Are you looking for a work-life balance in healthcare? Unfortunately… you may be looking for a while.
Are you so focused on appearing successful to other people that you ignore your own needs? Are you more worried about what your life looks like on the outside than what it feels like on the inside?
My guest this week, Karen Calcaño CT Surgical PA, Blogger, and Coach, shines an honest light on the lie we are fed about “work life balance” and the REALITIES of living out work-life integration.
In this episode you will learn:
- Karen’s decompensation in the CV ICU which made her re-evaluate her life.
- How to be a ruthless steward of your own energy- regardless of what people think.
- How to recognize and recover from a “Healthcare hangover”
- Taking control of your finances to create stability that doesn’t rely on your employers.
- The keys to maintaining your energy bandwidth
This episode is hilariously relatable as well as deeply informative. It’s one you absolutely do NOT want to miss.
Listen using the audio player above or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Trying to Find Work-Life Balance in Healthcare
Karen had her first episode of burnout inside the CV ICU several years into her career as a CT Surgery Physician Associate.
She had a panic attack that endangered her life and made her re-evaluate different parts of her life. She needed to figure out what makes her happy so she can achieve better work-life balance in healthcare. She also wanted to escape and eventually started travelling. She fell in love with Yoga which aligned to her life values.
Ultimately, she decided that she only wanted to do surgery and she founded a thoracic robotics program at two local hospitals. This began her solo assisting practice. During this time, she also started blogging.
Work-Life Balance in Healthcare During a Pandemic
When the pandemic hit, she had a much more difficult time finding work-life balance in healthcare. She had terrible battle with burnout that led her to the hospital. After that she decided to step away from medicine for 7 months to focus on her blogging.
During this time she also had some epiphanies. She realized that life is not going to look like how you think it would. It’s going to look unpalatable to the people around you but you have to be ok with that if your happiness actually matters to you.
The lie of work-life balance in healthcare
Traditional work-life balance in healthcare, allegedly looks like somebody who’s got their shit together from the outside.
Society wants you to look like you have all your stuff together but in reality, it feels like you are not doing enough. There’s an ongoing list of never-ending responsibilities of being a healthcare professional and also having a family to take care of.
Instead of work-life balance in healthcare, the real key is to aim for work-life integration.
What real work-life integration looks like is somebody who seems crazy to other people. But how it feels is totally different. You feel in alignment, present and enough. You feel in control of your energy.
“ What REAL work life integration looks like is someone who seems crazy to other people. You look like you are unhinged some of the time. But you have to be a ruthless steward of your own energy regardless of what everybody else thinks.”
Dr. Calcaño
What is a Healthcare Hangover?
Healthcare Hangover is essentially a type of pre-burnout. You have this feeling of being existentially drained physically and mentally. You feel like you have nothing else to give.
Burnout is on the more severe end of the spectrum. It represents a complete decompensation where you have no control of what your body is doing.
When you are detailing with a healthcare hangover you must remember your hierarchy of needs:
- Take care of your optimal needs
- Active/passive recovery
- Add adult hobbies / adult play / add value to your life / something that will lit you up
Recovering from a healthcare hangover
If you can recover from a healthcare hangover you are more likely to create work-life balance in healthcare. Start by letting some things off your plate. Create a list of “buttons” you can push.
Example: Delegation. Have a delivery service for meals if you can cook. Have someone to take care of pets.
You don’t have to do everything. Make sure to take care of your basic needs and put your energy top of mind.
Financial Empowerment can help with work-life balance in healthcare
Karen looks at money through her life energy and asks herself where are the leaks going. The perception we are fed of stability is societal indoctrination. You have to ask yourself what stability means to you?
One of the best ways to create stability is to have an emergency fund. Life will hit you whether or not you are prepared for it. It’s better to be prepared with an emergency fund.
When you have this stability you have the ability to walk away from anything that threatens your work-life balance in healthcare.
“Every minute you work is equals to 6 minutes of your life energy.”
– Your Money or Your Life, Vicky Robin
