“I’ll be up at midnight for MY child”
[This is a guest contribution]
years ago i felt very trapped in the post-residency physician rat race after having my first child. i felt like i had no choice but to continue sacrificing for others (ie) my patients, my employers/”partners” etc etc instead of living my life for myself and those i cared most for in life, my husband and children. my child at the time was spending close to 10 hrs in daycare everyday as i toiled away in the office getting paid peanuts as a primary care doctor. and then come to find out after 3 years of employment the office wanted me to work harder to make partnernership??? that’s when i had enough….enough of this BS that somehow it’s ok for physicians to sacrifice their 20’s 30’s for the greater good of mankind. and now i was being asked to sacrifice more family time to work harder for my practice and it’s patients??? i quit…i quit…i quit. i quit with no other plan in place but to be at the beck and call of none other than my children. if someone needs me at midnight it’s going to be MY children not a patient. if i’m tired the next day because i was up all night taking care of someone it’s going to be MY child, not a patient.
