SEVEN-ON/SEVEN-OFF scheduling has been a staple of hospital medicine for more than 20 years. While that scheduling model is still the most common, it’s definitely more popular among certain types of hospitalists (think younger physicians). It is also more popular among certain employer types and regions of the country than in others.
Here are data from the 2022 Today’s Hospitalist Compensation & Career Survey that look at the types of shifts that hospitalists work.
Who works seven-on/seven-off?
Just over 50% of adult hospitalists say they work seven-on/seven-off. Among hospitalists working 14 to 16 shifts a month, seven-on/seven-off is even more common, with a whopping 68% of those physicians working that schedule.
Seven-on/seven-off is also more popular among nonacademic hospitalists (55%) than among their academic colleagues (44%). It’s least popular at local hospitalist groups (44%) but very popular at national hospitalist management companies (61%).
Seven-on/seven-off is definitely a thing among hospitalists who treat only adults; among pediatric hospitalists, only 25% work that schedule. Nearly two-thirds of pediatric hospitalists (72%) say they work another type of daytime schedule.
Seven-on/seven-off is also more common among male hospitalists (53%) than females (43%). And it’s less common among hospitalists who have been in the field for the longest. While 65% of hospitalists on the job for two years or less work seven-on/seven-off, that percentage drops to 48% for those who’ve spent between 10 and 14 years in hospital medicine and 40% for hospitalists with 15 to 19 years of experience.
What type of shifts do hospitalists according to employer type?
How does where hospitalists work affect shifts?
For updated survey data, see results from Today’s Hospitalist’s 2023 Compensation and Career Survey.
