Your Own Best Clinical Schedule

Ever find yourself doing "the dreaded list" because your access sucks? Your next available appointment is in 2-3 months, driving you to "fit in" Johnny during mom's appointment, do the fourth thing on the list or squeeze in that post hospital stay patient.

Ever notice you do this EVERY day.

Ever notice how exhausting it is, because every extra thing or extra patient squeezes the rest of today's work (inbox, messages) into your evening AND there are an extraordinarily enormous amount of said messages because your patients can't get in.

Does it feel like a hamster wheel? Or Groundhog Day? In all honesty I didn't love this movie but I knew the sentiment well when clinic felt like this over and over again.

For those of you will full autonomy of your schedule, what if you were brave enough to throw out conventional and write your own best clinical schedule?

I will start with mine and you can hit reply and tell me what you might like to try if ANYTHING was possible about your schedule!

For those of you will no autonomy, that's no excuse! I have had dozens of Physicians inside the Charting Champions Program advocate for an hour of virtual appointments 1-2 times a week that they can put patients in (so they suddenly get paid for emptying that inbox within this hour AND get RVU recognition for this work!!) and advocate for a couple more held appointments each day for the "random" (yet daily 🫣😉😉) squeeze in patients that you always say yes to anyway!

At my clinic we only have maximum of 6 weeks of appointments open ahead of time. That way we can change out the schedule if it's not working for us or our patients ☺️

I start seeing patients at 10am. From 0900-1000 I am emptying inbasket using virtual codes that I have access to where I work (so I am "seeing" patients for this whole hour, just not in person)

I only allow 10-1230 to be booked ahead of time. On Monday morning I open up the afternoon clinics for that week so that I see a great mix of easy/acute and chronic complex.

I give myself 30-45 minutes between morning and afternoon clinic for messages and inbasket.

Yes of course it is not perfect! AND if you look at my "third next available" score it is terrible, but my actual access is great (when I am not away for conferences, ER call, post call etc)

This is how I continue to make clinical medicine sustainable for me. Being flexible, noticing what I do anyway and PLANNING for it!

I would love to hear your ideas! How would you reinvent your clinical day?

What do you notice you ALWAYS do that is having an impact on your sustainability of clinical medicine?

If you are just stuck, lost for ideas, drowning in patient demands and want access to the best tools, support and program the click here and come join us inside the programs, we would love to help you ☺️❤️