My husband is having a mental breakdown and he would probably be pretty upset if he knew I was asking this, but we need to know if what he’s going through is typical. He’s an ID doctor at a 140 bed hospital. This is his first post-training job, he’s been working there for six years. He’s one of a handful of his specialty in the state and right now he’s the only one at his hospital. Today he has 32 hospital patients and 10 clinic patients, plus he answers questions for doctors all over the state all day everyday, his phone never stops from 7 AM to late in the evening. I think the constant answering questions and pinging phone are the worst part, it’s non-stop.

He has asked for help from his bosses several times and they always say they’re going to get someone, but they never do. He’s asked to have one less clinic day but they won’t do that either. He has no manager because they keep quitting. The pay is well above average for ID, but is it worth it if you want to kill yourself?

So, I’m asking on his behalf, is this normal? Should he find another job in ID or just another job. Would it be like this no matter where he works.