Older physicians trim hours in lieu of retiring

Experts say this trend among doctors 50 and older could ease the impact of physician shortages.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. March 17, 2008.

Internist Randol Barker, MD, looks forward to long weekends, which start on Friday with a day devoted to caring for his 9-month-old twin grandchildren.

When he was younger, Dr. Barker didn't have the luxury of taking a regular day off to spend with his own children. He remembers many nights when his three daughters were in bed by the time he got home.

"It was far too many nights," said Dr. Barker, 68. "It leaves you feeling hijacked from the pleasure of family life."

Later in his career, he made changes that gave him more family time. In 2005, he stepped down as co-director of the general internal medicine division at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and made the leap to "limited full time" at Hopkins.

Today, Dr. Barker fits his clinical and teaching responsibilities into three 12-hour days. That allows him to maintain his passions: treating his long-time patients; running the Hopkins faculty development program for clinical teachers; and overseeing 40 residents in clinic.

The adjusted schedule frees him up for four-day weekends and his weekly baby-sitting gig.

"It's that Goldilocks feeling," he said, adding that life seems just right these days.

Dr. Barker is among doctors 50 and older who are seeking a better balance between their personal and professional lives.

According to 2006 research from the Assn. of American Medical Colleges' Center for Workforce Studies, 21% of physicians older than 50 worked part time and another 46% were considering going part time or would like to, but it was not an option in their practice.