Work/Life Balance

I have a hard time saying no. I do feel guilty and I wonder at lost opportunities. In my transition from academia to private practice, I’ve had to start saying no a lot more often

Even if your practice has a knack for hiring the best doctors, putting the focus on how well they fit is the best retention strategy.

No matter what work-life balance means for you personally, whether it is a four-day workweek, a Blackberry-free vacation with your family, or a commitment to exercise and eat lunch every day, certain things deserve not only respect but support.

No, this blog post isn’t about some patient who acted like a jerk or about a co-worker I can’t stand. It’s not about a creep; it’s about the creep.

Take our weekly poll to tell us how you maintain a healthy work-life balance.

I don’t always feel the strain of my decisions to travel or to add extra obligations to my already very full schedule. However, when I look across the breakfast table at my spouse and see that he has a hollow-eyed zombie stare and a three-day growth of stubble on his face, I can recognize how my lack of work-life balance equals his fatigue and burnout.

The Curious Case of Mr. C and the Worms

Family physician Kevin Radbill on how passion can triumph over burnout.

I am constantly balancing too much and too little time with my family and my patients. Guess that’s what comes with being a physician and a mom.

Many physicians have discovered that blogging is a great way to build community with others in healthcare, share their opinions and successes, and vent.

Even when you're working nonstop, there's always time for love.

Is staff mediocrity costing you money? Here's how to fix it.

If you’re happy and you know it, and you’re a physician, clap your hands - you’re among good company.

Noteworthy items from February 2011

Anesthesiologist Cheryl Orr, MD, on her struggle to balance the time demands of her work and family, and the tough decisions that led her to a balanced life.

One of the strange-but-wonderful parts of my new job is that I essentially am responsible for only one thing - taking care of patients.

The doctors who have cared for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of last week's shooting deserve more credit than they've been getting for their heroic efforts.

I'm hopeful that the big first step I've made to improve my own work-life balance is being made in the right direction – that I'm not trading one set of overwhelming professional demands for a new, different flavor of the same degree of overwhelming professional demands. It appears, at least one week into it, to be a change for the better.

Imagine your practice as a true Patient-Centered Medical Home...

Psychiatrist Doug Bey on how his staff helped him and his practice survive and thrive after his two heart attacks.

For better or worse, the public image of American doctors is forever linked to the portrayal of docs on prime time television shows.

The future of the direct-pay practice model is bright. Here's how it works, the affect on patients, and where it fits with models promoted by healthcare reform.

A new study says married couples consisting of a physician and a surgeon are perhaps not as cohesive as you may think and the strain of marital bliss comes under even greater pressure when both partners are surgeons.

Have you managed to achieve that coveted work-life balance? We want to hear about it. For this month’s Physician Writer Search, we are calling for essays about finding balance.

It's not always easy to do what's best for yourself. But living healthier doesn't have to be impossible. Here are six fast and easy ways to put your well-being first.

Physicians often don't take the time to foster their own physical and mental health. In our Great American Physician Survey this year, we found that about 30 percent of you don't get much exercise, and 32 percent don't have a regular primary-care physician. Sixty-four percent get routine check-ups and follow their doctor's advice.

Deborah C. Henry, MD, on how she managed her burnout

We often hear physicians' frustrations about their patients not following their advice. How many times have you discussed a treatment plan or a healthy lifestyle with a patient, only to have her return having not followed a single item?

You are already dealing with a potential Medicare reimbursement drop, pondering your relationship with an EHR, and managing the day-to-day operations of your practice. But what about issues outside of your work life? Well, it seems to come down to dollars, D.C., and danger.

How three humbling weeks in Senegal changed my perspective