About 40 percent of physicians marry other healthcare professionals, which creates both unique challenges and benefits, according to AMA Wire.
Here are four things to know:
1. Many physicians marry other healthcare providers due to similar life timing and availability, according to an emergency room physician who married a pediatric oncologist.
"The times in your life when you're seeking a partner happen to coincide very nicely with the time you're in medical school and training," the ER physician told AMA Wire.
2. The shared clinical experiences of physician couples can also help them maintain open communication and a better understanding of each other's struggles.
"As doctors, your lives are so incredibly busy that it's hard to meet people outside medicine and when you do, it's hard to explain why you really need to work on Christmas or go in at 2 a.m. for a delivery," AMA member Kavita Shkah Arora, MD, an OB-GYN at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, told AMA Wire.
3. While physician stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion can negatively affect a spouse, having a partner who is also in the medical field can actually help mitigate these issues.
"When you're with someone in medicine, you have that shared language and experience," Dr. Arora told AMA Wire. "You share the same set of values when it comes to helping others and sometimes needing to put your responsibility as a physician above your relationship's needs."
4. However, physician couples often struggle to maintain good work-life balance or find reliable child care to accommodate their busy schedules, AMA Wire said.