Average # of hours physicians work a week?

[Wesco]

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I'm not quite sure where exactly to post this question, so if this is the wrong section then by all means someone can move it. Anyway I was wondering on average, how many hours week do physicians work?

 

[GotNoGame]

I'm not quite sure where exactly to post this question, so if this is the wrong section then by all means someone can move it. Anyway I was wondering on average, how many hours week do physicians work?

From what I've seen and read on the Internet, it seems to be around the 60 hour a week mark, about the same as a lawyer who probably gets paid in the early six figures (about 160k USD) or a corperate executive who is probably 50 anyway.

BUT frankly speaking, from what I've heard personally from various doctors (ranging from internal med to dermatology) it's something like 25 hours a week (the lucky dermatologist) to 40 for internal med. Honestly even the various emergency med docs I met told me around 50. Please note that in no way am I implying that my personal experience is representative of the entire medical community, buy it seems as if people like to stretch the truth to shy away competition.

 

[kdburton]

From what I've seen and read on the Internet, it seems to be around the 60 hour a week mark, about the same as a lawyer who probably gets paid in the early six figures (about 160k USD) or a corperate executive who is probably 50 anyway.

BUT frankly speaking, from what I've heard personally from various doctors (ranging from internal med to dermatology) it's something like 25 hours a week (the lucky dermatologist) to 40 for internal med. Honestly even the various emergency med docs I met told me around 50. Please note that in no way am I implying that my personal experience is representative of the entire medical community, buy it seems as if people like to stretch the truth to shy away competition.

Lots of ER docs work ~40hrs/wk. You'd be hard-pressed to find an internal medicine doctor that works 40hrs however. This number varies widely by specialty, so the OP would have to be a little more specific.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Depends on your specialty. Many physicians work part-time, but this is only feasible within certain specialties.

 

[Wesco]

I should been more specific sorry. The reason I asked is because I really wanna get into medicine but I'm scared of the many hours of work. I don't mind working alot but I have a son now and my wife and I are currently tryna have more kids. She is afraid I'll never be around to form a solid relationship with them. I told her I'll research the average hours physicians work and we can decide from there.

 

[smq123]

Moving to allopathic, especially since the OP is trying to decide whether or not to pursue medical school.

 

[daveyjwin]

From: Dorsey. JAMA, Vol 290(9).Sept 3, 2003.1174.

 

[Raryn]

The impressions I've always gotten are that medical specialties or specialties that work primarily in clinics average close to 50 (+/- 5) while surgical specialties average close to 60 (+/- 5). In things like private practice, you can often chose to work more (or less) depending on how much you want more money.

To the OP, the big thing you should consider is not how many hours a week you'll work as an attending, but how many hours a week you'll work during your training. If you chose to pursue medicine, you'll be going through med school (4 years) while your kid(s) are young, and then 3-7 years of residency. Med school hours (especially during M3) aren't exactly controlled, and almost all residents work 60-80 hours a week for the duration of their residency.

It doesn't matter how cushy your job is 8 years in, you should be aware of how much dedication it takes during those years of training.

 

[cartoondoc]

Agree with above poster. You're going to be in training for much of your kids' young lives, so that's what you should consider. Med school requires variable time commitments during 1-2 years, depending on how good you are at studying. Third year is rough. Fourth year is cake. Then residency is generally pretty rough for the entire 3-5 years.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm not quite sure where exactly to post this question, so if this is the wrong section then by all means someone can move it. Anyway I was wondering on average, how many hours week do physicians work?

The JAMA list from 2003 is still pretty good in terms of hours. However a number of specialties have seen the average go up a bit due to declining reimbursements (and the desire to continue to earn a comparable salary, see esp FM, internists), while EM probably drove their average down a few hours by more fully embracing shift work. Gas and rads both climbed a bit, and I'd be surprised if surgery is still as low as 60.

Also bear in mind that none of these numbers is close to accurate for residency, where hitting the 70-80+ mark is pretty normal in many fields.

 

[randomusername]

I should been more specific sorry. The reason I asked is because I really wanna get into medicine but I'm scared of the many hours of work. I don't mind working alot but I have a son now and my wife and I are currently tryna have more kids. She is afraid I'll never be around to form a solid relationship with them. I told her I'll research the average hours physicians work and we can decide from there.

Granted I'm only a step ahead of you in becoming a doc, what everybody else is saying is pretty sound. That being said, my cousin is married to a resident and they started their family while he was still in the didactic portion of med school. Now there are three kids and he's in a radiology residency and he does work a good bit, but, he's also managed to still form a strong bond with his children. Likewise, I know a neurosurgeon who specifically restructured his entire weekly schedule to give himself more quality-family time and it's worked out great for him. So, I guess my point is that although there is a lot of time that will be devoted to training, it is possible to still be an involved father (plus a very understanding wife probably helps things a bit 😉).

 

[StanleyCup7]

As has been mentioned, the number of hours worked/week is highly variable depending on the specialty as well as the particular physician.

Most Radiation Oncologists work about 40-50 hours/week with virtually no call (only emergent situations are spinal cord compression and superior vena cava syndrome).

 

[avatarftw]

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[SocialistMD]

I don't mind working alot but I have a son now and my wife and I are currently tryna have more kids. She is afraid I'll never be around to form a solid relationship with them.

Remind your wife that you are not the first person to want to enter the medical profession, with or without children. There are millions of children out there whose parents are physicians and who have a bond formed with them, even with those who are physicians in the most time-demanding specialties. Will you be available 24/7 for your children? Probably not, but most parents these days anyway. Tell her not to worry about it and see if you can get in.