How many hours do doctors work?
Doctors clock long hours on the job – about 20% more than the average Canadian, according to 2021 data published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). That year, which was during the COVID-19 pandemic, health workers logged 18 million hours of overtime, with more than a third of family doctors regularly working longer hours. But heavy workloads, piles of paperwork and rising burnout are forcing many doctors to dial back their hours.
Which doctors work the most hours?
Besides taking care of patients, doctors also spend a chunk of their time each week on admin tasks like answering emails, writing prescriptions, ordering tests and completing forms for benefits, insurance claims, disability credits and other areas. They may also have teaching, research, meetings and leadership duties eating into their time.
- Your average family doctor or GP (general practitioner) puts in 51.8 hours a week, with more than 10 hours a week dedicated to admin and nearly five to other duties.
- Specialists work an average 53.4 hours a week, with 8.8 hours spent on admin tasks and 8.3 hours on other duties.
- Surgeons work an average 61.6 hours a week, juggling 8.7 hours of admin and 6.5 hours of other duties.
How have doctors’ work hours changed?
Doctors have been scaling back their hours over the past three decades in search of better work-life balance.
- Burnout from increasing demands on doctors plays a role. More than half of doctors report high levels of burnout, with women, newer doctors and family doctors appearing to be hit the hardest.
- Almost half of doctors, residents and medical students surveyed by the CMA in 2021 said they were thinking of reducing or changing their work hours.
Let’s talk solutions
What experts are saying:
Everyone is entitled to a healthy work-life balance, including doctors. Experts say there are ways to support doctors in that effort:
- Expanding team-based primary care to help them focus on the work they do best and ensure patients are getting the right care at the right time.
- Cutting down on their administrative burden and paperwork.
- Implementing work-life balance initiatives, like flexible scheduling and access to mental health resources, can decrease burnout levels.
- Expanding their ability to work in different provinces and territories so they can find temporary replacements for leaves of absence.
Where’d we get this information?
- Research on physician work hours published in CMAJ
- CMA’s 2021 National Physician Health Survey
