By Shannon
In corporate America, we’re always hearing about the importance of work/life balance. Studies have been done and companies have acted on the results, designing new programs, benefits and organizational initiatives that help employees get home sooner and gain added flexibility in their schedules so they can maintain their out of the office personas. But, reading this New York Times article by Pauline W. Chen, M.D., it struck me that one profession where the concept of work/life balance might be taken for granted is in the medical community.
Dr. Chen provides an interesting perspective, her own, on the pressures doctor’s feel from training all the way through to practice as they strive to always be there for the patient. She makes some very compelling points that support the need for physicians to find the right work/life balance early on in their careers. It may seem easier said than done for a group of clearly driven and dedicated individuals, but the benefits will surely translate into their patient care.
From the perspective of patients, we often assume that our doctors and nurses are (or should be) available to us 24/7. Looking at it holistically, I, for one, can say that I hope all physicians take the advice outline by Chen. Finding time for themselves and carving out an identity outside of their practices will surely provide them with a fresher perspective as their practice medicine.
And, hey, no matter what your profession, we can all benefit from summer Friday’s, right?
June 19th, 2009
By Shannon
We as consumers have long since realized the power of the web in helping us educate ourselves on matters of our health. Whether it be the common cold, a pesky rash or the symptoms of swine flu, sites like WebMD having been helping us self-diagnosis for many years. But, with the rise in popularity of social networking, something interesting has taken hold in how the business side of healthcare leverages the web.
More and more, physicians and healthcare companies are turning online to interact, educate and inform. They now have, or can offer, unlimited access to the latest research, developments techniques and medical best practices. With anywhere, anytime access to this type of information, medical professionals across the world are now afforded the opportunity to learn in real-time, things that previously may have taken days, weeks, months or even years to reach them.
We’ve already seen sites like Doctor’s Channel, KevinMD and Science Roll become invaluable resources for medical professionals across the globe in essentially every field of medicine. And, healthcare organizations are also entering the fray, providing targeted sites to educate their constituents – consumers or professional – on the latest developments on certain disease states. Take a recent site from one of our clients geared at educating global infertility specialists on the best techniques for improving pregnancy rates, or the site Patients Like Me, which unites patients from across the world, in a ongoing research experiment to help shape future treatments and therapies for conditions like ALS, MS and Parkinson’s.
The web is having a tremendous impact on how everyone consumes and shares medical information. It will be interesting to see how this medium continues to impact healthcare for us the patient and how much physicians truly embrace these online tools.
May 18th, 2009
