Our list of 10 doctors and specialists who work the longest hours shows that some fields of medicine are significantly more time consuming than others. Besides presenting doctor work hours by specialty, we also give you information on their annual income, career satisfaction, and levels of burnout they face.
According to AMA insurance report, the majority of physicians work between 40 and 60 hours per week. However, one-quarter reports staying at the workplace 60 to more than 80 hours weekly. When asked what they would like to change about their work schedule almost half all physicians responded they would like to work fewer hours.
Ocskay Mark/Shutterstock.com
How many hours a doctor spend on the job greatly depends on the field he specialized in. The study “Annual work hours across physician specialties”, which we used as a source for this ranking, showed that the difference between the specialty which required the longest working hours (vascular surgery) and the one which is the least time consuming (pediatric emergency medicine) is more than 25 hours per week. The study used working hours of family physicians as the basis and compared other specialty with the time family doctors spent in the workplace per year. It found that vascular surgeons spent 888 hours more than their colleagues working in family practice while pediatric emergency doctors work 440 hours less than family physicians.
In revealing working hours for different specialties, the study also shed light on differences in income across specialties. It turns out that there is not a direct correlation between working schedule and wage. For instance, neurosurgery, which is not among five most time-consuming specialties, is the best-paid field with an annual income of $616,626. On the other side, dermatology which is one of the least time consuming is eleventh best-compensated specialty.
Another important conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that workload does not always influence doctors’ feelings of burnout and overall career satisfaction. On this list, you will find physicians who despite significant workload report being satisfied with medicine and specialty they have chosen. However in many cases, there is a direct correlation between career satisfaction and working hours – those working more are less satisfied and vice versa. If you want to find out more about doctors who are the most content you can check our previous list 10 Happiest Medical Specialties with the Most Satisfied Doctors.
In creating the list of 10 doctors and specialists who work the longest hours we relied on the above-mentioned study. Note though that the study ranked “other surgical subspecialties” as fifth most time-consuming field. We did not include it on this list because it refers to more than one field. In addition, we used Medscape physicians compensation report 2016 to present you annual wages. Since Medscape document does not provide information for all specialties included on this list we relied on information found at Doximity, and Pay Scale. We also used Medscape lifestyle report and other sources for information about frequency and levels of burnout that different physicians experience and their career satisfaction. And now let’s see our list of doctors and specialists who work the longest hours.
10. Urology
Hours above family practice: 264
We start today’s list with urologists who work 264 hours more than family doctors per year. Urologists earn $367,000 and only 42% believe this is fair compensation, which makes them the most dissatisfied doctors when it comes to earnings among specialties surveyed by Medscape. Also, urology is the field with highest percentages of doctors who report feeling burnout, but in regard to intensity of burnout, they do not estimate it as high as some other doctors on this list. Finally, urology has the smallest number of female doctors among all fields.
Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com
9. Neurological surgery
Hours above family practice: 270
We are continuing our list of doctors and specialists who work the longest hours with neurological surgeons who work 270 more than their colleagues in family practice. Neurological surgery is also one of the highest paying specialties. According to Neurosurgery market watch it has recorded salary growth over past few years. Different organizations that track income growth in medicine report the increase in varying degrees. For instance, NERVES estimated that neurosurgeons’ salary increased by 3.2% reaching a median wage of $692,000. Surgeons employed in hospitals are best compensated with a median wage of almost $800,000 while their colleagues who work for physicians-owned practices can expect a median salary of $706, 740. There are 3,500 neurosurgeons working in the USA, which means that one surgeon serves the population of 85,542 people.
Herrndorff/Shutterstock.com
8. Obstetrics and gynecology
Hours above family practice: 278
Up next in our list of doctors and specialists who work the longest hours is obstetrics and gynecology that represent the specialty in which there is the greatest number of women. They account for 55% of all doctors who specialized in this field. Obstetrician and gynecologist dedicate 278 hours more to work compared to family doctors. They estimated their burnout at 4.32 on the scale 1 to 7, which is tenth highest point among all specialties. On average, they earn $277,000 annually, and almost half of them think they are fairly compensated.
Serhii Bobyk/Shutterstock.com
7. General surgery
Hours above family practice: 326
General surgeons work 326 hours more than family physicians. They earn $322,000 yearly and many of them, more precisely 54%, think they are not fairly compensated for the work they perform. General surgeons also report lower levels of satisfaction with career – one-third say they would not choose surgery again while more than a half would not recommend the specialty to their children.
6. Medical oncology
Hours above family practice: 340
Oncologists that rank 6th in our list of doctors and specialists who work the longest hours are paid $329,000 yearly on average. Unlike previously mentioned general surgeons, the majority of oncologists (55%) feels fairly compensated. Also, on the scale of overall career satisfaction oncologists rank as second most satisfied specialists. Although less than a half of oncologists feel burnout, those who report work overload estimate their burnout as a very severe. Compared to family physicians they work 340 hours more per year.
Copyright: epstock / 123RF Stock Photo
5. Pulmonary diseases
Hours above family practice: 425
Despite the fact that pulmonary doctors work 425 hours more than family physicians, taking the 5th place among 10 doctors and specialists who work the longest hours, they report experiencing the lowest level of burnout among doctors on this list. They estimate their burnout at 4.31 on the scale 1 to 7. However, the majority of them thinks that they are not fairly compensated for the work they perform. Less than a half of doctors working in pulmonary medicine are satisfied with the salary which averages $281,000 per year. Finally, it should be noted that with 16% of female doctors pulmonary medicine is the specialty with the second lowest percent of women among listed fields. Also, pulmonary medicine is the only specialty in which more than a half of doctors who participated in Medscape survey reported being overweight.
Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com
4. Thoracic surgery
Hours above family practice: 488
Doctors who specialized in the field of thoracic surgery work 488 hours more compared to family physicians. According to Doximity, their salary is $506,607 per year, which is second highest income among specialties included in the site’s survey – only neurosurgeons with the income of $612,000 earn more. Last year the Society of Thoracic Surgeons conducted a survey among lung and heart surgeons which showed that the great majority is satisfied with their career (73% reported being satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied) while half of them would recommend the field to their children. An older survey conducted in 2011 showed that cardiothoracic surgeons face high workload (for instance they reported the highest number of hours in the OR). Despite the high workload, they reported a lower incidence of burnout.
3. Neonatal and perinatal medicine
Hours above family practice: 564
Neonatal and perinatal medicine is a subspecialty within pediatrics. These doctors look after critically ill newborns often working together with other specialists – obstetricians, pediatricians, and family physicians. They spend 564 hours more in the workplace than family doctors per year. Despite the workload, they belong to the group of doctors who are satisfied with their career. Neonatal and perinatal medicine is one of the fields that show that long working hours does not always interfere with job satisfaction, as we explained in the introduction. According to Pay Scale they salary falls into the range from $146,410 to $296,519 per year.
Vivid Pixels/Shutterstock.com
2. Critical care internal medicine
Hours above family practice: 689
Doctors who specialized in critical care, or intensive care medicine work 689 hours more than family doctors per year. The annual salary for critical care doctors is $306,000 and half of them think that the sum is fair compensation for the work they perform. The majority of these specialists (55%) is satisfied with their career and 68% would choose the medicine again. However, less than a half of intensivists (46%) would opt for the same specialty. Critical care medicine is the field with the highest percentage of doctors reporting burnout. Also, these physicians estimate their burnout at 4.74 (on the scale 1 to 7) which is the highest point among all doctors surveyed by Medscape.
Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com
1. Vascular surgery
Hours above family practice: 888
Vascular surgeons occupy the first place on the list of 10 doctors and specialists who work the longest hours. These doctors spent 888 more hours in the workplace compared to family physicians per year. According to Doximity, they can count on an average annual salary of $428,080, which is fifth highest income among included specialties. There are around 3,000 vascular surgeons practicing in the US. Some projections estimate that there will be a shortage of these physicians in the future – around 400 vascular surgeons will lack by 2030. Given the workload they face, it is not a surprise that vascular surgeons experience high levels of burnout and that they belong to the group of doctors who are least satisfied with their career – more than a third would become a surgeon again while 54% would not recommend medicine to their children.
ldutko/Shutterstock.com
