Physician, Know Thyself
Building in time to set and re-examine career goals is a skill that hospitalists should practice regularly, says Dr. McKean: “I learned the hard way that a hospitalist’s most important strategy is to be very self-reflective.”
She confesses that, in the past, she has often said yes to the point that her obligations became unmanageable. She advises young hospitalists to reflect on what is important to them and also “to recognize that during different times in their lives, they’re going to either have less free time or more free time, depending upon their families and other demands. So what might seem like a great opportunity might be an unrealistic one when you have three children under the age of five.” On the other hand, someone who is single might set a goal to make as much money as possible in the short term by taking on additional work shifts.
Dr. McKean also suggests that young hospitalists seek out not just one but multiple mentors. For example, “someone who wants to be a superstar in hospital medicine relating to quality improvement might naturally pick as a mentor somebody who is already doing quality improvement.”
A person who is having difficulty juggling family roles in addition to intensive work schedules might want to seek out someone who has … grappled successfully with those issues. Hospitalists should also consider seeking mentors outside the discipline of medicine—those in business, for instance, can contribute valuable insights to someone seeking a career in hospital administration.
Given the nature of hospital medicine, guarding one’s time will always be a concern, agree most of those interviewed for this article. “I think the juggling act is always there,” says Dr. Baudendistel. “There are usually up to six or more balls that you can simultaneously be juggling: administrative duties, family obligations, society commitments, teaching duties, your own academic agenda, and your professional agenda. You just have to know which ones are your priorities. And, sometimes, you have to acknowledge that maybe it’s time to say no or to stop doing one of those things.” TH
Contributing Writer Gretchen Henkel thanks the hospitalists who reshuffled their commitments in order to discuss overbooking with her and thanks her editor, Lisa Dionne, for the two extensions that allowed her to complete this assignment.
References
- Zauberman G, Lynch JG Jr. Resource slack and propensity to discount delayed investments of time versus money. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2005 Feb;134(1):23-37.
- Society of Hospital Medicine 2005-2006 Survey: State of the Hospital Medicine Movement. 2006. Available at: www.hospitalmedicine.org. Last accessed February 19, 2007.