dream job

a glimpse into the future
one of the pediatric endocrine attendings came down with the flu this week. bad for him . . . but great for me, because he actually had me cover his clinic yesterday afternoon . . . by myself. i still signed every patient out to him over the phone before sending them out the door for labs, studies, or just a drive home, but in general my plans were honored.

from tying my shoes to working up precocious puberty [source]
and honestly? it was at least a little bit thrilling.

i realize that i could theoretically be practicing independently as a (board-certified!) general pediatrician (though i have no desire to ever do this, really). and it’s true that during residency, my weekly continuity clinics did provide a great degree of independence; by the end, my attendings rarely saw any of the patients. but this was the first time i’ve ever gotten to feel like i was running the show, and i liked it.

and this made me very happy, because it means i am in the right career! although that got me thinking about my absolute IDEAL career breakdown someday. here goes nothing:

my dream job
✔ i want to work 2-3 days/week in clinic, preferably a 50/50 mix between diabetes patients and non-diabetes (in pediatric endocrinology, it’s easy to have your schedule completely taken over with the former. while i do enjoy taking care of diabetes patients, i also LOVE the interesting problem solving that comes with the rest of our field — and i want to put my training to good use!)

✔ i want as little call as possible. or at least: i want there to be a nurse on first call (for triage) at all times.

✔ i want to do teaching in some form on a regular basis.

✔ i want dedicated time free set aside to write books — about what, i’m still not entirely sure, but i just feel like there are several manuscripts inside me itching to get out!

✔ when i’ve gained more experience balancing it all, i want to do speaking engagements — maybe some that focus specifically on time management and mindfulness as it relates to patient care. (yeah, i’ve got plenty to learn before i’m ready for this, although i feel like i already have a lot i could tell a group of new residents).

✔ i want to be home 3-4 days per week (that total includes weekends) so i can also be part-time SAHM.

while it might be hard impossible to find a job that meets these parameters, i will say that i do not care what kind of income this all brings in (at all), so at least i may have something to bargain with!

do you ever think about what would constitute your ideal career/work week? and if you’re a veteran in the medical field, feel free to tell me that my aspirations are ridiculous. or not!

you all give me a lot of credit
i loved reading your comments yesterday! i found this one particularly amusing:

because — yes, i definitely struggle like anyone else. i get sucked into email. and blogs. and twitter. sometimes, i rush to work with my hair only half-dry. i often eat too fast. i do have some good routines and have developed some habits that work well for me. but it’s always a work in progress!

i’m just lucky i’ve gotten to share this journey with all of you, because i have learned SO MUCH from your comments and advice over the years.

while we’re on the topic, i will mention that while i certainly wasn’t disconnected yesterday, i feel like i did a much better job approaching the above distractions with purpose — ie, as planned breaks rather than just randomly throughout the day. i have also been experimenting with these one minute meditation exercises that reader jill recommended. so far, it’s been interesting.

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1.4.11

workout: nada! i was supposed to lift weights but this will be tabled to a later day. the nice part about workout restrictions and not being ‘in training’ for anything is that i am no longer stressed out by an unplanned rest day.

broccolini/broccolette: i couldn’t find broccolini at whole foods, so i bought something labelled “broccolette” instead. turns out, they’re the same thing! confusing . . . and tasty.

brocollini + shrimp sauté from this month’s CL
i didn’t time this perfectly and ended up overcooking the vegetables a bit. luckily, i sort of like mushy broccoli, even if it means half the vitamins have probably leached out.

reading: 30 minutes on ovarian neoplasms in children. unfortunately, this reading was inspired by a patient i saw.