• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

The Importance of Time Away

by Robin W. Lindsay, MD • July 8, 2025

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

I was tempted to write this month on the new legislation regarding prior authorization reform or on the obligation to treat patients who threaten physicians with physical violence. Then I remembered that this was the July editorial and decided to focus instead on physician wellness and the importance of taking some time off away from work to recharge, refocus, connect with friends and family outside of work, and focus on self-care. More on the other topics over the next few months.

You Might Also Like

  • Universal Electronic Health Records: Progress or Boondoggle?
  • EHR Contracts Done Right: Get the most out of the government’s new adoption incentives
  • The Future of Email In Physician Communication
  • Ethical Implications of Burnout in Residents
Explore This Issue
July 2025

I don’t think I am alone in fighting the urge to check email or the electronic health record (EHR) while on vacation or using vacation time to work on projects that don’t always fit into a busy work week. Many years ago, I wrote my Triological thesis while on vacation, a fact that I am a little embarrassed to admit now, but at the time it provided the quiet time needed when my kids were little. Life is about personal growth and finding out what works for you, after all.

Dr. Christine Sinsky and her co-authors write in their article (JAMA Netw Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.51635) that physicians often have a very developed sense of mission, making it very difficult for us to take time away. Physicians face the dilemma of feeling like they are burdening their partners or abandoning their patients when they are away. The authors surveyed more than 3,000 physicians and found that having three weeks or more of vacation a year and having full EHR coverage while on vacation significantly decreased burnout. Even 30 minutes of EHR use while on vacation increased the risks of burnout. Clinical coverage and financial concerns were other common causes of not taking a vacation among the physicians surveyed.

I am tremendously fortunate to have worked with the same physician assistant for the past 12 years, whom I trust to care for our patients when I am away. I know that when I am away, my patients are in very competent and compassionate hands. The value of this to me and my family is immeasurable, as it allows me to relax and be more present when away. I know that if she does need me, then she will call or text, and if she doesn’t, then all is well. Despite this, I still struggle with not checking my email a few times a day. We have all experienced how one email, even one that is not that urgent, can derail hours of being present.

Organizational systems that promote time away as a cultural norm and facilitate physicians being able to take time off with less guilt by having systems in place for EHR and clinical coverage go a long way in decreasing burnout. Additionally, small administrative changes, such as making call schedules, especially holiday schedules, many months in advance, decrease stress and allow faculty to plan time away. Leaders discussing the value of vacations and “email holidays” can shift the cultural mindset.

In her book The Joy of Strategy, Allison Rimm writes that happiness is fundamental and stresses the importance of having a strategy for life that aligns with what is most important to you. She also discusses the importance of building a reservoir of joy and how having this reservoir of joy helps us to be more resilient. We all find joy in different ways. I hope that this summer you find time to do the things that bring you joy.   

—Robin

Filed Under: Home Slider, Letter From the Editor Tagged With: physician wellness, Self-CareIssue: July 2025

You Might Also Like:

  • Universal Electronic Health Records: Progress or Boondoggle?
  • EHR Contracts Done Right: Get the most out of the government’s new adoption incentives
  • The Future of Email In Physician Communication
  • Ethical Implications of Burnout in Residents

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Do you use AI-powered scribes for documentation?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Keeping Watch for Skin Cancers on the Head and Neck

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Excitement Around Gene Therapy for Hearing Restoration

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • The Importance of Time Away
    • Endoscopic Ear Surgery: Advancements and Adoption Challenges 
    • Reflections from a Past President of the Triological Society
    • ENT Surgeons Explore the Benefits and Challenges of AI-Powered Scribes: Revolutionizing Documentation in Healthcare
    • How To: Open Expansion Laryngoplasty for Combined Glottic and Subglottic Stenosis

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939