OLDER PEDIATRICIANS WORK PART-TIME TOO William L. Cull, Holly J. Mulvey, Gretchen L. Caspary, Avrum L. Katcher.. American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL; AAP Section for Senior Members, Elk Grove Village, IL.  Presented at the 2007 Pediatric Academic Societies' Annual Meeting.

Background: There has been a rise in the number of pediatricians working part-time with especially strong interest in part-time work among younger female pediatricians.

Objective: Examine interest in part-time or reduced hours positions among pediatricians over the age of 50 and whether gender is related to part-time work for this group.

Design/Methods: The AAP collaborated with the AAMC, AMA, and 7 other specialty organizations to field a cross-sectional survey on work patterns for physicians > 50 years. The survey was sent to 1600 pediatricians. Following 3 mailings, 1158 (72%) pediatricians responded. This abstract focuses on part-time work arrangements and tapering of work hours. Gender was the primary predictor variable.

Results: Different patterns of self-reported part-time work emerged for men (74% of respondents) and women (26% of respondents) across different age groups. As men got older, they were much more likely to work part-time (50-59 years, 4%; 60-69 years, 21%; 70 and older, 28%, p <.001). In contrast, women showed consistent rates of part-time work across age groups (50-59 years, 18%; 60-69 years, 21%; 70 and older, 24%, p = .628). Women working part-time reported working more total hours per week on average than did men (25 hours vs 20 hours, p = .016). No difference in mean work hours was apparent between men and women working full time (53 hours vs 52 hours, p = .583). Of those who had already retired, women were less likely to report that they had tapered their work hours prior to retirement (40% vs 54%, p = .031). Women were more likely to have worked part-time at any time during their career (59% vs 43%, p = .018), and 76% of the women versus 21% of the men who worked part-time reported that they used their non-working time to care for children or other family members (p < .001). Women who ever worked part-time did so for a longer time than men (8.5 years vs 4.7 years, p < .001). Of the over-50 pediatricians currently working full-time, a majority of both women and men reported that they are considering part-time for the future (60% vs 56%, p = .368).

Conclusions: Pediatricians over 50 are interested in part-time work. Unlike other age groups, men over 50 are as likely as women to work or to be interested in working part-time. This largely unrecognized group of part-timers is contributing to the rise in part-time work within pediatrics.