As medicine evolves, so do the types of doctors most needed. Demand for some of these physicians is already high.
Right when her colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital are leaving at the end of the day, pediatrician Sarah Henry, MD, is just arriving at work. As a nocturnist, Henry has made a career of working the night shift, clocking 10 overnights a month, sleeping mostly during the day, and avoiding typical workday stresses like long commutes.
But the job’s real attractions are less practical. “The hospital at night is a different place than during the day,” Henry says. “There aren’t the meetings and conferences and people coming and going. It’s a leaner, more simplified environment where I can focus on patient care and spend more time with families. That’s something I really value.”
Nocturnists are one of several medical career paths to emerge in recent years, partly in response to medical advances but also to new ways in which health care is delivered. Here are five new specialties, what they entail, and the training needed to pursue them.