Summary of Young Doctors and Wish Lists: No Weekend Calls, No Beepers, ” Journalist Matt Richtel

Chris Turnage
ENG 102-781
Paper 1- Summary
6 Feb. 2012

A Doctor’s New Meta? The Controlled Lifestyle
We’ve all heard of the surgeon who saved Aunt Lilly by operating on her for 37 straight hours, or that amazing story of the local hospital resident who was doing her rounds 2 hours after giving birth herself, but not all doctors are created equal. Many doctors are people just like the rest of us, who wish to have their own lives, separate from their jobs. In the article “Young Doctors and Wish Lists: No Weekend Calls, No Beepers,” journalist Matt Richtel attempts to convey this message to the rest of us. His article originally appeared in The New York Times on Jan 7, 2004. He explains that medical professionals of today have a desire to keep their work schedules and their personal time separate, and are choosing specialties accordingly.
Medical professionals have a desire for the elimination of being ‘on call’ while off duty, and who can blame them? For instance, Dr. Jennifer Boldrick, a graduate of Stanford, enjoys the aspects of being a doctor. She also enjoys being able to sleep through the night, and hopes to one day start a family. Being constantly on call would put a serious strain on her person desires (Richtel 271). These people enjoy their line of work, else they wouldn’t be doing it, but that doesn’t mean they have to live and breathe their job.   Gregory Rutecki, chairman of the medical education at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, explains that what young doctors want is that “when they finish their shift, they don’t want to carry a beeper; they’re done” (qtd in Richtel 272). Most other white-collar professions are structured this way, so it’s not an extreme ideal.
Aside from being able to leave work at work when one leaves, they also have to actually be able to leave. One cannot work 90 plus hours each week, and still be able to maintain a fulfilling personal life. Dr. Boldrick states, “I want to have a family. And when you work 80 to 90...