as we covered recently on this channel
being a doctor today isn't quite the
same as being a doctor a couple of
decades ago for more seasoned doctors -
even newly minted physicians most
doctors say that medicine is changing
for the worst and in some surveys seven
out of ten physicians aren't unwilling
to recommend healthcare as a profession
but enough of this negativity surely
many doctors are more than happy to be
practicing medicine let's find out what
makes them so happy so you too can enjoy
a fulfilling career as a future
physician doctor jabal med school
insiders calm we can define a
physician's happiness in two broad
categories at work and outside of work
in the recent Medscape physician
lifestyle and happiness report of 2019
over three-quarters of surveyed
physicians describe themselves as happy
outside of work more specifically the
happiest specialties meaning those with
the greatest proportion of happy
physicians were Rheumatology at number
one Otolaryngology at number two
endocrinology at number three
followed by pediatrics and general
surgery on the bottom end of five least
happy specialties were oncology
pathology cardiology infectious diseases
and neurology that was for twenty
nineteen but in last year's Medscape
report the top five happiest specialties
outside of work were immunology
dermatology emergency medicine
ophthalmology and plastic surgery the
bottom five were internal medicine
infectious diseases oncology public
health and preventive medicine and
cardiology between 2018 and 2019
there isn't much overlap while
dermatology was a top five happiest
outside of work specialty in 2018 it was
in the bottom third in 2019 does this
mean medicine is changing rapidly year
to year causing physicians to be
miserable I'd argue probably not more
likely these are artifacts from survey
collection methods and statistical
limitations it is important to note
however that the range of happiness of
physicians outside of work was between
40 percent on the low end to 67 percent
on the high end when we look at
happiness at work the range is less
optimistic the least happy specialties
had a happiness rate of 24% and the
highest rate were only 43% / med escapes
report the happiest
at work were dermatology at number one
ophthalmology at number two allergy and
immunology at number three followed by a
three-way tie between orthopedic surgery
psychiatry and pulmonary medicine so why
the large discrepancy between happiness
at work and outside of work first let's
address the elephant in the room why are
doctors so much happier outside of work
than at work well despite what most
social media influencers highlight on
their Instagram or YouTube channels
medicine isn't all fun and games at the
end of the day being a physician is work
and on average work isn't as fun or
happiness inducing as leisure time with
friends and family happiness is also
likely decreasing on average amongst
physicians as burnout is rising due to
regulations resulting in more charting
and less time actually interacting with
patients but we're not going to focus on
that we're keeping it positive in this
video let's discuss what makes
physicians happy outside of work versus
at work happiness outside of work is
largely a function of what we call the
lifestyle of the specialty when we talk
about the lifestyle of a specialty we're
encompassing factors like the number of
hours spent in the hospital the amount
of money one makes and how predictable
or unpredictable to work hours are which
is mainly a function of being on call
with that in mind it makes more sense
for these favorable lifestyle
specialties to score higher in terms of
happiness outside of work emergency
medicine has shift work so you know
exactly when you clock in and when you
clock out and you can choose the number
of shifts you take per month this makes
for a great lifestyle plastic surgery
urology and Otolaryngology also known as
ent also scored highly on happiness
outside of work these three are all
surgical subspecialties meaning they
make very good money and because they
deal with less urgent pathologies their
call isn't nearly as bad as something
like neurosurgery or orthopedic surgery
they have pretty good lifestyles and
it's therefore no surprise that they
score highly unhappiness outside of work
dermatology is unique in that it's
scored quite highly both at work and
outside of work dermatology is one of
the top two most competitive specialties
alternating the number one spot with
plastic surgery depending on the year
we joke that those who go into
dermatology are doing it for the large
paycheck sweet lifestyle and easy life
except it's not that much of a joke most
dermatologists don't take call and they
don't have to work long hours either in
terms of lifestyle it's hard to beat at
work dermatologists are also quite happy
at least according to the 2017 and 2018
results what then makes doctors happier
at work it depends on a few factors such
as the amount of time spent with
patients versus charting or doing
administrative work the types of
patients are important too we call this
the specialties patient population a
happier and healthier patient population
is easier to work with than an unhealthy
or difficult patient population
immediate results and improvements with
the patient's condition are also
rewarding that's why helping patients
through procedures or rapidly treatable
conditions is more happiness inducing
than say dealing with cancer or
congestive heart failure
lastly high levels of stress at work
will slowly but surely eat away at your
sense of well-being with this in mind it
makes sense why'd dermatologists are
happy at work there's low stress they
deal with happy and healthy patients
their treatments are measurable
sometimes involving procedures and
usually demonstrate quick improvements
cardiology on the other hand scored in
the bottom five specialties across all
three years again this makes sense
patients who need to see cardiologists
are usually older on average with
several comorbidities meaning other
medical conditions the outcomes meaning
how the patients fare long-term isn't as
good so cardiologists are unlikely to
witness rapid or measurable improvements
over the course of treating a patient
depending on the sub specialization
within cardiology
it can also be quite stressful if you're
on the fence about two or more
specialties looking at data like this
may be helpful however for most future
doctors I'd argue this sort of
information should not significantly
sway your decision chances are you'll
find one or two specialties you are
particularly drawn to rather than
looking at the data about others
happiness levels examine your own during
your rotations or while shadowing put
yourself in the doctors shoes and
consider the factors that influence
happiness do you enjoy the patient
population what about the bread
and butter meeting the most common
pathologies you'll see day to day in
that specialty do you enjoy working with
your hands or do you prefer more
face-to-face speaking with patients are
unpredictable hours a deal-breaker for
you or something that you can tolerate
going into a specialty that you actually
enjoy will be far more important in your
long term happiness than the mental
exercises of thinking which specialty
has the best lifestyle or best
procedures or best compensation that
being said don't fall into the trap
I've seen many succumb to I've come
across dozens of residents and even
attending physicians who wanted to do a
different specialty like orthopedics or
dermatology or plastic surgery but
ultimately had to compromise to
something else because they weren't
competitive enough for the specialty
they truly desired if you think you're
not the smartest and that you're doomed
stop right there
your ability to crush your MCAT USMLE
step one and have dozens of research
articles is less a function of your
intelligence and more a function of
proper preparation constantly iterating
and improving and putting in the work
having a stellar medical school or
residency application and crushing the
interviews is no different even if you
don't consider yourself a people person
at med school insiders our mission is to
empower a generation of happier
healthier and more effective future
doctors from medical school or residency
application help to crushing your MCAT
or USMLE we've got your back and our
results speak for themselves
we've become the fastest growing company
in the space with the highest
satisfaction ratings see for yourself
and learn more at med school and ciders
comm were you surprised by the results
from these physician Happiness surveys
let me know your thoughts with a comment
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you all and I will see you guys in that
next one