If there is a spectrum of PTO use, Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, suspects she is at one extreme.
"I flunk PTO pretty regularly," Dr. Allen-Davis told Becker's. "And it's not a new way of being. I've been a physician for 40 years and I practiced for 25 of those years. I just never really got into the habit of making sure that I scheduled time in advance to make sure that it was blocked off."
Dr. Allen-Davis has been president and CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based Craig Hospital since 2018, and taking time off became easier once she stepped away from her clinical practice. She took her first out-of-country vacation in 2010 for two weeks, and it made a big difference in being able to unplug, she said.
Is it realistic for hospital and health system CEOs to be able to consistently unplug on vacation?
"There are others who may do this better and have the discipline, but I think it's near impossible," Dr. Allen-Davis said. "It's not about not trusting the team to do the work and know the place is going to run fine without me. It's actually about the tax you pay when you return if you fully unplug."
One of those taxes is email, she said. Dr. Allen-Davis recently went on vacation, and if she had not cleaned out junk mail a couple of times a day to have important notices easily visible, she would have come back to well over 1,000 emails, she said.
The other reason for not fully unplugging: "I love work, I love what I get to do every day, and just having the ability to check in and see how folks are doing and what's going on is helpful," she said.
Dr. Allen-Davis does not feel guilty taking PTO, but she said she recognizes she needs to get better about taking it. While it is difficult for her to fully unplug during time away from work, she encourages her team to utilize PTO and understands the importance of recharging.
When using PTO, Dr. Allen-Davis tends to take a long weekend and encourages her assistant to do the same by regularly scheduling Fridays off when the workload appears are light.
Lisa Satteson, chief human resources officer at Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, previously told Becker's it is important for executives to be able to unplug, but sometimes emergencies arise. Executives are quick to answer texts if needed in certain situations, but it is not required or encouraged by Jefferson Health to attend meetings while on PTO, for example.
"The hospital operations component is challenging because it's a 24/7 operation," Ms. Satteson said.
One way for senior leaders to unplug is by designating a point person and communicating that with the team, which is the route Ms. Satteson took before going on a recent trip. This is the protocol for others on her team, and it is important for the leader to model the way of preparing for PTO, she said.
Tori Bayless, CEO of Annapolis, Md.-based Luminis Health, told Becker's it is her hope and expectation that everyone uses their earned time off and fully unplugs — not checking emails or taking calls — and that leaders set that standard for their teams.
"Senior leaders are expected to tag someone on their team to cover for them while they're out so that they don't feel the need to check in," Ms. Bayless said of Luminis. "By doing so, the important work will get done, and they’re showing confidence in their staff, building bench strength and creating opportunities for others to show leadership."