Parents with young children asking for preferential shifts

[Brigade4Radiant]

There was a post in the physician community Facebook group about an EM mom and dad wanting to only work 7 to 5 morning shifts and weekdays due to having childcare issues. They also worked in the same group.They also stated that for the last year one of the physicians was able to only work mornings for a year due to breast-feeding issues.

Does anyone work in a shop that would seriously accommodate this? Does anyone have entitled colleagues that try to make you do x shift and guilt you because of their family?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BoardingDoc]

There was a post in the physician community Facebook group about an EM mom and dad wanting to only work 7 to 5 morning shifts and weekdays due to having childcare issues. They also worked in the same group.They also stated that for the last year one of the physicians was able to only work mornings for a year due to breast-feeding issues.

Does anyone work in a shop that would seriously accommodate this? Does anyone have entitled colleagues that try to make you do x shift and guilt you because of their family?

No. Our group would make temporary, reasonable accomodations for one off issues. Being a parent is not a temporary or one off thing and certainly doesn't give you the right to an easier schedule than your childless peers.

 

[JacobMcCandles]

Sounds like they can afford childcare like everyone else.

 

[GonnaBeADoc2222]

I am a divorced single parent with half custody.

I do not expect special treatment w regard to shift times.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

There was a post in the physician community Facebook group about an EM mom and dad wanting to only work 7 to 5 morning shifts and weekdays due to having childcare issues. They also worked in the same group.They also stated that for the last year one of the physicians was able to only work mornings for a year due to breast-feeding issues.

Does anyone work in a shop that would seriously accommodate this? Does anyone have entitled colleagues that try to make you do x shift and guilt you because of their family?

I finally stopped following the FB physician community group because of stuff like this (amongst lots of other wacky stuff). Lots of pie in the sky, weird, half baked stuff being discussed there. Here’s how to order Botox to inject your own eyebrows! Much like Reddit, I began to wonder if these people lived on the same planet I did. And god forbid you say anything remotely negative about another specialty, lest a butthurt plastic surgeon or whatever will arrive on the scene to defend his honor.

 

[RustedFox]

Facebook.
Just say no.

 

[EctopicFetus]

We would make a temporary accommodation if reasonable. I would say if you are a 2 physician income this would
Not be a reasonable request. Get a nanny. Move along.

 

[RustedFox]

I had a doc ask me to make a three way swap last season so she and her kid could have "breakfast with Santa". I said: "Your kid is 2 and will never remember that. No, I'm not swapping into a weekend night. Knock it off, Abby."

 

[bravotwozero]

There was a post in the physician community Facebook group about an EM mom and dad wanting to only work 7 to 5 morning shifts and weekdays due to having childcare issues. They also worked in the same group.They also stated that for the last year one of the physicians was able to only work mornings for a year due to breast-feeding issues.

Does anyone work in a shop that would seriously accommodate this? Does anyone have entitled colleagues that try to make you do x shift and guilt you because of their family?

Laughable, and no.

 

[WorkNoteEmergency]

I worked in a group that contained a divorced single mom. She worked night shifts so she could be home with kids during the day.

 

[RustedFox]

"I see why you're divorced" is what I almost told one other woman in our group that did similar-but-different circus s#it at work.

It was either that, or: "Your makeup usually looks a lot better."

 

[GonnaBeADoc2222]

I will say I do dictate my availability on what actual days I am available.

Not to derail thread, but we do have entitled boomers, "leadership," and friends of the scheduler that seem to have sweetheart deals (days only, limited to no weekends, etc). Because of this, I have no loyalty, and feel free to dictate my availability.

 

[Birdstrike]

...only work 7 to 5 morning shifts and weekdays due to having childcare issues...o only work mornings for a year due to breast-feeding issues.

Those are fantastic accommodations for those two individuals. What did they do when the other doctors assembled into an angry mob with pitchforks and tiki torches to run them out of town?

 

[Apollyon]

The last group I worked for in HI, the president would give the days she could work - not the days she couldn't. So, she got 6a-2p only, and would say, "I can only work 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 18, 22, 23, 25", which, very nicely, comes out to 12 shifts (full time). So, she picked her schedule - and got it! Nominally, it was for her kids (husband was an ICU nurse, with a more regular schedule). In reality, I thought she was just exerting her power.

 

[RuralEDDoc]

Most parents I know work worse but more predictable hours, like being nocturnist. 7 to 5, both parents? Take a hike.

 

[emergentmd]

Daily Reminder To Do The Bare Minimum

 

[RustedFox]

Daily Reminder To Do The Bare Minimum

Wrong thread, bro.
BTW: Austin and Hill Country was pretty awesome.

 

[RustedFox]

I really don't see how anyone has Facebook. Guaranteed spying by the feds and everyone else. Guar-an-teed. "Snowden" was a thing, and if you think the feds stopped it because someone made a movie, you're wrong.

 

[bravotwozero]

I really don't see how anyone has Facebook. Guaranteed spying by the feds and everyone else. Guar-an-teed. "Snowden" was a thing, and if you think the feds stopped it because someone made a movie, you're wrong.

Plus I have a massive extended family of cousins uncles aunts on both sides of the family on FB, all up in each other’s business.

Hard pass…

 

[CoolDoc1729]

Plus I have a massive extended family of cousins uncles aunts on both sides of the family on FB, all up in each other’s business.

Hard pass…

Yeah, if I’m being honest I got rid of FB because I didn’t want my in laws snooping.

 

[Fox800]

One of the senior residents in my program told leadership that she only wanted to work days, and no overnights, for the entire duration of her pregnancy because of pregnancy risks. She basically threatened to sue the hospital if they made her work nights while pregnant due to the risk to her unborn bAbY aNgEl.

As expected, she was pretty much despised by her co-residents who had to suck up all of the night shifts she weaseled out of.

 

[emergentmd]

One of the senior residents in my program told leadership that she only wanted to work days, and no overnights, for the entire duration of her pregnancy because of pregnancy risks. She basically threatened to sue the hospital if they made her work nights while pregnant due to the risk to her unborn bAbY aNgEl.

As expected, she was pretty much despised by her co-residents who had to suck up all of the night shifts she weaseled out of.

This is ridiculous. You can say this about people with sleep disorder, seizure, etc who risk their health by working nights.

 

[Birdstrike]

One of the senior residents in my program told leadership that she only wanted to work days, and no overnights, for the entire duration of her pregnancy because of pregnancy risks. She basically threatened to sue the hospital if they made her work nights while pregnant due to the risk to her unborn bAbY aNgEl.

As expected, she was pretty much despised by her co-residents who had to suck up all of the night shifts she weaseled out of.

She's right that night shifts are certainly hazardous to one's health. That's proven and there's lots of occupational medicine literature to back it up. But it's no less harmful to the residents she stuck with extra nights. They could just have easily countersued her and the hospital for forcing them to do extra nights, for the same reasons.

 

[GassYous]

One of the senior residents in my program told leadership that she only wanted to work days, and no overnights, for the entire duration of her pregnancy because of pregnancy risks. She basically threatened to sue the hospital if they made her work nights while pregnant due to the risk to her unborn bAbY aNgEl.

As expected, she was pretty much despised by her co-residents who had to suck up all of the night shifts she weaseled out of.

Extra weekends

 

[bravotwozero]

Extra weekends

Right! This can be workable if this doc in question would make important concessions. If she were to agree to work more weekends and holidays than anyone else, the nights may become more palatable to everyone else.

 

[Janders]

Its simple economics (regarding long term shift differences, not oh-my-an-actual-emergency-we-all-help-each-other).

If you want to just work days, it might be OK… if you just work weekend days?

Or some fancy financial swab-a-rooski

 

[Neopolymath]

I'm an outsider here but my concern would be that working only days for an entire pregnancy would be really detrimental to training in a relatively short 3 year residency. On top of that, it seems like most of the real pathology inevitably comes in at 3 am on a Tuesday not mixed between work note emergencies at 9 am on a Tuesday.

Maybe I'm totally out of line, off base, and ignorant, but this seems like a great way to suck at your job?

 

[EctopicFetus]

One of the senior residents in my program told leadership that she only wanted to work days, and no overnights, for the entire duration of her pregnancy because of pregnancy risks. She basically threatened to sue the hospital if they made her work nights while pregnant due to the risk to her unborn bAbY aNgEl.

As expected, she was pretty much despised by her co-residents who had to suck up all of the night shifts she weaseled out of.

This person is the type who would be mad when she can’t get a decent recommendation for a job.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I'm an outsider here but my concern would be that working only days for an entire pregnancy would be really detrimental to training in a relatively short 3 year residency. On top of that, it seems like most of the real pathology inevitably comes in at 3 am on a Tuesday not mixed between work note emergencies at 9 am on a Tuesday.

Maybe I'm totally out of line, off base, and ignorant, but this seems like a great way to suck at your job?

One option is to let her rest the entire pregnancy and tack 9 months on at the end or have her repay her nights post pregnancy.

 

[DetroitERDO]

One option is to let her rest the entire pregnancy and tack 9 months on at the end or have her repay her nights post pregnancy.

that's fair, when I came back for maternity leave I had way more nights than the rest of my group to make up for lost time, which was understandable. I also agree with above poster about taking on more weekends.

 

[JacobMcCandles]

There’s a big difference between someone asking for preferential treatment and then bringing ideas to even things out long term vs. people who want preferential treatment but don’t want to even attempt to make it up to people.

 

[emergentmd]

People who wants special treatment needs to pay $$$$. There is no IOUs in the ER.

If I want to stop doing nights, I pay someone $$$. No weekends pay $$$. Holidays off pay $$$. She just wanted her cake & eat it too.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

One of the senior residents in my program told leadership that she only wanted to work days, and no overnights, for the entire duration of her pregnancy because of pregnancy risks. She basically threatened to sue the hospital if they made her work nights while pregnant due to the risk to her unborn bAbY aNgEl.

As expected, she was pretty much despised by her co-residents who had to suck up all of the night shifts she weaseled out of.

We had someone propose something similar when I was a chief - answer was if they wanted to do that they’re welcome to but they don’t get only days, rather schedule gets made as usual and their nights get covered but they need to make up all those nights as extra days after the end of residency. Came out to like 1.5 years extra of residency. Unsurprisingly the person became ok with working nights when given the option.