megscc Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 So, recently I have become really burned out. It is not the work; I love my work. I have a nice balance in GI of the typical, run of the mill patients sprinkled with the complex IBD patients that really makes me think through the best treatment plan and work through evidence based medicine to figure out the best course of action. What I am sick of is the attitude of patients. My staff can't handle it anymore either. People are impatient, they are rude and they demand action RIGHT NOW when we all know that outpatient medicine does not work that way. I have long thought about what my perfect work schedule would be and 10 hour days, 4 days a week would be ideal. In my head (I will admit I may be trying to rationalize) I think that this would help with the jaded attitude both me and my MA's have right now. Here is the problem: how to I present this to my SP? He already only works 4 days a week, so it's not like I am trying to change his schedule. I truly feel like if we had 3 days off, it would be better to regroup to face the week. Any thoughts on how to present the possible solution without getting immediate rejection? TIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Generally the strongest point you can make is about patient safety, followed by patient satisfaction, followed by provider burn out and satisfaction. It has been my experience lo these many years that provider satisfaction is really low on the priority list for most organizations and administrators. It has become exponentially worse with the consumerization of health care. Patient satisfaction surveys, YELP reviews and all the other patient metrics that have nothing to do with actual health care are driving provider dissatisfaction and burnout. I have reached a point, because I get an average of 2 patient complaints a week for not giving antibiotics for colds, that I told my medical director I won't respond to them unless it is an issue of medical care. If I have to choose between evidence based medicine and patient satisfaction I'm going with proper medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megscc Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 26 minutes ago, sas5814 said: Generally the strongest point you can make is about patient safety, followed by patient satisfaction, followed by provider burn out and satisfaction. It has been my experience lo these many years that provider satisfaction is really low on the priority list for most organizations and administrators. It has become exponentially worse with the consumerization of health care. Patient satisfaction surveys, YELP reviews and all the other patient metrics that have nothing to do with actual health care are driving provider dissatisfaction and burnout. I have reached a point, because I get an average of 2 patient complaints a week for not giving antibiotics for colds, that I told my medical director I won't respond to them unless it is an issue of medical care. If I have to choose between evidence based medicine and patient satisfaction I'm going with proper medicine. Thanks your input! I do feel like the burn out will eventually affect patient's safety and the consumerism is what is driving the majority of the issues. I wish I knew how to fix that, but I do not. It is the nature of the beast at this point. I really hope he hears what I am saying and considers it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 You never know if you don't ask. Admin jacked our schedules up so bad everyone was mad and I wrote a proposal , which was radically different from anything we had done before, and they actually adopted it. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megscc Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 6 minutes ago, sas5814 said: You never know if you don't ask. Admin jacked our schedules up so bad everyone was mad and I wrote a proposal , which was radically different from anything we had done before, and they actually adopted it. Good luck! Very true. The worse that can happen is "no". Congrats on the new proposal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALC0313 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 I work 4 days a week and it's the best! I can't imagine having to go back to a regular 5-day work week. I have Fridays to do all my adult chores (groceries, cleaning, laundry) which means I'm free to enjoy the rest of the weekend with my family. I've noticed the same attitude from patients you're mentioning and I think having enough time away from work helps me cope with it. I started my job with this schedule so I can't speak much to how to approach your SP, but I hope it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megscc Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 20 hours ago, AnneFL said: I work 4 days a week and it's the best! I can't imagine having to go back to a regular 5-day work week. I have Fridays to do all my adult chores (groceries, cleaning, laundry) which means I'm free to enjoy the rest of the weekend with my family. I've noticed the same attitude from patients you're mentioning and I think having enough time away from work helps me cope with it. I started my job with this schedule so I can't speak much to how to approach your SP, but I hope it works out for you. Awesome! Glad I am not the only one lol. Strange question for you...how does your vacation time work since you work 40 hours in 4 days? When you take off, do they deduct 10 hours from you vacation? Or do you get less vacation hours? I currently have 160 hours of vacation so I am guessing if I take time off, they deduct 10 hours from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALC0313 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 7 minutes ago, megscc said: Awesome! Glad I am not the only one lol. Strange question for you...how does your vacation time work since you work 40 hours in 4 days? When you take off, do they deduct 10 hours from you vacation? Or do you get less vacation hours? I currently have 160 hours of vacation so I am guessing if I take time off, they deduct 10 hours from that. I work regular office hours, 9-5ish so I really only work 4- 8 hour days. Our office is only open a half day on Fridays so I really only work about 4-5 hours less than the other providers. They take 8 hours of PTO per day when I'm on vacation. I rarely have to use my PTO time though since I always have a 3- day weekend. I accrue PTO the same as if I worked the full week. It got a little convulted when I was on FMLA for maternity leave, but other than that it's been great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megscc Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 1 hour ago, AnneFL said: I work regular office hours, 9-5ish so I really only work 4- 8 hour days. Our office is only open a half day on Fridays so I really only work about 4-5 hours less than the other providers. They take 8 hours of PTO per day when I'm on vacation. I rarely have to use my PTO time though since I always have a 3- day weekend. I accrue PTO the same as if I worked the full week. It got a little convulted when I was on FMLA for maternity leave, but other than that it's been great. Cool. Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jb5158 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Having four 10 hour days is awesome, I would try to do it. My schedule was set to match my doctor's, so that may actual work in your favor. I have Tuesdays off, so Mondays are never that bad knowing I have the next day off. Plus it's a day to schedule appointments and run errands without using PTO. I'm currently interviewing for another job that would be five 8 hour days and am already starting to mourn the loss of my free day. For PTO, they would just deduct 10 hours from days I'm gone, except for Tuesdays obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megscc Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 21 hours ago, jb5158 said: Having four 10 hour days is awesome, I would try to do it. My schedule was set to match my doctor's, so that may actual work in your favor. I have Tuesdays off, so Mondays are never that bad knowing I have the next day off. Plus it's a day to schedule appointments and run errands without using PTO. I'm currently interviewing for another job that would be five 8 hour days and am already starting to mourn the loss of my free day. For PTO, they would just deduct 10 hours from days I'm gone, except for Tuesdays obviously. Awesome! I really am going to try to lobby for this. Thanks for the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer_dancer01 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I was in your same boat and just approached my supervisor (bigger health practice) about this and she was agreeable. I think provider burnout is becoming a huge issue now and there are multiple studies demonstrating this so you could even bring these to help your cause. Either way good luck, having three day weekends is so nice. Plus running all my errands on Monday when everyone else is in work or school is golden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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