Hour requirement of a practicing physician...

[carn311]

How many hours per week can someone who takes a residency in IM expect to work during residency?

How many hours would be required if one were to work at a hospital after residency?

The only statistics that I can find online is that on average physicians work 65 hrs per week. Is it possible to work <50 hrs per week and still make a comfortable amount of money?


These questions are very important to myself and my wife as I enter into the medical field. I really desire to become a doctor but I fear that it could take me away from my family. Any input that you guys could give me would be much appreciated.

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[heartdoc]

How many hours per week can someone who takes a residency in IM expect to work during residency?

How many hours would be required if one were to work at a hospital after residency?

The only statistics that I can find online is that on average physicians work 65 hrs per week. Is it possible to work <50 hrs per week and still make a comfortable amount of money?


These questions are very important to myself and my wife as I enter into the medical field. I really desire to become a doctor but I fear that it could take me away from my family. Any input that you guys could give me would be much appreciated.

Residency has been cut down to about 80 hours/week (could be less on outpatient months) but after residency you have a lot of flexibility. You can be a solo practicioner and work around the clock or you can join a large group and do primarily outpatient medicine in which case the hours are very reasonable or you can do just hospital work (i.e. a hospitalist where you generally work 12 hours a day for one week and then have one week off and you keep alternating on this schedule so you are off basically 6 months out of the year -- great life!). Spending time with your family is important but I think you will be happier in the end if you go into whatever field/specialty you are really passionate about and then work out the hours later. I'm sure you can balance both--I plan to! Good luck with your career and family.

 

[doc05]

if you're doing general IM, it's unlikely you'll be able to do less than 50 hours a week and make a decent living. the reasons? (1) continually declining reimbursements; (2) you need to be available for your patients.

most internists I know work 10-12 hours/day M-F, sometimes with a 4-10 hour day on Sat.

 

[dbiddy808]

I'd say that the average internal medicine resident works 60-80 hrs/wk for inpatient months and 30-50 hrs/wk for outpatient months. Alot is depending upon the program. Most programs have 1/2 of your months inpatient and 1/2 outpatient over three years.

Once you are practicing, the amount of hours you work is largely up to you. How much time do you want to spend workign? How much money do you need to make to live comfortably?

If you are a hospitalist, you'll make around $75/hr. For outpatient it would be less, somewhere around $65/hr. These numbers are average in Hawaii from what I've heard. You can calculate how much you would make based on these numbers.