You Deserve a Real Vacation—Here is How to Make It Happen

Many physician coaching clients have shared with me that they work during their vacation. Some even take vacations just to catch up with their work. The endless charting, the constantly refilling inbox and other administrative work – many physicians are having a hard time catching up, despite working extra hours in the evenings and on the weekends.

Vacation has become a luxury. It has also become an opportunity to “borrow” time to catch up with work. If you willingly choose to do some work during your vacation because you enjoy it, that is a different story. However, if you are working during your supposedly time off because you feel obligated, or because you see no other way – we are going to explore strategies to make this your last working vacation.

First, prioritize. Most of us have different roles in life. We work. When we are home, our roles may include being a parent, a spouse, a caretaker for a parent, or all of the above. It is important to realize what our capacity of work is, and what our limits are. It is essential for us to be ourselves on top of our own priority list. We often forget or ignore to take good care of ourselves. Without good health, physically and emotionally, we cannot do our best job in any aspect of our lives.

When you have extra hours of work to do after your regular clinical day, the next best solution seems to be stealing time from any type of breaks or rest, either sleeping time or vacation time, to catch up. Realize that adequate sleep is important to enhance your focus and decrease the likelihood of being affected by distractions. Adequate sleep is an essential step to ensure your efficiency. A vacation is a longer period of rest. It is vital for us to have periodic vacation time to refresh and recharge. Prioritization is to put yourself first and to remind yourself that you need rest.

Second, prepare. It may seem impossible to have a true time off, when you have mounds of work to do. Maybe the best solution for you, in this season, is to take time off and catch up with all your work. This way, when you return to work, you are starting fresh. You start with no incomplete charts, no pending inbox tasks. Prepare your mind by telling yourself that this is your last work vacation. This is your last time to take days off just to catch up with unfinished work. If you do not prepare your mind and have that determination, you will work during your time off again and again.

Besides preparing your mind, prepare what you can for work. For example, if you are in the outpatient setting, review the schedule at least a day in advance. Is there anything you want to read up on for a patient’s diagnosis? Do you have a concrete plan for a patient who has a new diagnosis? This is very helpful in oncology, for example. If a new patient is going to see you about a rare diagnosis, you will have time to review the data and do your research to come up with a plan. By the time you see the patient, you already know what and how to discuss the diagnosis and treatment options. Some physicians, depending on what electronic medical record program they are using, may pre-chart their notes. I personally do not like to do this because I prefer to start my documentation (and finish) on the same day.

The preparation part also includes preparing for your skillset. Medical knowledge is of course important. Technology is also very important. Know how to use your EMR to your advantage. Find out as many ways as possible to automate or to use the built-in shortcuts.

The last step to say goodbye to unwillingly working during your vacation is to plan. With prioritizing and preparing, you have to plan every day. Plan with having an uninterrupted vacation in mind. Plan to finish all your work before your vacation starts. Hand off any pending test results to follow up to your colleague. As part of the planning process, learn how to be more efficient so you can finish your work sooner. As always, do not hesitate to ask for help.  If you have a difficult time to be more efficient than you are now, it does not mean you have to stay where you are.

It is possible to have a work-free vacation because you have taken care of it before going away. Prioritize yourself, your well-being. Prioritize your rest time, for both sleeping and any breaks. Prepare as much as you can so your clinic day can run smoothly. Come up with a plan to finish your work before your vacation and who is covering you during your time off. You deserve the time away from work. It is necessary to have some time away from work completely. You will come back more refreshed and recharged to face more challenges.