Should You Work 4 or 5 Days Per Week as a Physician Assistant?

Consider this my latest dilemma and a hot topic of conversation in my household for the past few weeks. During my first physician assistant job, I worked both 4-day weeks at one point and 3-day weeks (12-hour shifts). When I was hired for my second and current dermatology physician assistant job I was given the option to work either 4 or 5 days per week. Since my contract includes a base salary plus a percentage based on collections, I quickly made the decision to work 5 days per week. This is because, at the time of the decision, I needed to save as much money as possible for my upcoming wedding.

Now that my wedding has come and gone my new focus has been paying off my student loans. However, with staffing shortages and long commutes, I have been questioning my decision of a 5-day work week. In the past, whenever I have had a dilemma or big decision in my life I have always defaulted to making my trustworthy pro and con list. This is something I would normally privately journal. However, I am going to share my internal debate for when this question comes up for someone else.

Benefits of a 5-day work week as a physician assistant

More money

If you see more patients then you make more money if you are receiving a percentage based on collected revenue like I am. This is obviously the biggest positive to working 5 days a week. I am very motivated to pay off my student loans as soon as possible. As I am writing this, there is still a pause on student loan interest due to COVID-19. If I can pay off my loans or at least most of them prior to interest restarting then I will save myself a lot of money. I have considered continuing with 5 days a week until my loans are paid off. However, that could take another 8-12 months.

As a new physician assistant, the more patients you see the more opportunity you have to learn

I have only been out of school for less than 3 years. I am definitely still considered a new graduate at least in my mind. This means I still have a lot to learn. A lot of my work has become routine but I still see new things every once in a while. If I go down to 4 days per week this early in my career how many learning opportunities will I miss out on? I know the more you can learn at the beginning stages of your career the more it will compound with time and experience.

When you are starting at a new practice, working 5 days a week gives the office more availability to schedule patients with you. This can help build your patient following at a faster rate

Along with a faster rate of learning when you see more patients, you also gain devoted patients at a faster rate if you allow more opportunities to see them. This is very important for a provider that is new to a dermatology practice. This is because a common salary structure for dermatology physician assistants includes compensation based on a percentage of collections.

More regulated sleep schedule and guaranteed activity

If you are anything like me, you thrive in routine. If I take a day off during the week I know I will likely sleep in and not be as active. This will likely decrease my overall activity level for the week. If I am working 5 days a week, I am going to bed early and waking up early every day. Research has shown a regular sleep schedule is beneficial to your overall health.

Benefits of a 4-day work week as a physician assistant

A day off to relax and energize yourself

I may mess up my sleep schedule. However, extra sleep would probably give me more energy for the rest of the week. Ideally, I would take Wednesdays off. I know currently my Thursdays and Fridays I am starting to drag a little and ready for the weekend to get there already. If I have a day off in the middle of the week then Thursdays and Fridays would become another Monday and Tuesday.

A day you can run errands or go to appointments where normally you would have to request off

When you work 5 days a week scheduling a medical appointment for yourself or running an errand during business hours requires you to ask for time off. If I had a day off during the week I would never have to worry about this again. I would always schedule my appointments and run my errands on my scheduled weekday off.

A day off to focus on other interests or side hustles such as this blog 🙂

A huge benefit of lessening my current work schedule is freeing up time to pursue other interests and dabble in side hustles. I simply enjoy blogging and a day off during the week would allow me to do a lot more of it. Currently, my Sundays are for blogging, but if I can do it during a weekday off then I can spend more of my weekend spending quality time with my husband and our dog.

Fewer patients mean fewer phone calls and tasks that need to be done

Think about it, when you are working 5 days a week and seeing that many patients you are also receiving more phone calls regarding said patients. If you see fewer patients throughout the week then you’ll have less busy work to do. Also, if you ever got super behind with tasks you could always work on your day off to catch up.

What decision would you make?

I don’t currently have children and I am still young. Part of me thinks it makes more sense to work harder now so that I can take more time off later in life when I have more money saved. The other part of me is begging me to take a day off so I don’t get burnt out. I love my job but sometimes it is a lot, especially on days when I am seeing 40-plus patients, and keep in mind that we are understaffed. I would love to hear advice from practicing physician assistants on what they would do in my situation or if there is another factor to consider before I make a decision.