Dr Isis Maitland-Scott Medical Co-Editor

Now , this seemed a cruelly appropriate accompaniment to my day , after my six-month-old had learnt to roll from back to front gleefully ( but not back again ) a week ago , and had been doing some excellent practice and then calling for help all night long for a position reset .

It also made me wonder : Is ‘ Never Resting ’ really so appealing that it sells cars ?

I mean sex , money , humour I get , but NEVER RESTING ?

But in saying that , it is true that this incessant need to be busy has become a cultural obsession .

Ask a colleague how their day has been — busy .

Ask a fellow parent at drop-off how they are — busy .

There appears a particular pride , a badge of honour in being the busiest person around .

We congratulate each other on our ridiculous programs : “ I don ’ t know how you do it ? You ’ re amazing .”

But this addiction is clearly not good for us . As our to-do lists spiral out of control , evidence grows for the slow movement .

Taking time , being mindful , spending time connecting — all of this promotes health and happiness .

Rest , it would seem , is actually

quite good for you , whether it sells cars or not .

This busyness obsession reaches even greater heights , or greater speeds , within medicine .

The question is — workload issues aside — is it really necessary ?

I was recently at a wedding and having a conversation with a bunch of surgeons ( what is the collective noun for a group of surgeons ? A pride ?) about part-time training .

Much was being made of the UK ’ s move a few years ago to restrict

surgical trainees ’ weekly hours , which , some say , have led to insufficient training . There were concerns among the ‘ pride ’ that if similar controls were introduced here , it would lead to poorer surgical outcomes in the long-term .

But surely , the long-held adage “ there is no such thing as a parttime doctor ” is an out-dated concept ? Many doctors are part-time and do an excellent job .

I suspect the main concerns raised are all subject to a much greater issue within medicine , which plays

out like this : “ We had to do it tough and so do you ”, “ Doctors are busy , important people ” and “ If you don ’ t like the heat , get out of the kitchen ”.

And although our medical colleges offer part-time fellowship options , many don ’ t encourage it — some even ask part-time trainees to pay full-year fees .

But when you actually explore this though , medicine is really wellplaced to support part-time work . It ’ s simple really — consult fewer days , operate fewer days , job share ,

GIVEN THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS WE FACE AS A PROFESSION ... SURELY , NOW IS THE TIME TO CONSIDER CHANGE ?

handover .

If training is the concern , then let ’ s explore that . If it takes a certain number of hours to get good enough to become a specialist — and we have decided it is — say six years full-time , then why can ’ t it take 12 years part-time ? Train two people , in a staggered fashion , and you have the same number of people achieving fellowship .

You could even argue that these people may end up with better skills as their brains are not so tired that they can lay down some good-quality

neural connections , and maybe even have the capacity at the end of the week for some reflection and professional growth , instead of falling in a heap or drowning in a glass of wine .

The corporate world has known for years that flexibility , part-time work and looking after its workers are recipes for success .

Silicon Valley is known for its Duvet Days — leave days incorporated into the workplace where an employee can simply stay at home because they don ’ t feel like coming in . So it offers flexible hours , childcare support , protected time for creativity and non-pressured working environments . It claims much greater efficiency and innovation is the result .

In the past decade , multiple studies have confirmed that people working flexible hours and parttime are often much more effective and have fewer sick days .

Given the mental health crisis we face as a profession — as explored in this week ’ s magazine — surely , now is the time to consider change ?

It is not good enough to state : this is how it has always been done .

We , as an evidence-guided profession , must consider other ways to train our numbers . We must learn from other industries . And maybe we could consider taking our own advice and aim for a healthier , more restful and balanced lifestyle .

Dr Maitland-Scott is a GP in Sydney , NSW .