[arkades]

> Does a doctor practice medicine outside of his hours? Again, some work at free clinics, but generally no.

Constantly. Besides being on formal call, there are informal consults texted or called in constantly, plus emergencies, plus friends-and-family consults. Plus paperwork for the patients you’ve seen very often takes longer than your “official” hours. And keeping up to date on the relevant literature is not something that happens during work hours.

Very very few docs stop working when their “hours” are up. And I’m not talking about exceptionally driven, ivy-festooned docs - I’m talking about the average schmoe you’d probably look down on.

[huffmsa]

All of that sounds like overtime. Still the same job.

How many docs are working on side projects in their free time?

[saiya-jin]

No. What you describe are still work hours. They can, and often do lead to overtime (paid or not), but its far fetch from wrapping your work at workplace, coming home, and continuing doing the same stuff. At least that's how common doctors's work looks in Switzerland.