Working in cardiology: 5 Pros and 5 Cons

Working in cardiology: 5 Pros and 5 Cons

Cardiology is not for everyone. Here goes.

5 Pros – why should I work in cardiology

1. Practice general medicine. There are great first hand learning opportunities as patients with IHD, CCF and rhythm problems, usually have other endocrine (especially diabetic) and kidney problems (especially CKD). There is alot of contact with CT surgeons which is stimulating, and there is good banter with them (and in the cath lab)
2. Procedures. There are alot of procedures, e.g. cardiac catheters, PCIs, angioplasty/stent, pacemakers, valve replacements and EVARs. So if you are practical and like using your hands, and want to be a physician, this may be a specialty for you
3. Variety and continuity. There is a huge variety of patients and illnesses – from common ones like IHD, AF and CCF; to rare ones like cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease. On a CCU or cardiology ward, you will always be seeing something new, which means you will regularly face new challenges and learn new skills. Also the ‘hot work’ (mainly IHD, acute heart failure and arrhythmias, on the wards) is balanced by ‘cold work’ (especially CCF in the clinics); where you will also have to make careful plans for heart transplants, for example. There are many long-term patients with IHD and CCF you will get really fond of
4. Senior supervision. There is usually excellent consultant and senior doctor cover on the wards (and in clinic); with whom you can always discuss anything you are unsure about. Hence there are also many chances to get your competencies signed off faster, as there are more on-hand tasks to be completed
5. Finance. And there is alot of private practice as a consultant. But you can seriously boost your salary by doing cardiac catheters and pacemakers for example.

5 Cons – why you may not want to work in cardiology

Here is a list of cons for cardiology.

1. Too much general medicine in some jobs. Cardiovascular disease is very common, especially IHD. This means all hospitals have them, from small local hospitals to large teaching hospitals. Consultants in the smaller hospitals still have to do alot of general medical takes, that do not always interest them that much
2. Not a huge amount of clinical immunology. For those of you that like clinical immunology and pathology, this may not be the place for you. Nephrology or haematology may be specialties you might look at
3. The hours can be unsocial. As a consultant, if you are on a PCI rota, you may often be working at night, weekends, and bank holidays
4. Even pace. Whilst most staff enjoy the even pace, others miss a specialty where there is a faster pace. For others, the even pace is an advantage
5. Emotionally draining. In cardiology, you are likely to encounter a lot of pain and tragedy – e.g. a lot of deaths (especially from CCF). Seeing such things can be emotionally draining. And that’s doubly true when patients die before you can save them. While it is important to have empathy for your patients, the best cardiology staff need the ability to remain slightly detached and emotionally healthy, even in the face of other people’s suffering.

Summary

We have described working in cardiology, and its pros and cons. We hope you have learnt something.