Years ago when doctors worked for more than a hundred hours a week they expected to sleep eat and breathe Medicine. They had little expectation of any life beyond the wards, the operating theatre and the clinics. Those who couldn’t deal with this way of life were considered to be rather weak and probably not suited to the medical profession. On the other hand those who appeared to cope with the long hours and the lack of sleep were branded as good and dedicated doctors, somewhat admired and considered to be role models.
At that time there were very few female doctors. Those that survived the arduous training either gave up the idea of family life unless they employed full time nanny and housekeeper to deal with whatever was going on at home during the long hours they were at work.
Nowadays things have changed: doctors work shorter hours, there are more female doctors, both men and women would like to be involved in the lives of their children and families and also have time for outside interests such as sport or music.
But this isn’t yet commonplace. There is still the tendency for doctors to work long hours, put medical demands before those of their own needs for rest and relaxation and above those of their family and friends for some social time.
Here are the reasons why it is vitally important to improve your work life balance so that you don’t spend so much of your time and energy involved in work and very little if any, doing things for yourself, and spending time with partner, family and friends too.
1. There is more to life than Medicine
When you are so busy it’s easy to believe that nothing else matters.
2. Your health and well-being will suffer if you only do Medicine and very little else.
Everyone including you needs some time for your persona batteries to re-charge. If you don’t then you become more at risk of stress related illnesses.
3. You will be a better doctor if you spend some time away from it
Everyone gets ‘stale’ when they don’t have a break away from work. After a few days doing something entirely different you will come back with added energy and enthusiasm. That can only be beneficial for not only you but for your patients too.
4. You will develop other skills and interests for when you eventually retire
When the time comes to leave Medicine you will have lots of possibilities of what you can do instead.
You might find coaching is a great way to sort out your work life balance. Find out more.
