Are physicians embracing work-life balance over ‘workaholic culture?’

Author(s):

Richard Payerchin

Key Takeaways

Generational divide in medicine reflects differing views on work-life balance, with older doctors adhering to a 'workaholic culture' and younger doctors seeking more balance.
Older physicians often see medicine as a calling, requiring long hours and sacrifice, while younger doctors emphasize personal responsibilities and self-care.
The shift in healthcare employment dynamics, with many doctors now working for health systems, influences the changing attitudes towards work-life balance.
The ongoing debate highlights the necessity for cultural adjustments in the medical profession to accommodate evolving perspectives on work and personal life.

‘Old guys are taking ER call’ as younger docs ponder medicine as a calling, or just a job.

young physician doctor too busy: © Arnell Koegelenberg/peopleimages.com - stock.adobe.com

There’s a divide splitting the generations of older physicians trained in ‘workaholic culture’ and younger doctors who want better balance between demands of patient care and life outside of medicine.

This fall, the Wall Street Journal published “Young Doctors Want Work-Life Balance. Older Doctors Say That’s Not the Job.” Author Te-Ping Chen began: “There’s a question dividing the medical practice right now: Is being a doctor a job, or a calling?”

“For decades … doctors accepted long hours and punishing schedules, believing it was their duty to sacrifice in the name of patient care,” the article said.

“All us old guys are taking ER call, and you got guys in their 30s at home every night. It’s just a sore spot,” said Jefferson Vaughan, MD, 63, a 30-year surgeon and medical director of the Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at the Jupiter Medical Center of Jupiter, Florida. He is on call for emergency department duty up to seven nights a month, the article said.

Being on call was part of the calling of medicine. But now referring to “a calling” can be “very triggering and offensive,” said Joel Katz, MD, 66, senior vice president for education at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The WSJ article noted for years, he led the residency program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“It’s code word for being taken advantage of,” Katz said in the article.

The WSJ article highlighted physicians long work hours, but also receive substantial pay. Doctors who spoke with WSJ said medicine’s “workaholic culture was overdue for a correction.” In 2024, many, many American doctors are not their own bosses – a health system is. There are personal factors too, such as starting a family, caring for young children or aging parents, and the need for personal care.

“We have to take care of ourselves in order to take care of other people,” hospitalist Kara-Grace Leventhal, MD, 40, said in the article. Leventhal is a clinical co-lead and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine.