{"id":5847,"date":"2017-08-17T14:49:24","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T19:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feminem.org\/?p=5847"},"modified":"2017-08-17T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T19:49:24","slug":"work-life-emergency-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feminem.org\/2017\/08\/17\/work-life-emergency-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Work and Life and Emergency Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"
In response to Dr. Martin\u2019s Emergency Medicine News letter to the editor \u201cParenthood and Medicine, Each in Its Season\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n One of the things I have learned from being a mom of six kids and a chair of a busy emergency department is rarely do things happen in the right \u201cseason\u201d. \u00a0Sometimes things, like life, happen all at the same time. When that happens, when it all happens and when it all happens unexpectedly\u2026\u2026we support each other.<\/p>\n Last month, a physician in my emergency department found out his mother-in-law passed away when his distraught wife called him in the middle of a shift. We covered his shift and gave him time off to deal with grief and family obligations. \u00a0 A few months before that, a different front-line doctor needed a week to attend her sick son who had appendicitis. \u00a0We found coverage for her as well. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t easy, but, of course, we made it work.<\/p>\n For the last few months we have had two of our full time staff out on maternity leave and this month we will have one out for several weeks of vacation in anticipation of the birth of his first child. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t easy and led to some creative scheduling but again we made it work.<\/p>\n I was a few months into my new role as a department chair when I got my own \u201cemergency\u201d call. \u00a0My daughter, in school studying abroad in Scotland, had a ruptured appendix. \u00a0As I booked the next flight to Europe, I was very grateful to my team for covering my clinical and administrative duties. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t easy on them, but they made it work.<\/p>\n Ironically, while I was reading your letter to the editor, I was in my assistant\u2019s office. \u00a0My own office was occupied by one of my physicians who was back at work on her first post-partum shift. \u00a0We don\u2019t have a formal lactation room, so I frequently offer my office to faculty who need a quiet private place to pump. \u00a0I don\u2019t give up my office because it is easy; I do it because it feels like the right thing to do.<\/p>\n I believe, Dr. Martin, that you misunderstood the entire point of the original article you were responding to. \u00a0It\u2019s not choosing motherhood over medicine. It’s about acknowledging that we all, men and women, parents or just people, will have some other issue that interferes with our ability to be unilaterally dedicated to the emergency department. Dr. Martin, it\u2019s a sad truth that you too may face one day.<\/p>\n We are emergency medicine physicians. \u00a0Here for patients 24\/7\/365. \u00a0We are dedicated and caring. \u00a0We go the extra mile every single day when it comes to our patients and our department. \u00a0It shocks me that we would ever consider doing less for each other.<\/p>\n When you have a loved one in need, you will need support and that is what your team is for. \u00a0We support you; we have your back, even if you don\u2019t ask. \u00a0 We must allow you to integrate what makes you you<\/em> with what makes you a great doctor, because no one can ever be just one thing at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In response to Dr. Martin\u2019s Emergency Medicine News letter to the editor \u201cParenthood and Medicine, Each in Its Season\u201d One of the things I have learned from being a mom of six kids and a chair of a busy emergency…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":5849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"@amatote responds to @EMNews sexist letter to editor. @darakass @choo_ek @meganranney @EmmyBetz","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[29,43],"coauthors":[249],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n