Dermatologist Work-Life Balance: How to improve it?
Learn the basics on how to successfully achieve a good work-life balance as a dermatologist, spend more time with friends and family, and pursue interests outside work.
Author: Jennifer Highland, Content Manager of Miiskin | Reviewed by: Jon Friis, Founder, and CEO of Miiskin
Covered in this article:
What is work-life balance? | Challenges dermatologists face | Creating your own work-life balance | Do dermatologists have a good work-life balance? | Work-life balance of a female dermatologist | How to achieve flexible working conditions?
What is a Work-Life Balance for Dermatologists?
Work-life balance is about finding equilibrium between the demands of a medical career and personal life. This balance has become increasingly important in recent decades due to shifts in gender roles and a significant rise in the number of women in the medical field. For dermatologists, maintaining this balance is crucial not only for personal well-being but also for providing the highest quality care to patients.
Dermatology is often considered one of the most satisfying medical specialties, thanks to more manageable working hours and fewer emergencies, which contribute to a more favorable work-life balance. A survey by CHG Healthcare highlighted that work-life balance is the top factor for physicians choosing their first job—particularly among those two to three years out of residency.
However, the field still faces challenges. A nationwide shortage of dermatologists has resulted in high patient loads, increasing the risk of burnout if workload management is not addressed. This pressure is compounded by administrative responsibilities, complex cases, and the need to juggle family and personal obligations. Dermatologists who fail to achieve work-life balance may face longer work hours, heightened stress, and reduced time for family and self-care—all of which elevate the risk of burnout.
Achieving a healthy work-life balance allows dermatologists to meet professional demands without sacrificing personal fulfillment. It’s essential for sustaining a satisfying career, avoiding burnout, and ultimately ensuring the best care for patients.
Challenges Dermatologists Face
- High Patient-to-Provider Ratio: The shortage of dermatologists means those in practice often manage a heavy patient load, which can be overwhelming without effective scheduling and support.
- Administrative Burden: Navigating bureaucratic tasks—like insurance paperwork and documentation—can consume valuable time, reducing the focus on patient care.
- Family and Personal Responsibilities: Dermatologists, like all physicians, must also juggle family duties and personal commitments, making it crucial to set boundaries and prioritize self-care.
Collaboration opportunities with Miiskin
If you are a dermatologist and you want to implement the Miiskin platform in your clinic or hospital, or if you want to to offer virtual dermatology consultations to your employees as a benefit, please reach out!
Creating your Own Work-life Balance as a Dermatologist
The most fulfilled dermatologists are the ones who put their well-being first, which is why it’s important to have an adequate working environment that facilitates and enables flexible working conditions.
Flexible working conditions allow dermatologists to prioritize spending time with family and friends, having a happy marriage/relationship, pursuing interests outside work, and taking time off for vacation.
According to Dr. Sara Dill, Dermatologist and Certified Life Coach, work-life balance is not something that just happens. A person needs to create their own work-life balance by building a healthy equilibrium between your work and their personal life9.
Strategies to Achieve Better Work-Life Balance
- Delegate and Automate: Consider delegating administrative tasks to staff or using technology to automate routine processes, allowing more time for patient care and personal life.
- Optimize Scheduling: Implement flexible scheduling or block specific times for administrative work to reduce the mental strain of juggling multiple responsibilities.
- Prioritize Self-Care: Regularly schedule breaks, exercise, and relaxation to maintain physical and mental health. Self-care helps prevent burnout and sustain long-term satisfaction in the profession.
- Seek Support: Consider joining professional groups or finding a mentor for advice on managing the unique demands of dermatology.
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential for dermatologists, not only to avoid burnout but to ensure they can provide the best care for their patients while enjoying a fulfilling personal life.
Do Dermatologists Have a Good Work-life Balance?
A dermatologist’s best work-life balance will vary over time, depending on whether they are partaking in their residency, have an established practice, or are nearing retirement. It will also influence whether they are male or female and if they are single, married, or have children.
There is no perfect, one-size fits all work-life balance since dermatologists have different priorities and are at different stages of their lives.
The Work-life Balance of Female Dermatologist
Women comprise approximately 46% of medical students and nearly half of all residents in the United States5, while the percentage of female dermatologists has reached 50%6.
The work-life balance of female dermatologists is particularly important because physicians experience higher burnout rates than other professions in society, independently of gender7.
Female dermatologists often face the challenges of balancing a rewarding career with childrearing and household duties. Unfortunately, in spite of the cultural shift in household chores between spouses, on average, married female physicians spend more time parenting children and attending to household duties than male physicians on a weekly basis8.
Achieving a positive work-life balance as a female dermatologist with family obligations can be extremely challenging, which is why many choose to work part-time and they choose to open their own private dermatology practice.
How to Achieve Flexible Working Conditions as a Dermatologist?
Offering Virtual Dermatology Visits to Patients
To maintain a successful work-life balance as a dermatologist, flexibility and productivity are key. Teledermatology offers significant benefits, allowing you to work shorter days, manage your schedule more flexibly, and see more patients—all while maintaining or even increasing your income.
This technology enables faster care delivery, meeting the demands of today’s digital-savvy patients who seek convenient, virtual healthcare options. With teledermatology, you can effectively reduce patient wait times, which can range from a few weeks to several months, alleviating stress for both you and your patients.
How Teledermatology Works
Patients can use a teledermatology app to take photos of their skin condition, fill out a questionnaire, and describe their symptoms. You can then review these requests from home or during free moments in your schedule, offering two options:
- Provide a Virtual Diagnosis and Treatment: Review the case online, make a diagnosis, and offer treatment recommendations remotely.
- Triage and Schedule In-Person Visits: Use the virtual consultation to triage dermatology patients by the urgency of the case, scheduling in-person visits based on priority.
Teledermatology platforms can also streamline routine care, such as prescription renewals, without requiring a patient to visit the clinic in person.
Benefits of Combining Virtual and In-Person Care
Offering a mix of virtual and in-person visits allows you to better manage your workload and increase daily efficiency by up to 20%. This hybrid model not only reduces patient wait times but also adds a new revenue stream for your practice. Asynchronous teledermatology, in particular, allows you to review cases at your convenience, providing greater flexibility and enhancing work-life balance.
By incorporating teledermatology into your practice, you can deliver high-quality care more efficiently, meet patient expectations, and maintain a healthier work-life balance—all while boosting clinic revenue.
Starting Your Own Practice
Many female dermatologists choose to open their own private practices because they need flexible schedules. While having your own clinic allows you to work the days and hours you want, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will work less.
You may need to do other tasks that you normally wouldn’t do as an employee, but at least you can choose when and where to do them, whether you are home with a sick child or while your kids are doing their homework.
If you are considering opening your own practice, we have written a series of articles to help you through this process. Please take a look at the Dermatology Clinic Setup page to find useful tips and resources to help you set up your solo practice.
Collaboration opportunities with Miiskin
If you are a dermatologist and you want to implement the Miiskin platform in your clinic or hospital, or if you want to to offer virtual dermatology consultations to your employees as a benefit, please reach out!
Guides to Setting up a Private Healthcare Practice
Conclusion
A work/life balance is not something that is just going to happen. You need to work hard to make it happen. However, we hope you can achieve it with the help of the guidelines listed above.
Good luck building a more balanced life for yourself!
References:
1 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327270091_THE_NOTION_OF_WORK_LIFE_BALANCE_DETERMINING_FACTORS_ANTECEDENTS_AND_CONSEQUENCES_A_COMPREHENSIVE_LITERATURE_SURVEY
2 https://chghealthcare.com/blog/top-priority-physicians-job-search/
3 https://medicalaid.org/top-5-happiest-medical-specialties/
2 https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1010/top-6-reasons-new-businesses-fail.aspx/
4 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-008-9297-5
5 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m17-3438
6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352647521000563#
7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22911330/
8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4120052/#
9 https://www.womensderm.org/UserFiles/file/Publications/Editorials/13_WorkLifeBalance_Dill.pdf
User Stories: Megan Fry
“The waiting time to see a dermatologist was 3 to 4 months! A local clinic offered urgent care through a teledermatology app, so I sent a request and in less than 72 hours, the cancerous lesion was removed.”