nov edition of quo vadis

Quo Vadis?

The “Quo Vadis?” feature will allow young scientists (40 years of age and younger) the opportunity to express theiropinions on the future of laboratory medicine. Below are select responses.

How do you balance work and family life?

“One approach that works for me is to de-velop hobbies unrelated to work, such as ball-room dancing, knitting, mixed martial arts,reading, skiing, and tennis. These activities re-quire so much attention that they totally take mymind off work. Another approach is to have aZen moment in my ‘Lady Lounge’ to reconnectwith myself and rejuvenate my spirit so that Ican be effective and productive when I return tothe office. Those moments when I sense I haveachieved balance are when I feel complete and atpeace with myself.” —Yan Zhang, Rochester, NY

“To balance work and family life, I relyheavily on my husband’s support. We plan ourschedules so that one of us is always at homewith the kids. Our kids are on a schedule so thateach weekday is somehow predictable; this helpswith time management and eases our work flow.However, we are flexible and ready to help eachother out when plans change. We understandthe importance of working together as a teamand making each moment as a family count.”—Brenda B. Suh-Lailam, Salt Lake City, UT

“Work life balance is a see-saw. We try fu-riously to balance on the fulcrum between workand family life but success is rare. At times yourfamily life weighs heavily and the see-saw tips infavor of spending more time with family. Atother times your career will tip the balance theother way. When I catch myself thinking aboutwork during family time I force myself to bepresent in the moment and I shift farther back inthe see-saw seat to try to tip that balance back tocenter.” —Mark A. Cervinski, Lebanon, NH

“It is important to ‘let go’ at the righttime, i.e. don’t carry your work home or yourproblems on the home front to your work-place. Only then can you give 100% at bothplaces.” —Moushumi Lodh, Kolkata, India

“When I was in medical school, someoneonce said, ‘You must first take care of yourself be-fore you can take care of your patients.’ To me, thisincludes not only physical health, but also emo-tional, mental, and spiritual health. I try to leavework at work, but things can get crazy. When theydo, my family keeps me going. Even if I have toliterally ‘schedule’ movie night with my husbandor make a five minute phone call to my motherwhile I’m walking to a meeting, I make time forthem. My family makes me a better doctor.”—Amanda O. Fisher-Hubbard, Ann Arbor, MI

DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2012.195859

Question #8How do you deal with stress?

E-MAIL YOUR ANSWER AND A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOURSELF TO:quovadis@aacc.org

Answers must be submitted by November 19, 2012. Please include your full name andaddress with all submissions.

Quo Vadis?

Clinical Chemistry 58:11 (2012) 1611