I am confident that most of you, whether a radiology resident or an attending, have felt sick at one time or another. And, most likely, you were unsure about coming to work. Moreover, this decision can become incredibly complex.
Here are some of the issues you probably thought about. Is there adequate coverage? How sick are you? Are you going to be seeing patients for that day? Are you going to be sitting down in isolation for most of the day? Are your reads or your procedures going to be compromised by your illness? What is the group’s culture about taking a sick day? How will it affect your colleagues if you do not show up? Will it prevent you from being promoted? Unfortunately, these difficult questions compound when you cannot think clearly due to illness.
Even more confusing, most of the articles that I have read regarding physicians and sickness are not written directly for the radiologist. Radiologists are a bit different than other hospital or outpatient physicians. Depending upon the day, the rotation, or job description we may or may not have direct patient contact. So, we have to have to think about the question of missing a day of work differently from other physicians.
What about the literature regarding sickness for the general physician? Many articles say not to come to work if you are a sick physician. (1,2) And others are more indeterminate. (3,4) However, the body of research is sparse about whether the ill physician, let alone a radiologist, should come to work. In this post, I will try to address the most common issues that may sway your decision one way or the other.
Continue reading I’m a sick radiologist- Should I come to work?
