Discover how becoming a part-time physician can reduce burnout, improve work-life balance, and create more freedom without waiting for retirement.
When was the last time you looked at your weekly schedule and found excess time and space? I bet for many of you, it’s been years, if not decades, since you felt you had enough time.
As most of you know, this past year brought significant changes to my life. I’ve been working part-time clinically since November, and it’s difficult to overstate the transformation I’m witnessing.
Take something as simple as planning a vacation. I can schedule trips when they work for my family, not when the call schedule permits. We fly on Tuesdays, book off-season when destinations are quieter, and save thousands in the process. No more Saturday-to-Saturday vacations dictated by coverage needs.
But these are surface benefits. The profound changes live deeper.
When I’m home, I’m actually home. Present with Wes. Not checking my phone for schedule changes that aren’t coming. Julie and I take Wednesday lunch dates. We cross-country ski up to Tumalo Falls on a random Tuesday morning because the snow is perfect and we can.
I finally finished Anna Karenina after three abandoned attempts. I craft time for deep work, the kind that requires two to four uninterrupted hours, and still have space for recovery. For play.
If this sounds simple, that’s because it is. And that’s precisely the point.
The Paradox of the Part-Time Physician
Here’s what surprised me most: I love being a physician again.
After years of feeling trapped by medicine, working part-time has rekindled something I thought was permanently extinguished. When you’re in the OR by choice rather than obligation, everything shifts. The cases become interesting again. The colleagues become friends rather than shift partners. The work becomes meaningful rather than mandatory.
I’ve become an evangelist for part-time work, especially for mid-career physicians teetering on the edge of burnout. It’s not just about extending your career; it’s about remembering why you chose this profession before it chose you.
Three Lessons from the Other Side
First, accept your current state without judgment.
Are you overworked? Does your schedule feel like it’s been hijacked by other people’s priorities? Do you catch yourself thinking, “Is this it”?
You’re not alone. Every professional I work with has an overstuffed life. But here’s the heretical truth: Most of what’s on your schedule doesn’t actually need to be there.
I know, if you don’t do that Very Important Thing, it won’t get done! That may be true. But when did you last ask: “What actually happens if this doesn’t get done?”
Oliver Burkeman taught me this in 4000 Weeks: We overfill our lives not because we must, but because we’re avoiding two uncomfortable truths: we’re finite beings, and we’re not as essential as we believe.
Second, reimagine your trajectory.
The traditional path says work full-time until 65, then retire cold turkey. The FIRE movement says save aggressively and escape at 45.
But there’s a third way gaining traction among physicians: Coast FIRE combined with part-time work. You don’t need to accumulate as much. Your investments compound while you continue earning. Most importantly, you maintain professional identity and purpose while creating space for life to happen.
You get to rediscover interests buried during residency. Build friendships that aren’t based on call schedules. Find out who you are when you’re not exhausted.
Third, give yourself grace in the timeline.
I first fantasized about part-time work four years ago. It took two years to find the courage to discuss it with Julie and my partners. Then another two years waiting for appropriate staffing.
This isn’t a decision you make over a weekend. Start planting seeds now, emotional and financial, even if implementation feels years away.
Your Financial Homework
For those ready to explore this path:
Early-career physicians: You’re in the accumulation phase, but don’t wait until you’re 50 to consider alternatives. Start modeling what Coast FIRE looks like for your specialty. How much do you need invested by 45 to work half-time after that? The number is smaller than you think.
Mid-career physicians: You might be closer than you realize. Run the numbers on your current portfolio. What would working 60% look like financially? 40%? Many of my clients discover they passed the “enough” point two years ago but never noticed because they didn’t know it was even a possibility.
Everyone: This week, identify three things on your schedule that feel obligatory but aren’t contractual. Pick one. Say no. See what happens.
The Question Worth Asking
Here’s what I’m really wondering as I write this from my home office on a Monday morning, watching the snow fall on the Cascades while my partners are in pre-op:
What would change if you gave yourself permission to want less medicine and more life?
Not in some distant retirement future. Not after the kids graduate. Not when you finally have “enough.”
Now. While you still have energy to build something new. While your kids still want to ski with you. While there’s time to become who you might have been if medical training hadn’t consumed your twenties and thirties.
The first Monday without call isn’t about the freedom from obligation.
It’s about the freedom to choose your obligations.
Let me know how I can support you in building your ideal life, not someday, but today.
