What Branch Of Medicine Or Specialty Offers The Best Quality Of Life?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Christopher Yerington, Founder - Physicians Income Protection at Physicians Income Protection (2017-present)



It depends on the person’s personality that is becoming a doctor.

20 years ago, Dermatology and Radiology were considered nice. Here’s an eye-opener for anyone thinking of becoming a physician for a lifestyle choice: Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2019

Bottom line, in this Report 2019 of more than 15,000 doctors no speciality has less than a 25% stress and burnout rate. 1 in 7 doctors have thought of suicide.

Do not enter medicine for the money or the quality of life. I have hundreds of doctor friends and acquaintances. I know of only a few, less than I can count on one hand who actively and positively tell their own children to pursue medicine.

My wife and I are both doctors, my brother is as well. We have six kids, only one expresses any interest in pursuing medicine for a career. He wants to be a neurosurgeon, well, technically, a cybernetic-neurosurgeon… sometime we discuss modern American medicine and healthcare in the USA. My near 15-year-old says, “Yep, I know it will be hard… but I still want to do it.”

Those are the ones that should go into medicine, the ones that people have given them every reason to not pursue a medical career and they still want to do that with their lives… that was me. I felt utterly complete being a clinical anesthesiologist and when I became disabled in 2010, it crushed me. My ‘quality of life’ disabled is superior in many respects to the quality of life I had as a doctor… but I hate it. The only good part about it has been seeing how people are treated by disability carriers and learning to teach people to protect themselves properly, especially doctors. My same future neurosurgeon says, “Dad, you’ll make me bulletproof financially, right?” I say, sure, as long as you follow simple rules!

~Chris

Dr. Christopher Yerington

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