Taylor says another practical concern for hospitalists working the seven-on/seven-off schedule is how engaged they can be with their institutions, particularly when they aren’t there half the year for committee meetings, staff gatherings—even water cooler conversation.
“I just have difficulty understanding how if half your workforce is gone every other week, how that group of doctors can become as integrated and ingrained and as part of the fabric of that facility as people who are there every week,” he says. “There are people who disagree with me on that, obviously.”
Richard Quinn is a freelance writer in New Jersey.