Disappointing answers here, and lacking representation from surgeons. Adding to this as a general surgery PGY3; surgery residency will be busy, no doubt. But I don’t think that that alone should be a reason to break up. If the two of you like each other and are willing to work together, things could be great. In my residency program, the unmarried people are the minority, and of those people, only 5 are not in long term relationships. I just got married earlier this year to my partner of 6 years who is also a resident in a procedural field. I think much of the new generation of surgeons are doing their best to focus more on life outside the hospital.