How U.S. radiologists use their professional time: factors that affect work activity and retirement plans

To determine what demographic, professional, and practice characteristics are related to the amount of time radiologists work per week, to their allocation of time among professional activities, and to their plans for retirement.

The American College of Radiology surveyed 2,804 radiologists and nuclear medicine specialists. Means and percentiles were calculated for the radiologists' number of hours and days worked per week, number of weeks away, percentage allocation of time, and retirement intentions. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed.

Full-time, post-training radiologists worked a mean of 50 hours per week. Radiologists spent 2 weeks on professional education and 4.4 weeks on vacation each year. On average, 68% of professional time was spent on hospital patient care; 18%, on office patient care; 7%, on teaching and research; and 5% on administration. Forty-one percent of radiologists planned to eventually work part-time; 47% intended to retire fully.

These data will provide an important baseline for modeling the future size of the radiologist workforce and for assessing changes in the ways radiologists use their time and plan their futures.