Work-life balance: What it’s like as a part-time physician

The number of physicians working part-time or seeking to do so has risen in recent years, with an estimated 15% of physicians currently working part-time. The factors leading physicians to choose part-time work are broad, including physicians reducing hours as they approach retirement, physicians seeking more flexibility to accommodate their home lives and those seeking a better overall quality of life.

The current climate in health care has led to significant physician burnout. The average physician works more than 50 hours per week (a quarter work more than 60 hours per week). This is much more than what would be considered full-time in other professions. Many of us have experienced pressure to see more patients in less time, and we struggle with administrative burdens that result in spending too many hours on paperwork.

As a result, many physicians, including myself, are seeking greater flexibility or a reduction in hours to sustain their careers. Creating a sustainable lifelong career in medicine was my primary goal when I set out to find a part-time clinical work schedule to fit my life. Nearly two years later, it’s proving to be just the thing I was looking for. Below, I share details on how I transitioned to a part-time position, how I managed this career move financially and the pros and cons of working part-time.

Deciding on part-time vs full-time

The choice to pursue part-time work is not without its challenges. Practical considerations, like finding the right job with an adequate salary and access to benefits, can be barriers. Although outpatient work may be thought of as the most conducive to part-time work, particularly in a private practice with maximal autonomy, the job market is responding to physicians’ desire to work as part-time employees.

Employers may see the benefit of having a part-time physician filling part-time positions, increasing the number of total physicians in a hospital or practice, and research has also demonstrated that part-time physicians have lower rates of burnout and higher job satisfaction compared to their full-time peers. Flexible scheduling on the part of an employer also may lead to better retention. Atypical scheduling approaches have opened more options to work part-time, including job-sharing, where two physicians agree to partner together to cover the responsibilities of a full-time physician position.

Job-sharing opportunities may not be advertised and can take some creative thinking on the part of the physicians and the employer. When I felt ready to take the leap from full-time to part-time, I found a full-time inpatient and consultation-liaison psychiatry position with a shift-based schedule available in my area.

I took a chance and asked the prospective hospital if they were open to a job-sharing arrangement and was surprised by the system’s willingness to negotiate. From the employer’s perspective, having two physicians, both of whom would be more available to cover vacations, sick days and other unexpected leaves of absence, was considered advantageous.

Ultimately, I was hired along with another physician to cover the 1.0 FTE of shifts, and we both sometimes take on optional extra paid shifts at our hospital and elsewhere when requested. My employer found the arrangement attractive enough to offer full benefits to both my job-sharing colleague and myself.

Financial impacts of part-time employment

Going part-time most often comes with a reduction in pay. However, some physicians may find part-time jobs with salaries that are close to that of a full-time position by working in rural areas, higher acuity settings or by taking less-desirable shifts. Others may complement part-time clinical practice with other income streams inside and outside medicine. I often engage in nonclinical work during my “off” time, including writing and teaching engagements.

Building a financially sustainable lifestyle with a part-time salary may require advance planning and lifestyle adjustments. The DO’s article on part-time physicians from 2019 includes interviews with two physicians who described maintaining more “modest” lifestyles post-residency to make reduced work schedules viable. Households with only one income, or only one physician income, may find budgeting particularly important when making the decision to go part-time.

This has been true for me as the only physician in my household. I prioritized eliminating as much debt as I could quickly after residency and chose housing options that would be affordable even with a fraction of my full-time earning potential. I also worked with my financially thoughtful partner to create a budget for our long-term goals. From a certain perspective I’ve made sacrifices to work part-time, but I rarely see these tradeoffs as sacrifices. The time and flexibility offered by working part-time has been worth much more to me than any material gains.

Even after finding the right job and creating a solid financial plan, choosing part-time work can come with judgment from colleagues who may not understand or agree with the decision. I received many surprising questions and comments from acquaintances when I went part-time, ranging from questions about how I would manage being bored, invasive queries about my fertility status and suggestions on how to get my hours back up to full-time.

These odd questions and implicit judgments about part-time work are not unique to medicine. Living life differently can always cause some raised eyebrows, and part-time workers across many fields may be seen as not working hard enough or lacking ambition. Facing that stigma takes a strong conviction about what you are doing and why, and ideally includes supportive people in your life who have a better understanding of your goals.

The benefits of working part-time

I have worked part-time for almost two years now, and so far, the positive changes far exceed the challenges. I like to write, teach and study as much as I like seeing patients, and I have many interests outside of medicine (you can read about my beekeeping adventures in this recent article in The DO).

Because of my unique work schedule, I’m able to enjoy all these activities without seeing them as burdensome extra tasks. These days, rather than saying I “work part-time,” I usually say that I “do a combination of both clinical and nonclinical work.” Even if I’m not seeing patients five days per week, I stay consistently busy and fulfilled.

The value of working part-time has extended well beyond my personal well-being. I find myself more energetic and able to focus on my patients during clinical hours, more tolerant of the administrative difficulties inherent in physician life and more excited about being a doctor now than I was when I worked full-time.

There are still some months when I work a full-time clinical schedule, covering shifts for my colleagues across multiple institutions, providing an opportunity for additional income and a way to support my peers in taking their own well-deserved time off. I continue to feel connected and well-informed in my clinical work.

To those considering a part-time schedule, I would encourage you to think outside the box and allow yourself to imagine what kind of life you want to live. No one can promise the perfect job, but with time, persistence and good planning, you might be surprised by what is possible.

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What I learned about being a patient after finding my own cancer in ultrasound class