{"id":20794,"date":"2020-04-20T16:27:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T16:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/?p=20794"},"modified":"2022-04-06T18:34:17","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T18:34:17","slug":"balancing-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/personal-professional-development\/balancing-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Balancing Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I gave my infant son a suppository to help with his constipation, then went into work and performed a pericardiocentesis on a German shepherd. Can you guess which of these procedures was more stressful? This is just one example of the dichotomy of working as a veterinarian and being a parent. Each role comes with its own responsibilities and stressors. Finding a way to integrate work-life and home-life is a challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conflicting Roles<\/h2>\n

Prior to August 2019, being a veterinarian was the core of my identity, both inside and outside the clinic. That August, everything changed with the birth of my first son. One day I was miserably pregnant and working as an associate veterinarian seeing patients throughout the day. The next, I had given birth and was a mother. For the next 12 weeks, I was fortunate to be at home with my son, learning how to be a mom.<\/span><\/p>\n

In November I felt ready to return to work, but finding the balance between my long-held identity as a veterinarian and my new identity as a mother was more challenging than I anticipated. When I was at work or tired after a long shift, I felt guilty for not being with my son or not having the energy to give him my undivided attention. When I would rush at the end of the day to leave work on time, I felt that I wasn\u2019t doing the best I could for my patients. Thankfully, after a few weeks and some schedule adjustments, this became more manageable. <\/span><\/p>\n

My story is not uncommon. In the NAVC\u2019s Amplifying the Voice of the Veterinary Community survey, 62% of veterinary professionals (both veterinarians and veterinary nurses) said balancing work and family life was a frequent cause of stress.1<\/sup> In another survey, 75% of veterinarians indicated their duties as a parent had interfered with their role as a veterinarian, and 87% stated their duties as a veterinarian had interfered with their role as a parent.2<\/sup> Finding a balance is a daily challenge that all working parents face, though working veterinary parents may face additional challenges in relation to the physical, emotional, and scheduling demands of our profession.<\/span><\/p>\n

Work-Life Integration as a Veterinary Parent<\/h2>\n

Each individual must find what works best for their own family. For some, this may mean cutting hours to part-time status or becoming a stay-at-home parent. This decision is difficult and can be affected by many factors, including cost and availability of childcare, earning potential in the workplace, personal values, and levels of support from a partner, friends, or family. <\/span><\/p>\n

For those who choose to return to work in some capacity after having children, here are a few tips for successful work-life integration collected from my own experience and that of other veterinary mothers:<\/span><\/p>\n