Preparation before taking time off
- Review departmental guidelines for time away per your department, obtain appropriate approvals, and notify your PTA Creator per policy.
- Make sure that there is a clear back-up coverage plan for any patient, teaching, and research needs.
- Discuss anything that you expect might happen.
- Determine coverage for message baskets and prescription refills.
- Empower those covering to handle issues and clarify if there is a situation when you would like to be called.
- Utilize a buffer day as part of your scheduled time off to prepare for being gone so you are caught up and can enjoy your time off.
- Plan of time to ensure that eStar in-basket is cleared, and lab results are attended to.
- Limit optional meetings, paper reviews, and projects during the week prior to vacation.
- Inform patients at risk when you will be out and the coverage plan. Patients always understand and respect time off.
- Block clinic slots for the week after I return from vacation so that staff have somewhere to schedule patients who call in with urgent concerns while I'm away.
- Set your out-of-office email that clearly states that e-mails will not be answered until back from vacation and direct clinical or administrative questions to designated people.
- If you are bold, for internal email, you can leave an out-of-office message asking the sender to re-send more urgent messages the day before return and that non-urgent e-mails may be deleted. Much of the downside of vacation is tending to e-mail and messages that accumulate when one is away.
During your time off
- Remember, you are not that important - everything will function without you. Keep in mind that one day it will have to. You can think of vacation as a test of the system.
- Detach and enjoy but make time to quiet and recharge your mind.
- Be intentional about whether you check email or take calls. You may choose to review emails daily while away but rarely respond, as they tend to multiply if folks know you are available. If necessary, you may briefly respond. Try not to get on eStar/Epic while away. It will be there when you return.
- To the extent possible, unplug and disconnect entirely from your work environment. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It requires some personal resolve to detach from your email and cell phone.
- Plan your next vacation before you return to work
Re-entry upon return from time off:
- As part of your time off, schedule re-entry time for catching up on emails, responding to Epic messages, dealing with office "crisis", and prepare for work week ahead.
- After you return, thank the people that covered for you!
- Check in with covering physician, review charts, return messages in a timely fashion
- Minimize meetings/extraneous work the week after return from vacation to set aside time to review clinic work and emails
