A Day in the Life of a Wound Care Physician
- Janet S. Mackenzie, MD, ABPS, CWSP, AAGP
- October 15, 2020
When considering a career change, uncertainty can be daunting. It can be helpful to understand what to expect in a new role and how your daily life would change if you decided to make the switch. And how better than by hearing from doctors who have already made the switch?
As you consider joining Vohra Wound Physicians, learn about the typical workdays – and weekends – of our doctors.
The Daily Schedule
Once you join Vohra, you immediately begin your practice. Vohra is active in 28 states across the country and nearly 3,000 facilities. The number of buildings and patients you service can vary, but the typical Vohra physician visits 3-4 buildings in a day and sees approximately 120-150 patients per week depending on preference.
As soon as you launch your practice, you have professional autonomy. Although Vohra physicians are required to work consistent days each week, every doctor sets their own schedule and chooses their partner facilities. Most physicians work approximately 9am-5pm each day and spend weeknights, weekends, and holidays at home.
“You choose your own schedule with Vohra”
- Dr. Brendan Michel.
Dr. Rizwan Kalwar, who trained in general surgery, transitioned to Vohra over 11 years ago in order to improve his work-life balance. “The time has flown by,” he says. Dr. Kalwar begins his workday at 9am and typically heads home in the afternoon. This allows him to see his children before school each morning and to take regular family vacations.
Dr. JP Wuilleumier, who transitioned to Vohra from general surgery training, likes to start his day at 7am. “I usually finish between 2:30 and 5pm depending on if the buildings are busy,” Dr. Wuilleumier says. After finishing his workday, he heads to the gym to work out before going home.
For other physicians, the opportunity to choose their schedule allows them to stay busy. Dr. Michel wanted his wound care practice to closely mimic general surgery, so thus far he’s elected to practice from 8am to 9pm each weekday. “I choose to do things this way,” he emphasizes, adding, “For someone working general surgery, those are normal hours.”
Vohra physicians enjoy the freedom that accompanies flexible schedules. “At Vohra, there’s no significant restriction to taking time for yourself,” Dr. Kalwar says, “That’s what I’ve enjoyed the most.” Dr. Kalwar’s wife is an oncologist with a rigid schedule involving on-call hours and busy weekends, so his reliable workweek and weekends off allows him to care for their young sons.
Rounding in Facilities
After arriving at a facility, Vohra physicians spend their day completing rounds with the nursing staff and assessing new admissions. They perform procedures such as surgical debridement, cauterization, and biopsies, and develop patient specific treatment plans and meet with families and referring physicians as needed.
“Our practice is typically procedurally-based because we find that to be the most effective for wound healing”
“We are able to perform a lot of procedures at the bedside as opposed to sending the patients out to the hospital, which would be typical of a facility that doesn’t have a wound consultant that comes into the building”
- Dr. Kalwar.
After each patient encounter, physicians use Vohra’s proprietary EMR software to log notes and complete coding. “This is definitely one of the best EMRs I’ve had in terms of documentation time,” says Dr. Michel, explaining that it takes several minutes per patient, and less if it’s a follow-up. “The EMR is very focused to what we do,” Dr. Kalwar adds, noting that it helps him maintain efficiency throughout his work day.
As Vohra physicians expand their practices, they often work in sister facilities and receive referrals to nearby care centers. Physicians encounter the same patients consistently, and even when a patient leaves one facility, they may be transferred to a facility still under Vohra’s care. If that is not the case and a patient is discharged home, continuity of care can still be maintained using Vohra’s telemedicine program, Vohra@Home.
Vohra@Home is a great way to care for patients during situations such as inclement weather, travel restrictions, and health concerns. For example, due to COVID-related changes, Dr. Wuilleumier now spends two days per week physically rounding in facilities and two days using Vohra@Home to conduct telehealth visits from his home.
Off-Time
After work each day, Vohra physicians spend their evenings with loved ones or spend time doing their hobbies. Some choose to keep their work phones on in case a nurse calls with a treatment question, but it is not required. When Friday rolls around, Vohra physicians head into work-free weekends.
“Having the weekends off with Vohra is one of the most important things for me: walking out on Friday and knowing that I’m not going to be called into a hospital or having a pager go off…” Dr. Michel shares. On his weekends, Dr. Michel runs a motorcycle and car repair shop and maintains his private pilot’s license. He adds, “I make the same salary I would have as a general surgeon doing this.”
“I have a life outside of medicine,” he says. “I always did, but I couldn’t fully maintain it in residency. If I was a general surgeon on call 24 hours, I would never pursue these interests.”
Dr. Wuilleumier agrees. “I have friends that are still in residency and they resent me because I have a great schedule,” he jokes. Dr. Wuilleumier spends his free time playing rugby and with friends and family.
Spending time pursuing hobbies and exploring passions not only supports work-life balance, but helps prevent physician burnout, an important value at Vohra. Although Vohra physicians do not work on weekends, some choose to remain available to their facilities. “I choose to be on call by phone,”
“If there’s ever a problem with a patient, nurses will call me. Other than that, weekends are my time. I'm always working on the shop or playing around on airplanes”
- Dr. Michel.
Consider Vohra
Vohra physicians choose where they work, their schedules, and how they spend their free time – with no risk of having to nap in an on-call room or getting emergency pages. A typical day involves driving to facilities, completing rounds, and developing treatment plans, but time that Vohra physicians spend after work and on weekends cannot be generalized.
“If I had to stay where I am now, I would be perfectly content in the future”
- Dr. Michel.
With Vohra, you can have work-life balance without sacrificing salary or professional satisfaction. Vohra physicians pursue meaningful careers and spend significant time engaging with their loved ones and working on their hobbies.
“At the end of the day, this is all about helping people,” Dr. Wuilleumier concludes. “There are 10-15 million patients in the United States with wounds, and the nursing home population is very underserved. It’s our job as doctors and as a company to serve this population that needs our help.”
