Many anesthesiologists would like to work part-time for various personal, financial, or other reasons. Many private anesthesia groups have no system in place for part-time practice to occur. The following list indicates some of the questions that arise when this topic is discussed. ; What is the minimum work level required of a part-time practitioner to remain competent? (For example, 1 or 2 days a week?) ; Is the part time clinician assigned more simple cases and fewer complex cases? If so, how does this impact his or her ability to take call? ; Is the clinical competence of a part-time practitioner reduced because he or she is part time? Even more fundamentally, how is competence in patient care defined? How is competence affected by what the part-timer does (eg, research, administration, stay at home with family) when not working clinically? ; How is the frequency of overnight call and in-house call distributed to the part-time person? ; How are health and retirements benefits apportioned to the part-time practitioner? ; Who qualifies in a group for part-time practice and why? ; Is there a limit on how long one can be on such a part-time track? How long can one take a break from practice before needing to consider some type of re-training? ; How many group members can be on the part-time track simultaneously? Does age matter? ; Surprisingly little is known about these issues. The goals of this article are to review the economic, quality, and safety issues surrounding part-time clinical anesthesia practice. Anesthesia groups need to be aware of the range of attitudes in the workplace regarding the increasing fraction of the anesthesia workforce that is part-time. Variability in how part-time practice is viewed affects issues such as perceived competence, job satisfaction, scheduling, and compensation of the part-time practitioner.
Anesthesiology Clinics Vol. 26, Issue 4, p. 707-727