shiftwork in emergency medicine

[lilnoelle]

I know this has been addressed before but I couldn't find it in a search. I know that emergency medicine is basically shiftwork and different places have different schedules, some being 8 hour, 9 hour, 10 hour, and 12 hour shifts. How do these shifts rotate throughout the month? My main question is about the regularity of shifts... Does a EM physician work for instance three 12 hour day shifts in a row, have four days off and then come back and work three 12 hour night shifts in a row? How would it theoretically work for the 8 hour, 9 hour, and 10 hour shifts? Thank you for indulging a question that has probably been asked many times. I ask because where I think I might like EM, I also sort of like having a regular sleep schedule. (I've had to work shiftwork at my current job and don't mind working odd hours, as long as its regular)

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[bulgethetwine]

I know this has been addressed before but I couldn't find it in a search. I know that emergency medicine is basically shiftwork and different places have different schedules, some being 8 hour, 9 hour, 10 hour, and 12 hour shifts. How do these shifts rotate throughout the month? My main question is about the regularity of shifts... Does a EM physician work for instance three 12 hour day shifts in a row, have four days off and then come back and work three 12 hour night shifts in a row? How would it theoretically work for the 8 hour, 9 hour, and 10 hour shifts? Thank you for indulging a question that has probably been asked many times. I ask because where I think I might like EM, I also sort of like having a regular sleep schedule. (I've had to work shiftwork at my current job and don't mind working odd hours, as long as its regular)

I hate to oversimplify and leave you with more questions than answers, but the truth is it is different at almost every place. Choosing shift length is just the start of it. Hopefully, your place is a democracy when you decide 8 hour vs. 12 hours (to choose two opposite ends of the spectrum). Essentially, it is a trade off between wanting more full days off, vs. wanting at least an hour or two to do the other things in life on a more regular basis -- consider that more days off is great if you want to travel, visit family, do day long adventure trips with your kids, but working 12 hour shifts two or three days in a row might put a cramp in your daily workout schedule.

Then, even if your colleagues settle on shift length, there are almost endless permutations of how to schedule them. Do you do a week of nights then days? Do you do month on/month off? Do you work a few days, then have a day off to transition only to transition yet again two or three days later?

Plus, it's affected by your needs for coverage: Do you have the same attending/resident coverage all hours of the day all days of the week?

Even if you could predict it and select a residency or job based on the schedule, there is absolutely NO GUARANTEE that the consensus will not change among your colleagues and things will be upended right before your eyes.

My advice is to accept -- even embrace -- the unpredictable nature of your schedule, and come to terms with the shift work nature of your job. Where possible, I would seek out shorter shifts to free up more hours on a day to day basis.

 

[docB]

Where possible, I would seek out shorter shifts to free up more hours on a day to day basis.

Bulge's answer to the OP's ? is great. As mentioned you have a trade off between shorter hours and more shifts and longer hours and fewer shifts (assuming you want to keep your income stable). This is where a few other things that usually don't come up at job interviews come up. If you have a commute you will spend less time on the road with the fewer, longer set up. If you generally have to stay late to finish up patients and charting you will lose less time with longer shifts. Factor these into any system you look at.

 

[SoCuteMD]

One thing I have heard over and over from faculty members is that almost no field of medicine is closed to those who don't want to work weird/long/etc. hours, but that you will have to compromise. You can have fewer hours and normal hours, but it will mean less money. You can make lots of money, but it means working hours and more call, etc.

I'm betting that you could find an EM practice that would suit your goals, it just might pay less than another position. Or you might just find the perfect position, and not have to make any compromises.