Working As A Job Share Requires Real Trust Between The Pairing

I was appointed as consultant cardiologist in 2007, in NHS Fife in Scotland (just north of Edinburgh). I am a general cardiologist with a specialist interest in ACHD and obstetric cardiology. I trained full time and worked full time as a consultant until I had my first child, when I dropped one day per week. Following the birth of my second child, a colleague had her first child, and we started a job share arrangement. This seems to be very uncommon amongst UK consultant cardiologists, and we are only aware of one other pair who have done this.

We each work three days per week, overlapping on the day of the TOE list, which we share. We shared the care of our cohort of inpatients and the obstetric cardiology service. Our arrangement works so well because we have shared clinical interests (for instance, it means that there is someone from the obstetric cardiology service available each day Monday to Friday), but also because we have a very similar style of practice, which means there really isn’t conflict when sharing the care of patients. Working as a job share requires real trust between the pairing as well as excellent communication, particularly as you spend little time physically together.

We have had great support from our clinical lead in this, and we have found this arrangement really beneficial for ourselves and our families. I have found it much more sustainable to work as a consultant cardiologist with children with this working pattern, and I would highly recommend exploring it. I would be delighted to be contacted by anyone considering a job share, or with further questions about the mechanics of it.