What’s maximum number of hours that clinical clerk can work per week?

[blah1234]

In many ways the grueling training exists to prepare for your staff life. I think for most fields the hours do get better as staff. I will say that some of my friends do more call than they did in residency (e.g. OB/GYN in certain communities). I think it's more manageable because you know what you're doing, you're the boss now, and the hour to hour is probably less jam packed compared to an academic centre. However, I know that I'm not as fast or as energetic compared to my youth so those call shifts will take a toll as you get older (which is also supported by other older clinicians).

As much as I hate the concept of doing complex things while sleep deprived the reality is that many of us will need to continue to do that even as a Staff. It's probably best that you learn how to function in those conditions during training so you don't let your patients down as the MRP.

[ellorie]

8 minutes ago, blah1234 said:

In many ways the grueling training exists to prepare for you staff life. I think for most fields the hours do get better as staff. I will say that some of my friends do more call than they did in residency (e.g. OB/GYN in certain communities). I think it's more manageable because you know what you're doing, you're the boss now, and the hour to hour is probably less jam packed compared to an academic centre. However, I know that I'm not as fast or as energetic compared to my youth so those call shifts will take a toll as you get older (which is also supported by other older clinicians).

As much as I hate the concept of doing complex things while sleep deprived the reality is that many of us will need to continue to do that even as a Staff. It's probably best that you learn how to function in those conditions during training so you don't let your patients down as the MRP.

Staff call is also more $$$ which I think is generally motivating for people.

[robclem21]

3 hours ago, neurologist19 said:

I guess this whole thread turned into a circle jerk sort of thing, if you excuse my bluntness. If you feel the need to go around complaining about working 80 or 100 hours, I wonder if it wasn't better to leave the medicine to those people who don't count hours and just focus on their work because they love medicine as a way of life not as work. As a patient, I prefer a doctor with lower undergrad GPA and MCAT score who is passionate about helping me rather than a top shot who resents me for overworking him/her. Anyways, this is my last post here and I will not reply back to any reply anymore. just a suggestion and something I heard from a good friend a long time ago and it was along this line : do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.

 

These two things are not mutually exclusive. The truth is many residents do love what they do and are very patient-centred and passionate about their work. That doesn't mean that being worked to the bone doesn't make you fatigued, or a little bitter, or question what you are doing sometime. GPA and MCAT scores have nothing to do with passion or burnout or being overworked. That's a very pre-med thing to think about and bring up because as soon as you start medical school all those things mean nothing.

Nobody here was complaining about working 80-100 hours, but we were a little put off by someone with clearly no experience doing it telling us that we are exaggerating or that we should "leave medicine" because we count work hours. Instead of insulting people and telling medical students and residents that certain qualities wouldn't be appreciated by their patients, maybe take a minute to be supportive of the fact that at 5am on 0 sleep for the past 25 hours (often with no more than 1-2 hours total of scattered breaks), it us who are there to take care of and support them while you are at home sleeping in your bed.

A little respect for the work we actually do would go a lot further than trying to call us out. This journey is a complete grind and until you go through it, you truly can't appreciate it so perhaps better to not insult people who dedicate/sacrifice nearly a decade of their early adult lives for their patients.

 

[blah1234]

1 hour ago, ellorie said:

Staff call is also more $$$ which I think is generally motivating for people.

Yea, the on-call stipend as a resident (~$100?) was pretty insulting given how hard we had to work haha.

[Galaxsci]

Little late to the party, but will chime in anyways. Our internal medicine at U of T was the most hours overall and it worked like this:

Week 1: MFSu call (96h)

Week 2: Th call (44h)

Week 3: TuSa call (79h)

Week 4: W call (53h)

Assuming 9 hour work days (8am-5pm), which was the norm, as well as 26 hour call, which was also the norm, it works out to the numbers above. And that averages out to 68h per week in the hospital. Yes, you'll sleep a couple hours most nights on call and you'll spend some time eating and things, but that's pretty much the exact amount of time you'll spend in the hospital each week as a med student on CTU at U of T.

[JohnGrisham]

6 hours ago, neurologist19 said:

I guess this whole thread turned into a circle jerk sort of thing, if you excuse my bluntness. If you feel the need to go around complaining about working 80 or 100 hours, I wonder if it wasn't better to leave the medicine to those people who don't count hours and just focus on their work because they love medicine as a way of life not as work. As a patient, I prefer a doctor with lower undergrad GPA and MCAT score who is passionate about helping me rather than a top shot who resents me for overworking him/her. Anyways, this is my last post here and I will not reply back to any reply anymore. just a suggestion and something I heard from a good friend a long time ago and it was along this line : do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.

 

It's very clear you're just trolling now.

1) I had a low undergrad gpa, and average MCAT.
2)I worked more hours consistently per week(80+) by frequency of weeks, then i did in medical school.
3) Also mature student
4) I rarely count hours, and even during the busier residency rotations, it was just focusing on doing good patient care.

So, I hit most of your checkpoints...does that mean you believe me now that some med students, and even more so residents...do at some point or another work 80hr+ weeks of legitiamate work? Please please?  Don't bother looking at how many hours some rural docs or surgeons in urban centres work some weeks...you won't believe them 

[JohnGrisham]

1 hour ago, blah1234 said:

Yea, the on-call stipend as a resident (~$100?) was pretty insulting given how hard we had to work haha.

But when you got that nice bonus on your cheque was a nice feeling back then

[bread]

14 hours ago, neurologist19 said:

I guess this whole thread turned into a circle jerk sort of thing, if you excuse my bluntness. If you feel the need to go around complaining about working 80 or 100 hours, I wonder if it wasn't better to leave the medicine to those people who don't count hours and just focus on their work because they love medicine as a way of life not as work. As a patient, I prefer a doctor with lower undergrad GPA and MCAT score who is passionate about helping me rather than a top shot who resents me for overworking him/her. Anyways, this is my last post here and I will not reply back to any reply anymore. just a suggestion and something I heard from a good friend a long time ago and it was along this line : do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.

 

It wasn’t my impression that people were complaining about hours... the OP asked how many we can work, and people were providing their experiences. 
 

With all the respect that is due, I think your last sentiment regarding loving what you do is perhaps slightly naive. I love being in medicine. I’m now at the end of fourth year, and I still feel so grateful daily to be here, and that it is a privilege to do what we do. I genuinely look forward to going to work every day. That being said, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times that are hard and stressful and burn you out. We are humans; many of us have families at home, be it parents/siblings, partner and/or children. Many of us are also training in locations away from them. It’s not wrong (and it’s arguably healthy) to acknowledge the hard aspects of the job. Going in expecting it to be all positive and wonderful I think will, perhaps, make it more likely to burn out when reality is different from expectations. 

[blah1234]

For what it's worth I used to be a professional before joining medicine as well and there are other fields where 80+ hour weeks are fairly regular and include pretty intense hours too. Perhaps there isn't the need for overnight call but weekend work can easily drive up the hours.

[unarmed walrus]

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[jb24]

They will work you more hours than they say they will. But good thing is, it's only some rotations like general surgery and some other surgical specialties. Other rotations are usually not that bad. Residency is worse though. From what I've seen, it's way worse.