On her days at home, Dr. Santora still checks in with the office a few times, and she’ll take administrative work home. If a patient calls on Monday afternoon with a problem, she can usually see the patient on Wednesday. If the problem is emergent, she’ll refer the patient to the emergency room. She also says she can operate with her current hours because she has a great staff and a nurse who can triage problems on the days she is not there.
Dr. Shepherd says she likely lost patients with her part-time schedule, because she could not work in the late afternoon. She suggests that rheumatologists who want to work part time may do better if they are open to varying hours—8 a.m. to noon one day and noon to 5 p.m. the next, for example.
In addition to reduced hours, job sharing with another physician is viable option, Pinto says. He has even seen an arrangement outside of rheumatology where two husband-and-wife teams alternate working on different months. Although this is an unusual situation, they have made it work, he says.
Other Considerations
Rheumatologists who work part time should be prepared to put in a little extra effort when they are in the office, says Dr. Levengood. “When you are not in the office every day, each day back is a little bit like returning after a vacation with a backlog of phone calls and paperwork. My colleagues who work part time have shared that they have to spend some of each day not in the office catching up on these administrative details,” she says. Dr. Whiddon agrees, noting that she has to work especially efficiently on her days in the office—whatever work she doesn’t get done she needs to take home.
“Just like in the corporate world, if you’re not 110% committed, you could be marginalized,” says Pinto. “A doctor who is not in the office every day is in an outer orbit, and it takes effort to stay in the loop.” Rheumatologists working part time should make sure they are available for as many off-day meetings as possible and get copies of minutes from any missed meetings, Pinto suggests.
At Lancaster General Health, Dr. Shepherd says there are required meetings, and all physicians are expected to be on a committee. This can be a good thing for part-timers: Such requirements can be positive ways to stay in touch, says Pinto.
