Medical dramas have graced our television screens and captured our attention for decades. While glamorous and entertaining, these shows often fail to accurately depict the day to day lives of real life doctors. What’s more, they fail to showcase the doctors you’re most likely to interact with, like pediatricians, dentists, or primary care physicians.
Becoming a doctor takes hard work, but being a doctor is even harder. Their work week typically averages out at around 59.6 hours—one study cites that if a doctor finished their residency at age 29, they’ll spend the next 36 years working one and a half time more than other professionals. Plus, since most primary care physicians have relationships with their local hospital, being on call for an emergency can extend their workday exponentially.
If you’re interested in becoming a physician, it’s important to understand the realities of the role. Here’s what a typical day looks like for a primary care physician:
Morning:
Primary care physicians typically start their day by visiting their patients who have been hospitalized. As mentioned above, most doctors work alongside or within the same network as a hospital—some even work with multiple. Primary care physicians will meet with their patient’s hospital doctor to discuss treatments and relevant medical history.
Afternoon:
After visiting and managing patients at the hospital, physicians conduct their office hours. This is when they see scheduled patients to diagnose and treat colds, infections, and other illnesses, as well as prescribe medications and execute referrals. Office hours typically last anywhere between six to ten hours per day, with the varying times dependent on interruptions and emergencies. Throughout the course of the day, physician’s appointment and schedule is regularly interrupted by calls from hospital physicians, in addition to insurance companies and pharmacies.
Evening:
Once office hours are concluded, many doctors will perform “call-backs.” This scheduled time can limit the amount of phone call interruptions during office hours and give a physician more time to spend answering patient questions about sick family members, symptoms, or lab work.
At the end of the day, after an average of 10 hours on the clock, doctors are finally free to hang up their lab coats—but only sort of. A lot of doctors, if they have ties to a hospital, are on call for emergencies that may pop up at night. A relaxing night at home may be interrupted by a call from the hospital. As such, physicians must always be prepared, relatively well rested, and healthy given their demanding lifestyle.