Can a practicing anesthesiologist work part-time?

[Ruban]

Once one finishes a GAS residency, it's time to find a job. Let's say one only wants to work 8 months out of the year, and then travel abroad in the remaining 4? Or if one wants to work only 3 days a week? Obviously, you'd need to take a big pay cut since you're working fewer hours, but is doing so possible at all?

With some residencies, like FP, such things are impossible, since patients get sick 24/7, so you can't say "Sorry, but I only work 3 days a week, so you'll have to wait a few days before you come in..."

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[Gimlet]

Once one finishes a GAS residency, it's time to find a job. Let's say one only wants to work 8 months out of the year, and then travel abroad in the remaining 4? Or if one wants to work only 3 days a week? Obviously, you'd need to take a big pay cut since you're working fewer hours, but is doing so possible at all?

With some residencies, like FP, such things are impossible, since patients get sick 24/7, so you can't say "Sorry, but I only work 3 days a week, so you'll have to wait a few days before you come in..."

In a word, yes, that is possible. I would think having requirements like these would severely limit who you could work for, though. I know some of the private practice attendings that frequent this board prefer not to have to deal with these types of schedule issues in their groups.

 

[deuist]

You can work part-time in any specialty. My preceptor (an IM) works only 4 days a week. One of my school's deans (also an IM) used to be the head of private practice group in Ohio. He said that he had a woman who took off several months each time she had a baby. You can be a part-time physician. However, you have to prepared to take a financial cut.

 

[f_w]

Anesthesiology is a specialty known for its part-time gigs. A lot of the ambulatory surgery center work is highly scheduled and often allows part-time work (more on a X days/week basis rather than X months/year). Financially you will take a hit. There are certain expenses for the physician group which are pretty much constant whether you work FT or PT (malpractice probably being the largest of them). So if you want to work PT, you have expect to take a non-linear financial hit (also, with exceptions, you won't be eligible for partnership in a group if you don't work full time).

By the way, there are family practicioners working part-time. Either they are employed by a group and just have clinic days on certain days, or they only open their office on certain days. Patients know the days the 'doctor is in' and hold off with their minor problems until then. If they get acutely they are much more likely to go to the ED anyway (I even know one FP in south carolina who works 3 days/week. the other days her answering machine says 'sorry, not in today, go to the ER if you have a problem. I am not sure how legal this is, particularly for medicare patients, but so far she has gotten away with it for 20odd years).

 

[militarymd]

Yes you can, but count on taking a pay cut beyond just the decreased percentage in time in the OR.

 

[seattledoc]

I would say that Family Practice is one of the more part-time amenable fields in Medicine. I know plenty of people working 2-3 days per week in large practices. It would be tougher to work part of the year, taking a few months off though.

 

[miamidc]

Yes. Locums Tenems. You can work a couple of months out of the year, anywhere in the country. You are temp until they find permanent people. You have to pay malpractice though. You can make up to $1500 or more a day. This is standard pay now a days. Look at locumstenems.com to get an idea. Hope this helps. Oh and you cant do this very easily in most fields. (Rads is another).