Part time working

You were lucky Bruce. Things were even worse in the late '70s early '80s when I was a junior doctor doing house jobs and surgical rotations. I was on a one in two rota for most of that time with two evenings off a week and every other weekend. Rates of pay were also less generous working out at about 20p an hour in my first job. Even when doing an A&E job I had to do nights in order to attend an FRCS course in Central London. I was working in Harrow at the time. I'd finish work at 9am and go to bed to get up at 11am to drive into London. I'd arrive home from the course around 7pm and was back on duty at 9pm.

Whilst it was very onerous there was an excellent social life in the hospital and the professional experience gained in that time was invaluable, unfortunately sadly lacking in the training of junior doctors today.

I feel the ghost of that Python sketch looming....

I have no doubt that current junior doctor working structures and practices are having a major impact on morale as well as training quality. Strikes me as pretty dumb that we failed to keep hold of the good bits whilst humanising the working conditions. What kept me going was my 'firm', that old-fashioned pyramid with 4 or 5 layers from Prof downwards to whom I was responsible, but who also took up their duty to train and nurture as well as inspire me. Current hospital juniors feel more isolated I think, and shift patterns mean colleagues are just seen as somebody for a handover rather than to work alongside.

Slightly hijacking this thread, but interesting stuff.

I too work a 4 day week with Friday as my day off; which means I'm finished for the week as I write this...

Work life balance is key for me and I feel I contribute more in the days that I'm in work as a consequence. I changed career in my 40s; from Medicine into Education. Like Bruce I too have tales of 100+ hour weeks, especially in the initial years following graduation. I really, really don't miss those days one jot....

Reminds me that at the start of my operational conversion course being told :-

“We finish flying at 16:00 and you are all expected in the bar no later than 17:00 - at least three nights a week - and anybody who isn’t there every Friday night is unlikely to succeed on this course !”

I work part time.

My boss asked if I fancied working more hours., when I said yes, he suggested I start coming in on time.

Arf, arf!  

Nigel,

make sure your new part-time hours doesn't degrade your company pension rights:

you may not be entitled to Arf as much as a part-timer.

Beware if you're ever unfortunate enough to get made redundant:

your employer may only need pay you off with Arf as much as a full time employee.

Hopefully your contract of employment is still the same as before : )

Debs

Thanks to some good investment decisions by my fellow business partner I was able to happily retire at 55, some ten years ago now. Despite all the warnings from my colleagues that I'd be bored at home & would find the whole experience incredibly stressful and unsettling I found none of the sort. I was urged to go part time, being so irreplaceable to the business, to which I reluctantly agreed to so for a period I dropped down to two days a week. Which very rapidly became one. Which almost immediately dropped down to "If you get any problems give me a call" arrangement, with the company picking up my expenses, IT support, communications etc. No one called...After a year or so I felt a bit guilty so I quietly walked away.

Alex Ferguson, when asked when he was going to retire, replied that he felt he was too old to do so, retirement being a young man's game because then you've got the fitness to enjoy it.  

I have always enjoyed my work. So has Mrs D. However, we both decided to retire 4 years ago when we were 65. She, full-time retirement. Me ? well I decide to offer my teaching services on a freelance basis and immediately found two days per week and an understanding that frequent visits to Canada would mean 40 weeks a year rather than 52.

The two days a week have now increased to alternating 4 days and 5 days but the 40 weeks a year remain.

So for me its 40 weeks here in the UK, plus three lots of 4 weeks in Canada or some of it on a cruise. The 5 day weeks cover Thursday through Monday and the 4 day weeks see me taking Monday off as well as Tue and Wed, so we can pop down to Cornwall, South Wales or up to my homeland Northern Penines with plenty of time for golf and hill walking or mountain walking with grown up offspring and grandchildren.

Mrs D spends much of her "own" time with family and friends including much more time on the other side of the pond than I manage. But we do enjoy our golf and hiking “weekends”

For me, I’m afraid that the novelty of flying has not worn thin, plus seeing another half a dozen students a year join the airlines is a real delight. The balance is not between work and leisure, rather between one form of enjoyment and another.

I work in local government, where we have proper pensions and proper contracts. As an accountant, I know exactly what impacts this decision will have. It's all good. 

Congratulations, I hope you don't go too hungry.

HH going part time (at 55) was one of the best decisions I ever made.  The reduction in stress just started to give me some life back.  18 months after retiring fully I now realise that even working part time, stress was still ruining my life, and I'm a lot better now, but it really has taken 18 months.  Mine was a rather extreme case, so I hope you get the full benefits much sooner.

I'm glad you understand the financial impacts and the steps needed to make it work, without that, it can be a disaster but with everything in place it can be the best thing you can do.  Make good use of your two weekends, it's a great place to be.

In respect of getting even more hungry, just remember, there are plenty of (smaller!) fish in the sea!

I have intermittently worked 4  day weeks over the last 20 years as a GP. Mostly I have tended to have had Wednesday's off but I prefer having a regular Friday off as there is more chance of getting away and relaxing. In some ways it can be a bit stressful having a day off , as even with a good locum there are a lot of loose ends to tie up on my return. 

Bruce, I worked in UK as a surgical SHO in 1986 in Winchester, Bournmouth and Worcester. Hours were horrific and pay was £7 pounds an hour. I well remember starting on a Friday morning and finishing on a Monday evening. What compensated for the inhuman hours was a great comaraderie with fellow junior staff and a pint at 11 pm in the doctors mess when on call. I returned to New Zealand GP training programme and must admit I was glad to be shot of hospitals.

Anyway HH enjoy your extra time off, sounds like you have a great team working with you.

I went 0% time at age 56, just at the time the company took another dive and conditions worsened, so no regrets.

No relationship between the companies performance and my career change.

Drew my University pension aged 57 and have just done research in the 7 years since. I go in half a day a week to my research unit in the NHS and do stuff at home on the computer when I feel like it - life is good.

Also ditching all the bureacracy and management crap means I'm just as productive in terms of useful work.

Thanks for all your interesting stories; the tales of doctors' hours make me pleased I'm a PhD rather than medical doctor! Three weeks in, it's working really well - two days at work, a day to recharge, and then two more. It's interesting how much better I'm feeling, and in hindsight I realise how overwhelmed I was feeling before. I feel very fortunate to be in a position to be able to do this and still enjoy a reasonable standard of living. We've all got to reapply for our own jobs next spring, so goodness knows what that will bring and whether being part time will count against me, but I'll cross that bridge next year. In the meantime, I'm going to make sure I enjoy my two weekends.

very useful thread, got me thinking.

Good luck, Nigel...

enjoy

ken

When I was at college I roomed with a guy who had convinced himself that the week began on a Thursday .. he went to school 1 day then had 2 days off .. he then went to school (Mon thru Wednesday) and it was the end of his week .. Thursday being his Monday the start of the next week ..

I would really like to know what became of that fellow .. 

Perhaps he got diagnosed with ASD or maybe something rather more unusual?  Let's hope he learnt to cope better with his difference.

Yep,

Mine starts on a Thursday.

Then Fri, Sat, Sun and (alt weeks) Mon.

Brilliant !

A four day week is also considered as full-time in our GP practice. I have been having a Wednesday off for two years now and regard my working week as two "weeklets". It is a good opportunity to relax and recharge the batteries (as well as listening to some good music!).

I'm 55 now and well remember the houseman year of a one on two or one in three rota. Hours were long (esp weekends) but as others have said, the upside was having the support of a team and of playing hard when not working hard. Our eldest son has recently completed his F2 year in Liverpool and while his hours may not have been as long he was on call for a much greater number of patients than we were. So no less stressful I feel. Interesting also to see the result of the ballot on the Junior Doctors new contract that Mr Hunt is trying to impose - 75% turnout and >90% in support of strike action! Try getting that turnout in any political election.

Anyway - rant over and also off topic ��. Enjoy your newfound "you time" HH, I'm sure you have earned it.

ATB

Paul