French general practitioners work an average of 54 hours a week, according to a new survey by Drees.
Private general practitioners report working an average of 54 hours during an ordinary working week, according to a DREES investigation carried out with 3,300 practitioners.
Consultations that last an average of 18 minutes
About a third say they exercise less than 50 hours per week and a quarter 60 hours or more. A longer duration in men than in women and, in general, in practitioners aged over 50. “The average length of weekly working time has remained almost stable since 2014, after a drop between 2011 and 2014”, indicates the survey.
They spend 44 hours and 30 minutes with patients, with in-office consultations lasting an average of 18 minutes. Private general practitioners devote an average of 5 hours and 30 minutes per week to management and coordination tasks and 2 hours to updating knowledge.
6 weeks vacation per year
“This liberal time which is not devoted directly to patients is fairly constant, regardless of the profile of the general practitioner. The average time spent with patients varies more, depending on the age of the practitioner (41 hours and 30 minutes for those under 50, compared to almost 46 hours for those over 50). Women spend 41 hours with their patients, men 46 hours and 30 minutes”, specify the authors of the study. In addition, 2 hours per week on average are dedicated to other activities, such as shifts to the hospital or work in nursing homes, for example.
In 2017, general practitioners took an average of 6.2 weeks of vacation. Ultimately, 60% of general practitioners state that their working hours adapt well to their private life, despite the fact that they greatly exceed 35 hours. “All other things being equal, this favorable assessment of his working hours is all the more frequent when the weekly volume of work is low and when the doctor is 60 years old or over,” note the statisticians.
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