Family physician

[sticky1]

Hi. Can family physicians take time off (more then vacation time, like 6 months off to travel)?

[AnxiousBoy]

It's your practice. Do whatever you want.

[igotacookie]

Any physician can take time off within reason...

 

If you are a fully trained and independent family doctor I guess there is nobody stopping you from taking 6 months off.

 

Problems with this:

1) You may work in a partnership with other physicians, this could greatly annoy some of them

2) More importantly, who is looking after your patients while you are gone? Not saying its impossible, but you would need colleagues to cover your patients while you are gone.

3) Say your the only doc in a small town, is this a reasonable thing to do?

 

If you are really interested in traveling there isn't a better time to do it than the 4 months between undergrad years.

[rollester]

All the above. Plus, you take time off but still are paying all the overhead costs i.e. secretary, rent, heat, hydro, etc.

[solarsystem]

Any physician can take time off within reason...

 

If you are a fully trained and independent family doctor I guess there is nobody stopping you from taking 6 months off.

 

Problems with this:

1) You may work in a partnership with other physicians, this could greatly annoy some of them

2) More importantly, who is looking after your patients while you are gone? Not saying its impossible, but you would need colleagues to cover your patients while you are gone.

3) Say your the only doc in a small town, is this a reasonable thing to do?

 

If you are really interested in traveling there isn't a better time to do it than the 4 months between undergrad years.

 

I wish. With limited finances and extracuricular's (research, volunteering, MCAT, etc) that any serious premeder should be taking part in during the summer, there's limited time for any travel. And volunteering abroad doesn't really carry much weight with me considering only those that can afford it can partake.

[igotacookie]

Your financial situation will only become worse during medical school and residency.

 

Research is not a requirement for entry to medical school. (I did none during summers)

Research is not a requirement for entry to residency, however it might as well be made a requirement for competitive programs.

 

The MCAT does not take months to study for if you have a traditional science background.

 

Biggest mistake you can make is to keep pushing back the things you want. A career in med is a marathon, pace yourselves...

 

And your right the summers are pretty busy during undergrad. I worked 60 hours a week between 1/2/3 year. But between 4/med I went travelling and blew my savings haha, all worth it...

[moo]

You can, but you won't have any income. You also have to find someone to cover for you. Locums don't have this problem

[leviathan]

As moo said, just work locums. Or own your own practice and get a locum to cover you while on vacation (easier said than done sometimes). Yes you still have overhead but most people take 30-35% of the locum's billings to cover those fees, sometimes less if you're having trouble finding someone.

[osmosis]

Hi. Can family physicians take time off (more then vacation time, like 6 months off to travel)?

 

i was just curious, why would you need 6 months off? that seems like a very long period of time.

 

i know specialists (radiologists, nephrologists, gen. surgeons) who take no more than 4-6 weeks off, and that's usually broken up throughout the year.

[itimebomb2]

Yes, I've seen long trips done many times before - not annually, but a once or twice in a lifetime sort of thing. My fam doc took a whole year off last year (they just needed to find a locum to take their patients in his group practice).

 

Unless you want to be a professional traveler, you don't need 6 mo. trips all the time. Having done a lot of traveling in my UG myself, I can say that long trips usually aren't as fun as short trips.

[apache]

I'm pretty sure most walk in clinics are pretty flexible about that sort of thing, as long as its pre-negotiated, the receptionists at one of the corporate (clinical staff don't own the clinic) fm clinics here said a lot of the docs work 3 weeks (5 days a week), then take a week off, and repeat. Others would only work 9 months out of the year; the only trade off is that you won't make as much cash or have your own practice, but, on the other hand, if you prefer limited non-patient responsibility, administrative duties, and more freedom, plus no initial overhead investment into a clinic, it would be a good trade off.

[apache]

Maybe to pursue some other interest like writing a book, travelling overseas, opening a small business not related to medicine etc.

 

i was just curious, why would you need 6 months off? that seems like a very long period of time.

 

i know specialists (radiologists, nephrologists, gen. surgeons) who take no more than 4-6 weeks off, and that's usually broken up throughout the year.

[Noodle]

I wish. With limited finances and extracuricular's (research, volunteering, MCAT, etc) that any serious premeder should be taking part in during the summer, there's limited time for any travel. And volunteering abroad doesn't really carry much weight with me considering only those that can afford it can partake.

 

Well, you'd be surprised! You just gotta be creative. I promise this is possible....I did it this summer and spent very little for an awesome experience!

[Nutrition major]

A good way to work out a 6 month on and 6 month off work/travel plan would be to find another doctor who would like to do the same thing and set up a practice with him or her.

 

I would like find a partner to share a family medicine practice in Ontario. I would like to be able to go overseas for months at a time to do volunteer medical work in disaster or war zones.

 

Working 6 months per year in Ontario would be enough for me because I could easily live, travel and pay off debts on $30,000 or less per year.

[gsxronax]

Yes, I've seen long trips done many times before - not annually, but a once or twice in a lifetime sort of thing. My fam doc took a whole year off last year (they just needed to find a locum to take their patients in his group practice).

Unless you want to be a professional traveler, you don't need 6 mo. trips all the time. Having done a lot of traveling in my UG myself, I can say that long trips usually aren't as fun as short trips.