service, a perfect presentation is thirty seconds and only the active problem. On another, leaving out old imaging makes you look unprepared. One senior wants every page filtered before you call. Another wants to know immediately and then seems annoyed that you called. None of it is malicious, but my brain feels like”

“Retirement is overrated. Point your career into a direction you will enjoy and do it longer. Work is fun when you don’t hate it”

“Sorry if this isn’t the right spot to ask this question! I’ve (30F) been dating a first-year resident (32M) for about a month or so, and I really like him! For the most part, he’s funny, super sweet, affectionate, and caring. But I’m learning (and figured) that residency can make scheduling difficult, and honestly, texting can be brutal sometimes. 😅 Obviously, I know he’s busy at work, but sometimes it’s hard to know what’s “normal” for residency versus what might be a sign that someone just is”

“So, usually it takes time to learn a specialty and feel confident in it. Took about a year and a half to feel pretty confident in cardiology for me... But you are in oncology. I spent 3 years in oncology and felt like I knew nothing. It is a huge area with every body system involved and treatment protocols and there is a lot of research going on so things change frequently. In oncology, the best thing to do is to learn your resources and utilize them. That might be an online guide, a provider yo”

“Hello, I unfortunately had to take a leave of absence due to mental health. I know this is a taboo topic in admissions, but I know everything will get better. Unfortunately, I had already enrolled in a T25 university. I withdrew from classes before the drop period so I have no Ws on my transcript and am effectively still a rising freshman. I struggled with mental health all my life due to family trauma but I was still able to get into multiple top schools but I’m worried this leave of absence wi”

“How can I be a better fellow? I’m two months in to fellowship and I’m really struggling to get my bearings with my lack of knowledge and the volume of consults. Doesn’t help that I’m coming from a community hospital for residency and I’m now at a large academic center where the patients are much sicker and medically complex. Struggling to look up the relevant guidelines and clinical studies in a timely manner when I’m getting inundated with curbside questions and consults. What’s the best way to”

“Ok so I’m non-eu 4th year med student in eu I’m looking into alternative pathways other than specialization/residency that is a high paying job. Like what do i have to do after getting my degree and how long would it take? And how much could i expect. Please share ur advices. It’s my first time here so sorry if there are any errors submitted by /u/Serious-Net9543 [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been looking through this thread for a little while now, and I’ve seen a decent number of PAs, specifically emergency medicine PAs, with 6 to 8+ years of experience who decided to go back to medical school. A common reason I’ve seen is wanting to gain a deeper understanding of what they’re doing in the field. I’m genuinely curious about this because I’ve always thought that experience in the field itself is invaluable. I completely understand the importance of residency, especially for some”

“I have a 2 year old now and I’m planning to have a newborn several months into neurology PGY-1 (my daughter will be 3 then). A bit terrified but I don’t want to delay my family and I want my kids to be close in age. I also want to be a present mom so I’m feeling sad already thinking about not being there. Any advice or personal experience with this? submitted by /u/Fantastic-Layer-428 [link] [comments]”