[bezalel72_205]

I’m early career, so don’t have any real experience/knowledge to give informed insight here. But it seems like if groups are signing trainees frequently 1 year out from start date, and some now even reporting multiple years out from graduation, I don’t see why you couldn’t find another group you like and set a start date out for whenever you want it to be, and they wouldn’t even necessarily have to know you weren’t working in the interim. But someone please correct me if I’m wrong about that or if any group would have some sort of stipulation that you would need to have a certain amount of work over time. MQSA comes to mind, but if you’re not doing mammo, I don’t know of another example. 

[erasmopa]

I completely understand why you are fed up with those things. But couldnt you just say at your current job that the admin stuff, the interruptions, etc are eating at you and find a way to get away from those parts of the job. If you become a remote reader or work off hours that would mostly eliminate these things and leave you to just focus on reading studies.

I share your frustrations though. Radiologists have to deal with so much baggage. It is almost like there is a rule that radiologists are the only people in the hospital allowed to think. If techs, midlevels, nurses deal with any uncertainty they are not allowed to think, they have to interrupt the radiologist. And I am not making fun of them or calling them idiots. It is because admin writes policy that precludes them from thinking and forces all decisions and interruptions on the radiologist.

Taking a sabbatical sounds good if you are say 80-90% to your retirement figure, but if youre only halfway there I think it seems risky. But do what you need to do to be happy.

[ruszja]

Quote from callsucks

anyone here done or know of someone who’s done this and how it turned out? advice? please feel free to PM if you don’t want it posted here.

My recommendation is to never ever step away for more than 89 days at a time. Beyond that, your are going to get questions.

and for anyone currently hiring, if you came across someone that stepped away for a while, would you still hire them?

The question is not ‘would I hire you’, the question is whether I could get you credentialed. Anything beyond 90 days creates questions, special proctoring requirements etc. By default, if you didn’t practice for a few years hospitals and medical boards assume you spent that time in prison 😉

What you need is a different job. The admin BS tends to accumulate over time like road dirt on a truck. You can never reduce it while remaining in the same place. Now that you know these traps, you can avoid those life sucks after a job change: ‘I am sorry, but I won’t be able to serve on the excellent excellency quality leadership council.’

There are certainly lifestyle oriented associate positions available. 7/14s, hybrid on-site and remotes. Just make clear ‘I am only here to make the donuts’ and keep the BS at arms length.

[andy.lippman_422]

Yeah I would get some kind of 1099 job and do 2-3 shifts a month so that you don’t have to explain the gap in your work history.

[btomba_77]

every group i contact only wants full time full speed

 
I find that shocking. My group, and other local groups around this area, would happily hire a candidate they liked at 80% or 60% etc.
 

 if you came across someone that stepped away for a while, would you still hire them?

  yellow flag, but not a red flag.  I’d want to know the why of it.       It’s just an unfortunate fact that people with long resume gaps are more likely to have had some issues too.  
 
Maybe try to get something lined up *first* with a long delay in the start date.
 

get some kind of 1099 job and do 2-3 shifts a month so that you don’t have to explain the gap in your work history.

  Or this. Nobody needs to know you were barely working… just keeps that steady employment on the CV.
 

What you need is a different job. The admin BS tends to accumulate over time like road dirt on a truck. You can never reduce it while remaining in the same place.

 
I would say that is group-specific.  One of my section mates was cranking at full pace while also serving a Program Director for residency with 10 spots per year.   
 
He stepped away to be nothing but clinical and is now 80% …. he’s spending a full month in Greece with his family as I type this.   There’s no reason a person can’t change jobs within the same group if that group has good progressive leadership focused on rad retention.
 
 

[Unknown Member]

There’s no reason a person can change jobs within the same group if that group has good progressive leadership focused on rad retention.
 
Absolutely. Unfortunately some groups cant get out of their own way. Frequently its outright dysfunctional leadership. But sometimes in PP its decentralization to the point no one is in charge which leads to a form of anarchy, and no decisions are made. Either way, it leads to poor outcomes. 

[suesookoo_159]

thanks everyone for the ideas and suggestions.

had no idea there was a 89 day rule. probably because I’ve never taken a gap. medicine offers security but that 90 day leash feels pretty tight.

discussed all of this with a sage colleague who told me they’ve had similar sentiments and knows of others feeling the same. said it’s just something that happens.

i’ve tried to extricate from the admin and drama but it’s not possible. my job is a good one but there is no option to dump the things i can’t tolerate.

seems I need to keep looking for a job with clearly defined role of being a worker bee. full remote would be best so I can isolate and just read studies at a healthy but not punishing speed.

to date the only matching jobs have been PE backed groups which i prefer to avoid. not personal, just don’t like what PE has done to medicine.

[Unknown Member]

FWIW, about the hiring someone with sabbatical history

If there has been at least year of work history in various organ systems after the sabbatical , I.e. you are not coming off of a one year+ leave and trying to join our group ;

and you spent the year doing something I considered cool – like learning BJJ in Brazil or intern under a top sushi chef in Japan or trying to become a novel writer –

Then it would not be a problem and your application would be weighed on the merits of your work history and references etc.

[[email protected]]

I would guess the 90 day time out is a product of administrators.

Through the years I have been asked to do procedures and read exams I haven’t read in forever and some since training. The rationale is it is like riding a bike.

Do people here really think if they took 6 months or a year off their skills would atrophy to the point that they couldn’t safely read studies anymore?

If so that negates ever asking a radiologist to do something they haven’t done in the last few months.

If not it seems like the narrative was written by administrators and we’re repeating it without thinking. Dangerous and we do this more than we realize.

Acknowledge we live in a world of administration and have to jump through their hoops. That’s fine. I just want to clarify the point that I hope radiologists won’t judge you on a 90 day timeframe.

I hope you find what you need and happiness.

[aldoctc]

Some thoughts in no particular order…

Once you step away and get perspective, the longer you stay away, the less likely you’ll be to want to go back.

It may not seem financially feasible to quit now, but when you realize how miserable you were, you’ll figure out a way to get by.

Looking for another gig seems “impossible” but you’re so stressed you have trouble envisioning something better. Start thinking about how you can get a better work situation elsewhere.

Re: stressful things you don’t like about your current gig. “Success through failure.” Do a crappy job on the admin stuff and you’ll eventually have it taken away from you.

Change is difficult.

[Unknown Member]

Agree with JM…
 
Change is hard.  It takes effort.  And risk.
 
But there’s a potential payoff on the other side, like staying in your career and enjoying it more.
 
Each of us has our own likes and dislikes.  Ideally, the practice is able to diffuse all the good and bad evenly, but the way I’ve seen it play out, some actually like doing admin tasks, so they do it well.  Some just like to crank the List, and they do it well.  But every job is going to have some clutter and static.  That’s why it’s called “work.”
 
But I think making a change can be worth it, esp if the pain outweighs the gain.

[ghuang920]

I would recommend finding another job that better suits your needs.  Maybe take a look at the VA?  Less pay, but FAR better lifestyle. I work there and like it, but comes with its own set of frustrations. I worked in PP before and wouldnt go back, balancing out all factors. 

[buckeyeguy]

As long as you keep credentialed as a ind con with a group and the hospital (every two or three years, etc), would there be any way in which they’d have a clue you were “off” for given amounts of time? It seems like that would be a lot of work, but could it possibly be randomly known through sampling of cases? But wouldn’t the response be that “Oh yeah, doctor X works for us to cover various shifts, etc.”?