7 on 7 off

[roundabout]

I've been reading through contracts on this page for some time now. I've recently come across the 7 on 7 off work schedule. How common is this in the PA profession. This schedule is something that really interests me and I was curious as to how many of you work a schedule similar to this. Thanks!

[ohiovolffemtp]

I've seen this model primarily for in-patient hospitalists.  I'm in EM, and while I have worked 7 12's in a row, it was brutal and I wouldn't recommend it.  I think staffing models a largely dependent on area of medicine.

[Guest HanSolo]

7 on 7 off used to be considered a good thing for both the provider and patient care. There's a lot of evidence pointing how flawed that logic is, and from a provider's standpoint, you end up working more hours than a typical 9-5 and need 2 days to recover from each 7 on. 

[SirScottric]

I work a (mostly) 7 on, 7 off schedule as a trauma/general surgery PA at a level 1 trauma center in a Midwest urban area. I have been working this schedule for about a year. It took me a couple of months to get used to it but I have come to enjoy it quite a bit. During my 7 days of working, I don't tend to do a whole lot other than work, eat, go to the gym, and go to bed. But, on my 7 days off, I am able to complete all my household chores, schedule appointments, visit with retired family members, etc. I have found I enjoy my time off more because for 5 or 6 days of my 7 days off, going to work never enters my conscious thought. Whereas when I worked traditional M-F 9-5, every Saturday I would be thinking, "Man, one more day off and I'm already back at work". The 7 on, 7 off meshes well with my spouse's work schedule as she is a teacher and has summer and holiday breaks. This past summer, we were on vacation at least 1 week a month between June and August and I never had to use a single day of PTO unless I wanted to have 2 or more weeks off.

I usually sleep in my first day off and mostly relax around the house. I'll usually go to the gym and do a few chores but nothing crazy. Then, I make myself a to-do list for the week and do 2-3 items from the list each day that I'm off. That way I have a good balance of enjoying some free time every day that I'm off while also continuing to be productive.

However, many of my co-workers have young children and it can be hard for them to make sporting events or similar things. Also, some of them have spouses who also work weekends so they have to rotate who is watching the kids on the weekends. This makes for my co-worker and their spouse never having a weekend off together with the kids unless they use PTO for it.

In the end, you have to weigh the positives and negatives of different schedules and see what fits for you and yours. 

[MediMike]

2 hours ago, SirScottric said:

 usually sleep in my first day off and mostly relax around the house. I'll usually go to the gym and do a few chores but nothing crazy. Then, I make myself a to-do list for the week and do 2-3 items from the list each day that I'm off. That way I have a good balance of enjoying some free time every day that I'm off while also continuing to be productive. 

Man. That chore list is key. If I don't do that I have a tendency to him around for days at a time. Inherently lazy I guess.

[roundabout]

Thank you all for your responses. I feel like I would also kind of enjoy this work schedule. Time will tell!