Work-Life Balance for Hospitalists a People Issue, Not a Women's Issue

Similarly, if male physicians want to structure their schedules around personal interests or take extended time off to pursue a life passion, they often are viewed unfavorably because the culture of medicine for years has been complete dedication to patients and career over personal needs, Dr. Harrison says.

“For example, a single person or someone who doesn’t have a family might want to go climbing the Himalayas and take three months off. Or perhaps a staff member wants to go part time in order to go back to school for an MBA,” Dr. Nagamine says. “We’re not prepared to deal with those types of requests.”

Stop the Churn

HM groups around the country—big and small, academic and community—deal with work-life balance issues on a regular basis. Some have solved the issue; many have not. Too many hospitalist groups are stuck in a churn cycle: hire hospitalist, fail to meet their needs, see them leave after a year or two, repeat.

“When you see people churning their staff, especially when they’re losing good ones, it’s a financial and human capital drain,” Dr. Nagamine says. “Think about the care that’s being delivered within the system, what’s happening to the other members in the group, the return on investment for keeping your staff happy. We argue over pennies sometimes, but we don’t calculate these types of losses of personnel.”

Dr. Nagamine says hospitalist groups should approach work-life balance not just on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, but also in terms of extended leave for child or elder care, travel, volunteer work, professional development, etc.

Compensation and workload are used to recruit and retain hospitalists. But recent research suggests that leaders might find more nuanced approaches to improving their hospitalists’ overall satisfaction.⁶ For example, leaders of local community-based hospitalist groups might find their hospitalists tolerant of heavier workloads, provided they are financially rewarded and given autonomy over their work. And rather than using higher salaries to be competitive, leaders of academic programs might find it more effective to provide their hospitalists with time and training to pursue scholarly work.

“Physicians and faculty are the most valuable commodities for moving the work forward,” Dr. Harrison says, “and good leaders pay attention to this data.”

HM groups should think about surveying their employees to find out where problems exist, Bailey says. Once you determine what work-life benefits and/or flexible employment opportunities will work, train supervisors to manage workplace flexibility, then hold them accountable for executing the policies, Owens says.

“It makes sense to take care of your people,” Dr. Nagamine says. “First, it’s the right thing to do. Second, it’s financially and fiscally a good move. It’s not just work-life balance for the sake of work-life balance; it’s critically important to your operations and your overall success in delivering good care.”

Lisa Ryan is a freelance writer in New Jersey.

Take Ownership of Your Time Off

The only way to fully achieve work-life balance is if you’re trying to achieve balance, according to experts in physician career satisfaction. In other words, work-life balance starts with you. Here are six steps you can take to improve your balancing act:

Define balance. Draw a picture of what you look like when your life is in balance, Bailey says. Or write a description in a journal. The goal is to determine what balance means for you at this point in your life, Grimm says.

Conduct a personal assessment. Look at every area of your life to assess what’s working and what’s not working, Owens says. Where things aren’t working, identify what you would have to add or subtract from your life to make improvements, says Grimm.

Eliminate stressors. Pinpoint your primary stressors and work to resolve or mitigate them, Grimm says. If it’s new software at work, find ways to master the technology. If it’s lack of spousal support, practice effective communication and teamwork.

Maximize energy. Create a workplace with the least amount of friction by investing energy in areas where you can make a positive impact, Grimm says. Don’t waste time or effort on things that cannot be changed.

Practice self-care. To be effective at caring for loved ones and patients, you have to care for yourself, Dr. Harrison says. Self-care can include protecting time with friends and family, taking short breaks during the workday, exercising, and getting regular sleep and meals. Hospitalists also should schedule vacations.

Consider job fit. Read recent research on the job characteristics of hospitalist practice models.6 If you’re someone who’s less concerned about workload but want to be paid well and have more autonomy, a local, community-based hospitalist group might be right for you. Academic HM might fit better if you’re willing to sacrifice some compensation for a variety of activities beyond direct clinical care.

—Lisa Ryan