1. Leaving Home Ann Evensen, MD, FAAFP
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
September 11, 2009

2. Goals Introduce and explore components of an ideal leave plan
Start your own leave plan by
Considering your future practice
Brainstorming options
Creating to do list

3. Reasons to “leave home”
Sabbatical
Illness
Childbearing
Adoption
Armed services
Burn out

4. Why not slip out the back door?

5. Why not sneak out the back door?
Protect hospital privileges
Increase patient safety
Improve patient satisfaction
Preserve workplace relationships

6. Be safe!
Know your goals
Know your options
Make a plan

7. An ideal plan 1) Learn the rules 2) Arrange coverage
3) Make the announcement
4) Manage in boxes
5) Protect privileges
6) Reorient

8. Know the rules Leave classification Paycheck Benefits Advance warning
FMLA

9. Clinic and call coverage
Ask early
Keep records
Be creative
Have reasonable expectations
Consider your
support staff

10. Hand-offs are risky Develop procedures Inform all players
Empower patients

11. Notify patients Honor patients’ desire to choose their physician
Allows time to develop individual care plans for complex patients
Nursing home patients
Obstetric patients
Frequent flyers

12. Prepare patients and partners
Arrange phone calls, office visits or med refills
Schedule realistically
Longer appointment times
No new patients
More administrative time

13. Notify others
Labs, emergency department, med records, medical staff office, referral phone centers, nursing homes
No USPS forwarding after 60 days

14. Where are all of your mailboxes?
Close
Forward
Monitor

15. Protect hospital privileges
What do you want to do when you grow up?
Protecting active privileges is easier than getting new privileges.
Talk to your hospital medical staff office.

16. Unique responsibilities
Give them up
Reschedule
Find a substitute

17. Prepare for return to practice
Emotions
Retraining
Limitations
Scheduling

18. Reorientation Job tasks (scrubs, doors, pager, email)
Hospital operations
Clinic operations
Paycheck and benefits
Advertising

19. Unplanned leave Delegate these tasks
Prioritize patient safety and protecting privileges

20. Planning for the inevitable
Leave plan that can be put into quick action for
An individual (spouse’s health is deteriorating, high risk pregnancy)
An organization (generic leave plan that can be activated for unplanned leaves)

21. Create your own plan

22. Take Home Message Taking time off is ok!
Leaves of absence are possible with planning and negotiation.
Be creative!
Protect yourself and your patients.
Don’t forget to say thank you to those who made it possible for you to go.

23. Thank you