Many of us strive to balance our life and work so we can be successful, happy and healthy. Yet, for people with unpredictable work schedules, such as doctors who must treat medical emergencies that have no regard for the nine-to-five work week, it can be hard to achieve this balanced bliss.
Much has been written about this topic, but the candor of this recent blog post from Robert Sewell, MD, a general surgeon at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, caught my eye. In the piece, which originally appeared on the Family Physician blog and was posted on KevinMD yesterday, Sewell gives a brief account of what it's like to be a surgeon and discusses the challenges and rewards of this career choice. He starts by providing a bit of his own back story:
I got married during medical school, and like every surgeon back in those days I told my wife, “I will always have two wives, you and medicine.” While some spouses accepted that dictum, others, including mine, resented it. Shortly after starting my practice it became clear that our relationship had been strained to the breaking point by my singular focus on achieving my life’s goal.
Sewell acknowledges that it's desirable to balance the amount of time you devote to your work and personal life, but that as a surgeon it's not always possible to do so:
Perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that a successful life and marriage requires balance. Too much emphasis on any one aspect throws both you, and those around you, out of balance. This should have been obvious, but as a surgeon, it was an extremely difficult lesson to learn, largely because of the nature of what we do. A kid with acute appendicitis, or an accident victim who is bleeding out from a ruptured spleen, simply can’t wait for a recital or soccer game to be over.
…
In the last two decades I’ve witnessed a significant effort by many young physicians to push back against those career pressures, as they seek more balance in their lives. While that is certainly a good ideal, being a surgeon is simply not a nine to five job. It’s a calling, and if you are truly called to the profession it’s in your blood.
Previously: Helping those in academic medicine to both “work and live well”, Program for residents reflects “massive change” in surgeon mentality, New surgeons take time out for mental health, Using mindfulness interventions to help reduce physician burnout and A closer look at depression and distress among medical students
Photo by Colin Harris
