How much time can I take off?

[zero0]

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Hey guys, just wanted to know how much consecutive time off I could reasonably take off as an attending. Could I, say, use 2 months of vacay to launch an expedition into the heart of Africa? I'm sure it depends a lot on the type of gig you're operating under, how long you've been partner, etc. Then there's the whole burden of CME. I know I can't just disappear for a year, but what's the longest I can get away with? Thanks in advance.

 

[aneftp]

Hey guys, just wanted to know how much consecutive time off I could reasonably take off as an attending. Could I, say, use 2 months of vacay to launch an expedition into the heart of Africa? I'm sure it depends a lot on the type of gig you're operating under, how long you've been partner, etc. Then there's the whole burden of CME. I know I can't just disappear for a year, but what's the longest I can get away with? Thanks in advance.

Like you said depends on the type of practice you are in. In the real world private practice 3 weeks off in a row is really pushing for "vacation". Outside of medical leave, it's simply hard to get more than 2 weeks off in a row at 80% of practices and 3 weeks is about the most.

So if you want 8 weeks off in a row. It's gonna to take on creative scheduling flexibility with ur new group or employer

In all honestly. If u want to take that much time off you ur best bet is just to do it before you start a new job. Sure it's a financial hit most of the time since no income. But that's what most people do.

Or those working for academics or state job may have saved 5-6 weeks off and when they leave those jobs they can cash out on vacation and take time off and still have inckme coming in.

 

[pjl]

There are times of the year when this would be easier than others. Almost nobody wants vacation in Jan-March, so even in my small group where we fairly distribute 10 or 11 weeks a year, 2 months wouldnt be a problem. September and October are pretty low priority too. Over the past few years a lot of our guys have taken a month off. It just depends on the group.

The big downside is the other 10 months when you have very little time off.

Far easier to do between jobs though.


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[Arch Guillotti]

Like you said depends on the type of practice you are in. In the real world private practice 3 weeks off in a row is really pushing for "vacation".

I agree 3 weeks is pushing it but if you get a locums and pay for it then you can probably do it (if a group allows this).

 

[Noyac]

It all depends on your group.

 

[caligas]

Hey guys, just wanted to know how much consecutive time off I could reasonably take off as an attending. Could I, say, use 2 months of vacay to launch an expedition into the heart of Africa? I'm sure it depends a lot on the type of gig you're operating under, how long you've been partner, etc. Then there's the whole burden of CME. I know I can't just disappear for a year, but what's the longest I can get away with? Thanks in advance.

You sound like good a candidate to do locums for a while.

 

[ZzzPlz]

We get a 9 day stretch of vacation each month. If I swapped with a partner and took two in a row, id have a 16 day vacation. Any more than that would be doable but a huge pain for the three other guys.

 

[zero0]

There are times of the year when this would be easier than others. Almost nobody wants vacation in Jan-March, so even in my small group where we fairly distribute 10 or 11 weeks a year, 2 months wouldnt be a problem. September and October are pretty low priority too. Over the past few years a lot of our guys have taken a month off. It just depends on the group.

The big downside is the other 10 months when you have very little time off.

Far easier to do between jobs though.


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Good to hear that it might at least be possible. The last thing I want to do is piss off the group and I'd prefer not to have to leave over this. So then how would I go about finding a group who'd be okay with this? I obviously can't just ask them during the interview if I can take 2 months off down the line, I mean right? Honesty and transparency are nice and all, but that just seems like a bad idea. Maybe a bigger group with lots of guys waiting to pick up the slack would be more willing to accommodate my request.

Locums seems like the easiest way, but it seems like that's a pretty big hit to the income no matter how you slice it. I might have to take that route for a year or so.

 

[pgg]

I obviously can't just ask them during the interview if I can take 2 months off down the line, I mean right?

I don't know, if someone told me "at some point I might want to stack my vacation into a 2 month block so I can do Operation Smile in Nicaragua / scale Mount Everest / race a sailboat around South America, how can I best plan for that without disrupting the group schedule" then I would think Hey that's pretty cool.

It might not be the first thing I ask during the interview, but it could certainly come up in discussions of compensation, call, vacation, scheduling without making you look lazy.

 

[pjl]

I don't think it would be frowned upon to ask, particularly if you are planning some sort of mission work. You need to know if it means you would choose to not join a group. We would definitely be discussing whether it affected your chances if we were considering hiring you though, so keep that in mind.

There are groups that this would absolutely not work in, such as the vacation every 4th week group. It also is tough to see it working every year in a small group.

If we could hire someone to work full time in the summer and November December, and sporadically throughout year to hit the Credentialing/licensing stuff required, I think we would do it for the right person. Would probably not be able to make them partner if they are less than 2/3 time (hospital/multispecialty rules). They would be paid 90% the partner daily rate, so there is a degree of sacrifice involved. I'm pretty sure this is the deal our next retiring partner wants, actually.



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[nimbus]

We are in a big "supergroup" with multiple sites. It would not be a problem with adequate notice. You can take up to a 1 year leave of absence and return to your old job at the same site. People do it for family or medical reasons, to try a new gig, or to travel. One of my partners was going to Antarctica every year for penguin research.

 

[bashwell]

We are in a big "supergroup" with multiple sites. It would not be a problem with adequate notice. You can take up to a 1 year leave of absence and return to your old job at the same site. People do it for family or medical reasons, to try a new gig, or to travel. One of my partners was going to Antarctica every year for penguin research.

That's pretty odd, but interesting, cool. Speaking of Antarctica, someone emailed me this only yesterday:

http://www.antarctica.gov.au/jobs/antarctic-medical-practitioners

I'm assuming there are similar needs as a US physician.

 

[zero0]

We are in a big "supergroup" with multiple sites. It would not be a problem with adequate notice. You can take up to a 1 year leave of absence and return to your old job at the same site. People do it for family or medical reasons, to try a new gig, or to travel. One of my partners was going to Antarctica every year for penguin research.

Great to hear, so a big group might be the way to go after all. That's amazing since Antarctica is on my radar as well. The whole continent has been covered in red tape since the Antarctic Treaty however and it's all but impossible to go there without some form of federal supervision.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

There are groups that this would absolutely not work in, such as the vacation every 4th week group.

Why not?

If you are a partner and you arrange to have a locums work for you and you pay the cost of that locums, what is the problem?

 

[aneftp]

Why not?

If you are a partner and you arrange to have a locums work for you and you pay the cost of that locums, what is the problem?

True. But the key word here is "cost" of locums.

Many malpractice polices for smaller groups have built in locums coverage for up to 6 weeks. After that it's gonna to cost more (plus underwriting). Since many locums do not carry their own malpractice policy.

But if someone is willing to incur the lost of income and someone can make the calls equal among all working staff than taking 8 weeks in a row can be viable. Paying locums 8 hours a day is a lot easier pill to swallow vs paying locums 24 hour call rate especially on weekends.

 

[pjl]

There are hospitals and groups that severely frown on locums use. It would incur a lot of negative attention at my hospital to do this, so as a group it would not be an option. However, as I stated before, we have other options available. Maybe a different hospital would have different thoughts.


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[Arch Guillotti]

There are hospitals and groups that severely frown on locums use. It would incur a lot of negative attention at my hospital to do this, so as a group it would not be an option. However, as I stated before, we have other options available. Maybe a different hospital would have different thoughts.


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I can understand this in a way. An anesthesia group should be comprised of a group of "regulars", not a bunch of interlopers. I don't think you ever want to be in a position where staff is asking where Dr. X is because they haven't seen him in a long time. I think the key is to have a small roster of stable long-term solid anesthesiologists that can seamlessly fill in when needed.

 

[sevoflurane]

I have 10-15 partners that are anywhere from .5-.9 FTE to prn.
They have it pretty good. One of my buddies is going to New Zealand for the next 5 weeks.

 

[IlDestriero]

At my place, getting more than 2 weeks in a row is difficult and would have to happen outside of the highly coveted vacation time. (Summer, spring break, winter break)
You can arrange for an unpaid leave for a longer period with plenty of advance notice, assuming it was career enhancing. Teaching anesthesia in Africa for 3 months, sure. 8 weeks climbing Everest or sailing to Hawaii ain't gonna happen. Nobody wants to pick up your slack for a special vacation.


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Il Destriero

 

[zero0]

At my place, getting more than 2 weeks in a row is difficult and would have to happen outside of the highly coveted vacation time. (Summer, spring break, winter break)
You can arrange for an unpaid leave for a longer period with plenty of advance notice, assuming it was career enhancing. Teaching anesthesia in Africa for 3 months, sure. 8 weeks climbing Everest or sailing to Hawaii ain't gonna happen. Nobody wants to pick up your slack for a special vacation.


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Il Destriero

My plan was to only do something like this once every few years and only after I became an established member of the group. Otherwise, I'd mostly be keeping the vacations to a minimum, sort of bank favors that way. Generally though, I'm planning on working my ass off as soon as I get out. Gotta get while the gettin's good.

Anyway, I just wanted to know if it was possible. I'll come up with a real game plan for hunting down the right group for me when the time comes. Thanks guys.

 

[sleepallday]

Outside of june-july-august, it should be doable in our group.

 

[deleted162650]

This is definitely possible in PP. As mentioned above, it's probably easier to do in a mid to large group than it would be in a small group. I know of groups where it's common for partners to take 12+ weeks off (but they work their asses off when they are working). When interviewing you should be able to get a feel for how much time off partners typically take. Maybe also look for groups that have a decent percentage of women as then the group would be accustomed to people going out on maternity for a few months at a time.

 

[deleted682700]

My group wants to punish and control me by giving less shifts. January was vacation time and i had planned months in advance and booked my tickets. Come nov, one of the members was sick and i had to pitch in. January they wanted me to work till after 17. I declined

The group retaliated by not scheduling me for the whole month of February. Have to look for some locums for a few weeks

 

[IlDestriero]

Sounds like a great bunch of partners.


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Il Destriero

 

[aneftp]

My group wants to punish and control me by giving less shifts. January was vacation time and i had planned months in advance and booked my tickets. Come nov, one of the members was sick and i had to pitch in. January they wanted me to work till after 17. I declined

The group retaliated by not scheduling me for the whole month of February. Have to look for some locums for a few weeks

Are u fee for service or daily rate?

Doesn't seem like a "group" practice if u are on a shift work.

 

[Psai]

My group wants to punish and control me by giving less shifts. January was vacation time and i had planned months in advance and booked my tickets. Come nov, one of the members was sick and i had to pitch in. January they wanted me to work till after 17. I declined

The group retaliated by not scheduling me for the whole month of February. Have to look for some locums for a few weeks

Why am I suffering through residency again?

 

[deleted682700]

Fee for service. With a guarantee. 75percent medical.
Unfortunately there are 3 other anesthesiologists. 2 do pain as well and their office work and paper work keeps them busy throughout the week. The weekends they come and do anesthesia call and occasionally help during weekdays too.

The other anesthesiologist has an endless appetite for real estate. And likes to work all the time. I am the castaway. I could careless. Just want to pay the bills and downsize.

Sorry for the long winded answer

 

[deleted682700]

I can understand this in a way. An anesthesia group should be comprised of a group of "regulars", not a bunch of interlopers. I don't think you ever want to be in a position where staff is asking where Dr. X is because they haven't seen him in a long time. I think the key is to have a small roster of stable long-term solid anesthesiologists that can seamlessly fill in when needed.

I agree with you. But if there is not enough cases then they start shutting rooms down and the hierarchy in anesthesiology takes over.