HOW US RADIOLOGISTS USE THEIR PROFESSIONAL TIME - FACTORS THAT AFFECTWORK ACTIVITY AND RETIREMENT PLANS

PURPOSE: To determine what demographic, professional, and practice cha racteristics are related to the amount of time radiologists work per w eek, to their allocation of time among professional activities, and to their plans far retirement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The American Colle ge of Radiology surveyed 2,804 radiologists and nuclear medicine speci alists. Means and percentiles were calculated for the radiologists' nu mber of hours and days worked per week, number of weeks away, percenta ge allocation of time, and retirement intentions. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: full-time, post- training radiologists worked a mean of 50 hours per week. Radiologists spent 2 weeks on professional education and 4.4 weeks on vacation eac h year. On average, 68% of professional time was spent on hospital pat ient care; 18%, on office patient care; 7%, on teaching and research; and 5%, on administration. Forty-one percent of radiologists planned t o eventually work parttime; 47% intended to retire fully. CONCLUSION: These data will provide an important baseline for modeling the future size of the radiologist workforce and for assessing changes in the way s radiologists use their time and plan their futures.