TAKING A BREAK
So I tried my hardest to have a video up this week but my poor work life balance told me I was too optimistic. So rather than go a whole week without anything, I thought I’d share something I’ve been thinking about a lot more recently – all about work/life balance and the seemingly endless rat race that I feel I and many others are struggling through.
I have just finished reading “This is going to hurt” by Adam Kay – a collection of his diary entries as a junior doctor. The book is fantastic and I believe anyone who is or has any affiliation to a medic needs to read it – it is basically the life story of anyone who is a doctor. It was particularly close to me because of the speciality that he chose. From start to finish, I had a similar story to tell.
It was funny and heart-breaking at the same time. It made me realise a lot of things but two very important points: first that I need to take a break from medicine at some point soon; and second, (something that I knew anyway but it became clearer) dedicating your life to medicine means you are literally sacrificing your own life for the good of others. Whilst this is a major appeal to the profession, the processes and systems do not recognise that you’re giving up so much and I think its this, coupled with the realisation and the self questioning that makes many of us consider leaving medicine altogether to go and train as train drivers (better pay!)
I have only been a doctor for two years (with six years prior to that being in medical school) and so far I have missed countless things – funerals, birthdays, Christmas, New Year, graduations, weddings, etc because of work. It gets tiring and you start to question whether its worth it. You enter the rat race when you’re 18 or 19 and you leave when you become a consultant in your mid or late 30s after jumping through several hoops (if you don’t take a break).
This is not to put anyone off being a doctor, it’s a very rewarding job, but I think its imperative to be realistic about the whole thing.
Till next week,
S
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