Work

In How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg, the authors make an argument against work-life balance, a common phrase thrown about in medical education. They think that work should be an integral part of life, that a manager's job is not to create work hours that allow an employee to maintain free time outside work, but rather to transform work into an engaging, fun, and indispensable activity for the "smart creative" employee. And perhaps in Silicon Valley's tech industry, this is possible, with workplaces brimming with infinity pools, relaxation pods, gourmet meals, and a culture that meshes identity and one's job. I think we are still far from that in medicine and especially medical education. In this spectrum, I am actually very different than my colleagues; I am closer to Silicon Valley's ideal vision of work than my co-residents and co-fellows. I love it and going to work energizes me. I stay late, I don't mind doing more, I search out new opportunities and experiences, I try to pass my passion onto the medical students I teach. Especially as I go further in training, I get closer to the crazy statement in House of God that interns fight over each admission because it gives them another chance to show how good of a doctor they are. We all know doctors who clock in and clock out, who avoid any extra work, who shun admissions, who find the easy way out. And sometimes I can commiserate; burn-out is widespread, and sometimes we just wish we picked a job where we could see our family each night or make plans for every weekend. In any case, this blog is simply an outpouring of reactions as I realize I've finished my last 24 hour in house weekend call but also got "volunteered" to take an extra overnight shift due to a scheduling error. It's funny to understand my reactions: I had a great sense of relief with the former but gave a shrug with the latter.