Medical student seeking some advice

What surgical specialties provide a good work life balance?

If you’re determined to do surgery then I suggest you consider other types of surgical specialty, not just Neurosurgery. Other surgeons won’t be confined to tertiary care centres and some specialties have better scope for private sector work than others. Plastics and orthopaedics have some of the best opportunities in this respect.

Having said that, there’s no such thing as a good work life balance in surgery. In fact it’s pretty well known for having a poor work life balance, at least more than other specialties. Run through and CST applications are very competitive and you’ll probably have to spend time out of training getting extra experience in surgery and/or doing a degree to make your application more competitive. On the job you can expect to do a lot of unsocial hours, night shifts, long days etc and maybe even having to come in on your days off to get more time in theatre. You’ll be spending 7-8 years post FY2 training towards a salary which is really good at face value, but IMO not worth all the years of training it takes to get there. Surely as someone who wants to make money, you should be looking at ways you can make the highest amount of money in the shortest possible time.

Hence why I always recommend GP to anyone in Medicine who’s looking to make money. It’s the shortest training pathway, after which you can earn only marginally less than a full time surgeon who also does private work, but in less than half the number of years it takes for surgery. Locum demand for GP’s is huge, rates are high all across the country whereas locum consultant roles in one particular specialty may be spread out fewer and further between, in less areas as hospitals cut back on locum spending. You also have LTFT work and freedom to choose your own hours in GP, giving you time to work on other money-making ventures, whereas you don’t get this in surgery until you’re already a consultant.

Best way to making good money is to diversify your streams of income. Businesses, properties and learning extra skills which you can then charge for, such as non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Surgery is too inflexible to allow you to work on other things outside the hospital which means you’re pretty much restricted to only earning an income from surgery, and trading time for money. That’s counter-productive long term and won’t help you maximise your earnings Something like GP or even another specialty with shorter hours and more flexibility like Dermatology: IMO these are well paid enough to make good capital for investments, but also allow you enough time off to go out and manage those investments. I would suggest you only become a surgeon if surgery is the only thing you can see yourself doing as a career. Many many better opportunities for making money are non-medical.

GP kind of sounds like an absolute dream! I don’t understand why it’s so undersubscribed.

GP kind of sounds like an absolute dream! I don’t understand why it’s so undersubscribed.

It's just not what it used to be - being a partner in the past meant great security and high earnings. Many of those benefits have been eroded over time so that the effort is still the same, but the reward is lower. That said you can argue the same of most specialties. It's also an immensely stressful job contrary to the public opinion - on my previous placements I'd say the GPs are the busiest and most stressed on average. Rarely get a break, rarely get the resources needed to investigate patients properly etc.

Personally I think the pros outweigh the cons. I like that I could do GP work 4 days a week and then work in A&E for another day, and I could get paid more than a consultant in hospital to do that.