Are you a CLINICIAN educator or a clinician EDUCATOR? Interesting question, right? How do you balance your academic life? Let me introduce some colleagues from McGill University and — how they approached the question.
Mylène Dandavino, a pediatrician and CE at McGill University, posed the following question, “Balance is one of my life values. Amongst clinician educators (CE), some will be ‘Ce’, others ‘cE’, but not everyone will be perfectly balanced ‘CE’. Do you think we should aim for C and E balance?” She approached Saleem Razack a pediatric critical care physician and CE for his thoughts.
“I respect the notion of balance. No one ever wanted their obituary to say, ‘I wish I spent more time at the office’. That being said, I don’t believe in dichotomizing between
work and home. The time we spend at work has the potential to contribute significantly to the rewards of life. I think that the major issue is more systemic than personal. For instance, why are most McGill meetings booked between 1630 and 1830 on weekdays? This is prime family time, and doesn’t need to be this way. I have no problem expecting great contributions of people, but we need to develop rules of engagement that are seen as fair and that apply to all.
For me, in my professional life, the more meaningful concept is that of ‘harmony’. What I do must be in harmony with my life goals, including that which pertains to my professional life, and I seek to find creative synergies in the different parts of my career. It’s more about ‘What am I doing it for?’ rather than ‘What am I doing?’.”
So, is perfect balance an abstract concept never to be achieved? Or attempted?
(BTW: An exciting announcement about the ICENet blog is coming Tuesday, November 26. Mylène’s consult with a colleague got us thinking…)
Image courtesy of Creative Commons
