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If you work at a hospital or a large group practice the jockeying for position has already begun. Suddenly, who has kids, where people plan to travel and even what religion come into play as people plan time off during the holiday season.
There are other factors to consider now too. Can a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner handle holiday coverage with a physician as backup? What about their holiday plans? What if temp staff is hired?
There are a lot of questions and a variety of answers to cover what is generally a six week period every year spanning from Thanksgiving to New Years.
Hiring a temporary physician
Many semi-retired or part-time M.D.s make a nice living as replacement physicians when needed. They can cover holidays, vacations, maternity leave, and medical leaves of absence. Often quite experienced, they can be a great way to fill in the gaps during the holidays.
Work with your patients
Do you have patients that you know will need care during the holidays? Can you work with them so that you both get what you need? Perhaps moving an appointment or some lab work could be an easy solution to a thorny problem. Patients understand that physicians are people too and if you just work with them they’ll likely be able to accommodate changes.
Pecking order or need-based time off
If you’re a senior physician it’s easy to pull rank and take the time off you desire, but perhaps that’s not the best option. Weigh the needs of your staff and peers with the practice culture to determine what’s best for everyone. Sometimes straight up rank isn’t the best way to go.
But everyone does need a break
Doctors are notorious for working with zero time off. In fact, according to the New York Times up to 2/3rds of physicians experience the symptoms of burnout. The culture, strongly embedded back in residency, is that time off is for sissies. But physicians need to rest and recharge just like everyone else. Planning time off and truly enjoying it when it happens is crucial to avoid burn out and staying at the top of your game.
As a health care practitioner, what do you think about holiday scheduling? How does your practice handle time off? If you’re an M.D. or D.O. please join us inside the Sermo community for more discussion.
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- Crowdsourcing Physician Knowledge Globally (sermo.com)
- A Peek Inside the Sermo Community (sermo.com)
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