After more than 20 years in private practice, I reached a breaking point.

I’d done it all: chaired the department, served as president of the group, led the medical staff, even handled scheduling. I was proud of the work, but between rising volumes, constant demands, and the weight of administrative responsibilities, I felt done. 

The final straw was losing control. Our hospital was acquired, my favorite partner retired, and suddenly the work felt less like a vocation and more like a grind. I was tired of being on call. I was frustrated reading endless unnecessary cases from the ED and worried about having no say in how I practiced. I was not able to be as objective and centered in my work as I wanted to be.

Eventually, I realized: I wanted some control back. I wanted to work from home and I wanted to be the master of my own fate.

That’s when I found DocPanel.

Now, I read full-time on the platform. But “full-time” looks very different these days - and that’s the point. Here’s what a typical day looks like for me now.

7:45 AM
No alarm. Just coffee.

That’s not poetic license. I actually don’t set an alarm anymore. I wake up when I wake up. My husband (a teacher) and I spend summers at our lake house, so mornings usually start with coffee on the deck, watching the water.

Sometimes I read a few leftover cases from the night before. Sometimes I just sit and enjoy the quiet. Either way, I get to ease into my day, on my own terms.

10:00 AM
Read. Swim. Repeat.

My reading schedule changes daily. I’m credentialed at a handful of sites, so I get a steady stream of cases. I have a rough idea of the volume I want to hit each day, but I decide when to tackle it.

That could mean reading through the morning, then swimming across the lake in the afternoon. Or taking a long lunch followed by a boat ride, and picking up cases again in the evening.

No shifts. No pagers. Just flexibility—and a little self-discipline.

1:30 PM
Metrics, but make them motivating.

One of the features I love about the DocPanel platform is the daily earnings tracker.

It calculates how many cases I’m reading, and what my worklist equals in dollars. It’s a helpful benchmark. I give myself a number - once I hit this, I can stop. Or if I want to run an errand and come back to reading, I know exactly what I want to knock out in the afternoon. I'm in charge of my schedule. And that’s a beautiful thing.

4:00 PM
Done for the day? Or not. Up to me.

Some days, I wrap up early. Other days, I read a bit after dinner. If I’ve been out all afternoon, I might log back in at night and finish up a few cases. But there’s no hard cutoff. I don’t have to be butt-in-chair from 8 to 5. …Unless I choose to be!

The work gets done. My goals get met. I don’t miss hikes, swims, or lunch dates to make it happen.

Switching to DocPanel full-time was a leap. I won’t sugarcoat that. After years of a steady paycheck, the idea of variable case volume took some adjusting.

In the end, II was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the transition was. I hit my personal benchmarks early on, with consistency. I get plenty of work, I do what I love, and I finally have space for a life outside the workstation.

So, if you’re considering it...

My advice? Be honest with yourself. Know what you want. Think about your priorities - flexibility, specialty, income goals - and see if DocPanel aligns.

For me, it did. It gave me my autonomy back. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a kayak calling my name, and a few MRIs waiting for me when I get back.

Dr. Abigail Childs is a board-certified neuroradiologist with over 20 years of experience. She earned her medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and completed her diagnostic radiology residency at Maine Medical Center. Dr. Childs then completed a fellowship in Neuroradiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where she trained under the renowned Dr. Ann Osborne.

Throughout her career, Dr. Childs has held key leadership roles, including serving as president of a large and diverse medical staff. She has also overseen imaging services and led quality improvement initiatives aimed at advancing patient care and departmental performance.