Letters to the Editor - Jan. 23, 2012

If lack of sleep is ill-advised, apply that standard to residents, too

There is a lot of controversy over reduction in resident duty hours. We as doctors always advise others about necessity of minimum sleep hours. We tend to forget all this advice when it comes to residents.

I have yet to see anybody who can work tirelessly for a whole 24 hours and be active and alert. Learning is a lifelong process, and health care involves teamwork.

No one can do anything all alone.

--Paramjit Singh, MD, Lancaster, Calif.

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Encore careers offer doctors a world entirely apart from medical realm

Regarding "Jumping to a nonclinical career" (Article, Nov. 7, 2011): Your article fails to make the important distinction between nonclinical and encore careers. Nonclinical jobs typically revolve around health care administration and information technology; they are usually found in health systems, government and industry (e.g., health insurance and pharmaceutical industries).

Encore careers, on the other hand, satisfy lifelong interests and passions unrelated to medicine; they appeal to mid- and late-career physicians as they search for a deeper meaning to life and focus on what matters most to them. People often pursue encore careers in lieu of retirement.

Physicians with encore careers still may choose to practice part time, but they can now claim a freedom to work rather than a freedom from work.

--Arthur Lazarus, MD, Chadds Ford, Pa.

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