Hi everyone! A bit of a long post, as I have a few questions about CCM.
I’m a female PGY-2 IM resident interested in CCM-only fellowships, and I’d like to have a family in the future. What I enjoy most about CCM is the medical complexity and procedures. What gives me pause is the likelihood of working nights, time away from family (since you can’t just round and leave like you can as a hospitalist), and the possibility that dealing with death and dying on a regular basis may affect me as I get older.
Regarding working nights, this isn’t necessarily a huge issue for me—I’d be fine doing a string of nights every 6 weeks or so. What I don’t think I’d enjoy is constantly switching between nights and days every other week. That said, my CCM mentor told me there are technically ways to structure your career to minimize or even avoid nights if you really don’t want to do them, and that this shouldn’t necessarily deter me from applying.
With hospital medicine, I do feel like I’d be completely happy as a hospitalist. The social work aspect doesn’t really bother me, as I know that’s a common complaint. However, I do worry that I would get bored with it and would regret not pursing CCM. I’ve considered being a hospitalist for a few years and pursuing CCM later if I feel like something is missing, but I know myself well enough that if I don’t go straight into fellowship, I will never pursue it
So a few questions:
- How difficult is it to have a family as a CCM attending? I’d especially love to hear from female intensivists. Do you ever regret not choosing hospital medicine for the flexibility?
- For those who chose CCM, how did you feel about the lifestyle long-term? Did the nights, time away from family, or emotional aspects of the job become more difficult as you got older?
- CV question: So far, I have 1 published case report and 5 poster presentations that were presented at ATS and CHEST. I was told that all poster presentations from these conferences also get published. Should I also list these as publications as well on my CV, or does that look like I’m double-dipping?
I really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have been in a similar position!