Palliative Care fellowships: hours?

[Angry Birds]

Hi,

I just wanted to know what the hours are like for a palliative care fellowship?

Thanks!

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[streetdoc]

I am just a month into fellowship, but the answer seems to be it depends.
There are a variety of rotations and the hours change.
At my program, which I feel is pretty intense compared to others, I am routinely at work from 7:30A to about 7 PM. There is call but it is home call. It seems very few situations require you to actually go to the hospital. However, if there is a vent removal or question of placing a pt on a vent, we should go in.
Though it is typically a Monday-Friday service, we do work every other weekend.
I am sure every program is different. During interviews, it seemed some programs were way more low key but this one fit my Emergency Medicine mentality.
Hope this helps. It is a great and growing field.
streetdoc

 

[ForamenMagnumPI]

I generally worked 50-60 hours each week. My fellowship was at a community hospital, so I suspect my schedule was a bit more humane and flexible than the schedule might have been at a tertiary medical center. I actually had time to read, complete a research project (one that I later presented at a national conference), prepare a few presentations, study for boards, and attend some conferences. I also had the chance to "meet" my child, who had been born while I was a resident.
When you are doing what you love, you will love even the doing.
That being said, my fellowship year was the year that I discovered who I was professionally and learned to balance that with a fulfilling personal life. Without that essential balance, it is incredibly challenging to sustain a career based on treating suffering and caring for the dying. For what it's worth, my advice to you is to seek out a fellowship program that honors that need for balance.