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What do palliative medicine consultants do?
W Makin1, I G Finlay, B Amesbury
1Department of Clinical Oncology, Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK.
Insights
Palliative medicine consultants work a median of 49.5 hours weekly, similar to other specialties. Their on-call rota is more frequent, impacting workload balance in this crucial medical field.
Area of Science:
- Medical Workload Studies
- Palliative Care Research
- Physician Activity Analysis
Background:
- Palliative medicine is a growing specialty requiring dedicated consultant time.
- Understanding consultant workload is essential for service planning and physician well-being.
- Previous workload data for palliative medicine consultants is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the weekly working hours of palliative medicine consultants.
- To compare the workload of palliative medicine consultants with other medical specialties.
- To analyze the distribution of direct and indirect clinical time.
Main Methods:
- A task inventory questionnaire was distributed to consultant members of the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Data on weekly working hours, excluding on-call and breaks, were collected.
- On-call rota frequency and clinical time (direct and indirect) were recorded.
Main Results:
- Palliative medicine consultants reported a median of 49.5 working hours per week (mean 51.3).
- The median on-call rota was 1:3, which is more frequent than the 1:6 median in other specialties.
- Median direct clinical hours were 22.5, and indirect clinical hours were 4.5 per week.
Conclusions:
- Palliative medicine consultants' working hours are comparable to those in other specialties.
- The more frequent on-call rota in palliative medicine warrants further investigation regarding workload impact.
- Future studies are planned to continuously monitor consultant activity and workload patterns.
Abstract:
A workload study of consultants in palliative medicine was carried out, in which a task inventory questionnaire was sent to the consultant members of the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland. The median number of hours per week worked by a palliative medicine consultant was 49.5 (mean 51.3), excluding time on-call and breaks. The median consultant first on-call roat is 1:3. Palliative medicine consultants work a median of 22.5 direct clinical and 4.5 indirect clinical hours per week. This is very similar to the hours worked by consultants in other specialties who work an average 51.3 h per week, but with a median on-call rota of 1:6. Further studies are planned to monitor the patterns of consultant activity and workload in this specialty.