Eyeworld

AUG 2019

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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68 | EYEWORLD | AUGUST 2019 I N THE PRACTICE by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer "A few years ago, my colleagues would ad- vise me to go away and leave my smartphone at home. I think nowadays, that's unrealistic. Most questions and inquiries now come by email rather than phone, so they can be dealt with at a time to suit the doctor," Dr. Gerlis said, ex- plaining that he dedicates 30 minutes to an hour each day he's on vacation to addressing emails. "This may simply involve forwarding them to a colleague or to an administrator to deal with them. "I prefer taking vacations now [compared] to the old days when I would return from a 2-week break to find a pile of letters, some of which may be quite urgent, to greet me," Dr. Gerlis continued. "This was actually quite stressful, and being able to deal with matters on the move enables one to return to work in a good mood and get on with the important things, rather than catching up with a backlog." T aking time off from practice might not only be good for physicians from a personal, mental health standpoint, but it could have professional bene- fits, such as avoiding burnout, as well. There are, however, some consider- ations to prepare one's practice, staff, and patients for planned absences. "Recharging my batteries gives me a chance to refresh, renew, and bring fresh insight to ev- eryday care," said ophthalmologist Satish Modi, MD. "In addition to vacations, our doctors frequently do volunteer work in other countries. Not only is this recharging, it is rewarding and fulfilling. Sometimes this is even better than a resting vacation." Laurence Gerlis, MD, a general practi- tioner who specializes in diabetes, said that it can be easy to become stale and cynical in your profession if you don't take time off. Preparing your practice and colleagues and setting proper expectations for the time when you're out of the office can help ensure you return recharged. Taking time off Important personally and professionally Contact information Bashour: mounirbashour@gmail.com Gerlis: DrGerlis@samedaydoctor.co.uk Modi: smodieyes@aol.com About the doctors Mounir Bashour, MD LASIK MD Montreal, Canada Laurence Gerlis, MD Chief executive Same Day Doctor London, United Kingdom Satish Modi, MD Seeta Eye Centers Poughkeepsie and Fishkill, New York continued on page 70

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