Neonatology - Private Practice Work Schedule

[DrScott]

Hi everyone,

I am a first year non-traditional med student who is strongly considering Neonatology. I have spoke to a few people on here and have received a lot of good information thus far. Since I have 3 kids under the age of 5, a big concern of mine is the work schedule of private practice Neonatologists. Thus far, I have gotten the impression that they do not work very many shifts in a month but when they do work...it is for long hours. This type of schedule appeals to me. However, I would love to hear from any private practice Neonatologists out there as to their specific schedules. I want to get a more thorough understanding of the different types of schedules that Neonatologist work. Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,

Scott

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[arydolphin]

I'm a 4th year med student going into pediatrics, but my mom is a neonatologist, so I can give you an idea of her schedule right now. A little background on her practice: it is a private practice, she's in a group of 4 neonatologists, and one of the neonatologists works part-time and only works half of the days compared to the 3 other neonatologists. They work in a private hospital with a Level 3 NICU, not sure of how many beds. The group always works in 24-hour shifts that start and end at 7:30 AM, this does not differ on the weekends, and they are in-house all the time when they are working. They have a call room that is about a 30-second walk from the NICU, so it's easy to get some sleep if the NICU is quiet at night. At the most, she will work 3 days out of 7 in a week, and almost always gets 1-2 days off after a day on call. For example, she worked on Monday so she was there on Monday night, but got off on Tuesday morning and had the rest of Tuesday off and also will have Wednesday off. For weekends, one partner usually takes Friday and Sunday and another takes Saturday. Also, within every month, she gets a block of 4-6 days off in a row, which she really likes. Finally, her practice switched to the 24-hour shifts a few years ago...before that, they had a system where one neonatologist was on during the day in-house and another one would take the night call at home. So there are a few different options, but I think that you'd be able to find a practice that would give you a good balance between working and having free time. Plus, there are lots of neonatology openings right now, so if that trend continues, you shouldn't have trouble finding a good place to work at.

 

[PMR TX MS]

What about vacation time and pay? I know it shouldn't matter, but I'm curious to know.
Thanks!

I'm a 4th year med student going into pediatrics, but my mom is a neonatologist, so I can give you an idea of her schedule right now. A little background on her practice: it is a private practice, she's in a group of 4 neonatologists, and one of the neonatologists works part-time and only works half of the days compared to the 3 other neonatologists. They work in a private hospital with a Level 3 NICU, not sure of how many beds. The group always works in 24-hour shifts that start and end at 7:30 AM, this does not differ on the weekends, and they are in-house all the time when they are working. They have a call room that is about a 30-second walk from the NICU, so it's easy to get some sleep if the NICU is quiet at night. At the most, she will work 3 days out of 7 in a week, and almost always gets 1-2 days off after a day on call. For example, she worked on Monday so she was there on Monday night, but got off on Tuesday morning and had the rest of Tuesday off and also will have Wednesday off. For weekends, one partner usually takes Friday and Sunday and another takes Saturday. Also, within every month, she gets a block of 4-6 days off in a row, which she really likes. Finally, her practice switched to the 24-hour shifts a few years ago...before that, they had a system where one neonatologist was on during the day in-house and another one would take the night call at home. So there are a few different options, but I think that you'd be able to find a practice that would give you a good balance between working and having free time. Plus, there are lots of neonatology openings right now, so if that trend continues, you shouldn't have trouble finding a good place to work at.

 

[arydolphin]

What about vacation time and pay? I know it shouldn't matter, but I'm curious to know.
Thanks!

I'm not 100% sure about vacation, but I think she gets 4 weeks off per year. Also, she gets 6 days off either at Christmas or New Year's (sadly, much like a resident's schedule). If you really want to know about pay, PM me, don't want to discuss that on the boards since it's not my salary.