work hours for pathologists
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Highly variable.
If you do only outpatient pathology, you can easily get a job with no nights and weekends, such as a pod lab or reference lab or doing hemepath for US Labs or Genzyme or something like that.
If you do any sort of hospital work, you will likely have to do some nights and weekends but it isn't much. I have talked to path residents who took private practice jobs where they worked 14 hours a day and a few hours on Saturdays for 2-3 years and then were told they were not going to make partner so they quit.
But most people I talk to work about 10-12 hours a day in private practice and academics when on service.
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Most pathologists take call of some sort, which means weekend work (that can vary though from mostly calls from home to coming in to see a few smears or even rush cases or frozens). I don't know what most peoples' hours are. It's like residency - it can vary a lot even among people with the same job description at the same location. My hours are generally around 8-5 but that varies also.
The hours can be fairly deceptive. In times of where you are faced with admin challenges, the hours can be quite long. In slower times, they can probably be compressed to less than 4hrs/day, but unlike other physician subspecs, many times you are expected to "stay on deck" even though you arent earning $ or doing productive work.
I have heard of private practice neurosurgeons and vascular surgeons getting paid 2000 by the hospital to call for one night at trauma center hospitals. They supposedly get it even if there are no cases an then if there is they get to bill for their work. Do community practice pathologist ever get a similar deal or is taking call just part if the job.
Oh yeah -- haven't you heard? Community practice pathologists get paid anywhere from 1200-1500 per night of call. Even if there are no cases. Of course it isn't as much as a neurosurgeon, but it is quite lucrative. Generally, the most experienced pathologists in a group get to take call more often -- its one of the best kept secrets in pathology.
