When you think about professional part-time roles, you might not think a physician would be on that list. Dr. Dana Corriel is exactly that. She’s a doctor – an internal medicine physician – who works part time in a small private practice.
I “met” Dana in a Facebook group when she posted a question about something related to her blog. I reached out and asked to interview her for the book and I had no idea what an interesting and honest conversation we would have. Although Dana is a doctor, she has a lot of different interests. She writes about these various interests on her blog, where she shares a bit more of the human side of a medical professional.
The Not-so-Typical Path
Dana talked about loving what she does as a doctor. Let’s be honest, that’s what you want to hear, right? That your doctor loves being a doctor.
Dana didn’t necessarily take the straight-forward path, when it came to her profession. She had her first son while in her first year of residency when hours are long – really long – and there is a lot of pressure to perform your best 110 percent of the time. There were times she admits she didn’t really feel like a mom and that her son spent a lot of time with the nanny. She completed her residency and became an Assistant Professor in the World Center Monitoring and treatment Program at Mt. Sinai for 5 years.
And then Dana walked away. Her sabbatical was as much for her as it was for her kids. On her 3-year hiatus, she took time to tap into new things and explore other interests in addition to making sure to form the strongest bond possible with her boys. At one point, she even considered leaving medicine for good. But then Dana realized that she wasn’t interested in walking away from her medical career. She wanted to see patients and form those close doctor-patient relationships; she didn’t, however, think she was ready for the long hours. It turns out that burn out is pretty common among primary care doctors (about half experience burnout). So, Dana looked for a part-time role and found one at her current practice.
Work & Happiness
Dana has been all three: a mom who works in a demanding full-time career, a SAHM, and a professional part-time working mom. She understands the value of what part time has to offer. She shares that working lets her feel happier and more complete. And that happiness trickles down to her family so that everyone is happier when Dana is working part time. She’s a better mom and better wife.
What does Work time look like?
She works about 30 hours over four days each week, although she’s considering adding more. And she might eventually go back to work full-time, but not anytime soon. She’ll wait until her three boys are older to make those kinds of decisions.
Advice
Dana has some advice for moms, not only those in the medical profession, who want to work part time:
- Set out rules and expectations during the negotiation period
- Remember that you can usually work more, but it’s really hard to work less (e.g., easy to go from 18 to 24 hours, but hard to go from 30 to 24 hours per week)
- Do what works for you and consider your children’s needs and opportunities to be engaged in their lives (e.g., serving lunch at children’s school or other volunteer opportunities)
- Be good at what you do and other opportunities will open up
If you’re wanting to hang out and chat with more moms like Dana, come join us in the Mompowerment Facebook group.
