Balancing Research, Clinical Activities, and Family Life

Abstract

Balancing your research activities, clinical activities, and family life can be one of the most challenging aspects of being a physician-scientist. Both your career and your family require substantial time commitments. Besides being a good scientist and a good physician, you want to be a good spouse and a good parent. If you devote all your time to being a good physician-scientist, your family life will suffer. If you devote all your time to your family life, your career will flounder. Achieving the right balance is a difficult task. Time management and the ability to delegate effectively are important skills to develop in order to balance these important areas. In this chapter, I discuss some of the issues you may face and provide strategies that I have found useful. I recognize that there is great variety in people’s family structures, but my experience in balancing a physician-scientist career with other aspects of my life has largely revolved around my wife and children, so my discussion reflects this. In addition, many of the tips I suggest for organizing and prioritizing your activities are applicable to any activities you might want to fit into your schedule, whether a spouse and children are part of the equation or not. I recommend that you read one of the many comprehensive books on time management in addition to this chapter; different techniques work for different people, but everyone needs to identify strategies that work best for them.

Organization is not an option, it is a fundamental survival skill and distinct competitive advantage.

–Pam N. Woods