I know your frustrations, because I see the same things in IT and other professions. The difference I see is that doctors seem to think they are a special case

I know your frustrations, because I see the same things in IT and other professions. The difference I see is that doctors seem to think they are a special case (in this and other things) and helpless to manage these issues; the truth is that they are a common case and that there are solutions that other professionals commonly use and are expected to use. All that you describe is common for IT professionals (support and system administrators), and sometimes with just as much on the line or more (large amounts of money, careers, and sometimes even lives). I know some who have been on call for years in a row, and when they travel outside of cellular coverage they rent a satellite phone. They have no nurse to return calls; when someone calls (or a system sends an automated alert), they logon and get to work. They work all hours; all-nighters and 7 day workweeks are common. One sysadmin I know estimates one all-nighter per month. When a deadline is approaching, you can count on 100+ hour weeks. Just read HN to hear people talk about it. Their customers (users) have the same absurd requests, same demands, same communication problems, etc., though of course about different topics. For example, some send ambiguous problem reports and don't respond to attempt to clarify - but if the problem isn't fixed, money will be lost and you know who will be blamed! Their scheduling problems are the same: Unpredictable issues arise and always at the worst time. That means they have to schedule with a large margin for error. > How many lawyers get called all night long? I know many who do. First, some have clients in many time zones around the world and most have clients around the country (in the U.S., the latter means a 5am-6pm minimum workday on the west coast). More often, they are working on urgent projects and must respond ASAP to the other attorneys and clients working on the issue lest they delay everyone else or, worse, fail to contribute value and influence the outcome. As for accountants, in the U.S. ask them what tax season is like.