Can't you do both? Put charts on one monitor and BP and pulse on another. Turn on the gas and rock 'n roll!
I left medicine 10 years ago for similar reasons and I have not been sorry one day since. My life is better and I get a lot more sleep. Good luck to you. Have you considered posting your system on collective2.com? They track most of the things you are interested in, and a lot of other stuff, too. Go over there, click on the graph on any system, scroll down to Statistics, and then click on Analytics. See if that is what you want.
AM, I recently left a well paying career in surgical sales, to join a family business. I position trade on the side, in order to compound my retirement accounts, not for income. With that said, I would strongly encourage you to stay in medicine for the next decade or so, before definitively deciding on ending your career there. I say that because, you are in a field in which you are virtually guaranteed to make north of $200k (probably much more). If you have some business savvy, which you probably do based on your trading background, you should be able to make well over $500k/yr in relatively short order. The physicians/surgeons that I've know to make the most money, have usually been able to marry business and medicine. Obamacare, will eventually destroy medicine as we know it, BUT it will take several years for that to happen. That also assumes there won't be significant changes or even repeal of these laws in the coming years, which I believe will happen (most likely significant changes). As a business owner/operator and former surgical sales person, I completely understand how demotivating this law will be to medical professionals. It's very similar in my current business. I can assure you that doctors aren't the only ones who have to deal with a ridiculous amount of defensive business practices. Anyway, my point is that you will certainly have enough time to earn and save a lot of money, which WILL no doubt be valuable in your trading career. Either way, best of luck.
A few things things: 1) Some of you guys crack me up! Lol 2) Thank you psytrade for mentioning those physician traders. I may just look them up. 3) drcha - what do you now after medicine? 4) clacy - I know what you're talking about. However obamacare will not be repealed. There are just too many good things that are going along with the bill (no pre-existing conditions, kids on parents insurance until 26, etc). Therefore I am planning on a 3 yr stint in medicine until its not worth it anymore. I doubt it will get any better, but in the remote chance it does, I will stay. Have a good night, all.
Looking at this from a Canadian situation, I think you're a bit premature in saying that it "won't be worth it" anymore in a few years. I know that the US view is that we have socialized medicine here and it is like long Soviet bread lines to go to the doctor (and indeed, true sometimes ) but anecdotally I think that anestheiologists are extremely well compensated here, certainly in the several hundred K per year. Also, I don't think our Canadian situation is sustainable. There are too many boomers aging that will strain our system so much that at some point (but not without big fights) it will become less socialized, some sort of two-tiered, etc... I also marvel at how much money some dentists here are making (again, anecdotally, but boy does my dentist run a big nice office with lots of staff, so I would expect that throws off a fair bit of profit) because dental care is not included under Medicare in Canada. So maybe you could do anasthetics for dentistry or something... I have a feeling that "Obamacare" will be some hodge-podge of insurance free-market + socialized etc. Probably an "average" of what the US situation is right now and Canada. So I think you would have a big opportunity cost of giving up a pretty much guaranteed big income to a risky chance of a big payoff. Agreed that the huge incomes made by some US doctors will be less, but I would be surprised if the declines are more than 30-40% at the high end (just throwing around some numbers, maybe earning 600K rather than 1MM) - and for the bulk in the middle maybe earning 400K it probably wouldn't decline more than 10%. How could it? Somebody qualified has to anesthetize people unless we're going to start having people biting down on sticks while they get sliced open... I agree with the other posters that the doctors who can combine business savvy with their work will be able to find ways to make lots of money in the chaos of the US healthcare economy. No way are you guys (Americans) going to full socialized medicine - I just can't see it happening. While you may indeed be able to make it as a good trader, my 2c is always to keep the medicine door open.
Writing. Write clinical study reports, part of new drug applications to FDA. Have time to trade in the mornings, on the west coast here.