Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Doctors still work while on vacation

Afshine Ash Emrani, MD
Physician
July 26, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share

shutterstock_53296837

Last week, I took a 6-day vacation.  Two days before and two days after, I put in a total of 32 unpaid hours of work which was cut short by a call from my daughter asking me why I am working during my time off.  While away with my family, I ran into people of different walks of life and noted that few understand what goes through the mind of a doctor when he or she takes time off.  Here’s a glimpse.

Doctors don’t take much time off.  We realize that disease and illness does not pay attention to our schedule, but our patients’.  I am now in my 18th year of practice and this is the second year that I am taking a week off at a time.  I work most weekends and holidays.

Doctors work while on vacation.  Because of the Internet and electronic health records, we steal time away from our family to connect and review labs, refill medications, answer emails while away.

Doctors put in hours alone in the office.  The workload doubles the week before and after the vacation.   So much work is done in the absence of patients on behalf of patients, such as reviewing lab results and discussing care with other consultants and writing letters to insurance companies to get necessary treatments approved.

Doctors pray a lot that patients don’t get sick. We are true patient advocates; we win when our patients win. When we are away, we pray that no one gets sick, so we can be there in their time of need.

Doctors feel guilty all the time.  We feel guilty that we have limited time for our patients.  We feel guilty that we don’t have time to attend to our growing children who will be at that special age only once.  We feel guilty that we forget anniversaries because we were too busy worrying about our patients.  We feel guilty that we cannot do more for our patients with difficult diagnoses or limited resources.  There is tremendous pressure from every angle that we impose on ourselves.  And, yet, we feel guilty for taking time off from our practices.

Doctors study during vacation time.  With the rapid development in medicine and science as well as the requirements of keeping up with continuing medical education and required board certifications, many doctors schedule their family vacations at the same time that they are attending conferences.

Doctors worry about costs of taking time off more than others.  There is the issue of paying someone to cover the practice.  The overhead continues to mount without incoming revenue, unlike other businesses.  And employees must be paid while we are off.

Doctors don’t know how to relax.  Knowing how to let go is an art most of us have not mastered. We are worry freaks.  We worry what if there is an emergency and I am not there?  What if a long term patient dies and I cannot be there for the last days?  What if an important fax comes in and I review it late?

Doctors are socially awkward and end abruptly.  We attend a party and spend half of it away from people on our phones, not buying and selling stocks, not trading, not even making any money — just trying to take care of the after hour calls from the hospitals and sick patients begging for help.  When we return to an unfinished conversation, we seem dazed, as part of us is still thinking what we could do for the patient that was on the phone, why the nurse could not understand our simple orders, which consultant we should call.  We carry this personality into our vacations.

Sorry, the hospital is calling.  I have to run.

Afshine Ash Emrani is a cardiologist and can be reached at Los Angeles Heart Specialists. This article originally appeared in the Jewish Journal.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Informed consent and the ethics of the Facebook news feed study

July 26, 2014 Kevin 3
…
Next

Can medical students lean in to psychiatry?

July 26, 2014 Kevin 10
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Informed consent and the ethics of the Facebook news feed study
Next Post >
Can medical students lean in to psychiatry?

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Afshine Ash Emrani, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Is it ever appropriate for us to choose the timing of our death?

    Afshine Ash Emrani, MD
  • Medical lessons from Robin Williams

    Afshine Ash Emrani, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Vitamins are not magic. We need good science and better sense.

    Afshine Ash Emrani, MD

More in Physician

  • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

    Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO
  • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

    Maureen Gibbons, MD
  • How a rainy walk helped an oncologist rediscover joy and bravery

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • A day in the life of a WHO public health professional in Meghalaya, India

    Dr. Poulami Mazumder
  • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

    Emma Fenske, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • AI is not a threat to radiologists. It’s a distraction from what truly matters in medicine.

      Fardad Behzadi, MD | Tech
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • AI is not a threat to radiologists. It’s a distraction from what truly matters in medicine.

      Fardad Behzadi, MD | Tech
    • How deep transcranial magnetic stimulation is transforming mental health care

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 42 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • AI is not a threat to radiologists. It’s a distraction from what truly matters in medicine.

      Fardad Behzadi, MD | Tech
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • AI is not a threat to radiologists. It’s a distraction from what truly matters in medicine.

      Fardad Behzadi, MD | Tech
    • How deep transcranial magnetic stimulation is transforming mental health care

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Doctors still work while on vacation
42 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...