Parenting tales at Michigan Drugs – Michigan Drugs Headlines
This initiative, funded by the Wellness Office, collects narratives about the intersection of parenting and careers in healthcare. We invite you to share your own story or photos / artwork (yours or your children’s!)
Work-life integration in medicine is a challenge in the best of times. Parenthood and the path to parenting add a whole new dimension to the challenge. Parents often feel lost, insecure, overwhelmed, conflicted, or guilty. Alternatively, they can feel joyful, hopeful, fulfilled, accomplished, or proud.
Although parenting is an important part of our lives, we often feel uncomfortable talking about it at work. We fear that we will be judged as less career-oriented and that it could have a negative impact on our career path.
In addition, some issues are stigmatized (miscarriage, loss or infertility) and / or excluded from discussion (LGBTQIA relationships, challenges for single parents, children with special needs) and are even more difficult to discuss openly.
The Wellness Office considers it important to normalize and de-stigmatize discussions about the interface between work and parenthood. Therefore, it wants to help all parents and would-be parents realize that their feelings and experiences are normal and that they are not alone in their travels.
What is the aim of this project?
The purpose of this project is to create a sustainable resource for anyone looking to balance the path of parenting with a career in medicine.
There will be three editions:
- A professionally published manuscript of selected stories and artwork by Michigan Medicine students, staff and faculty about education while working in an academic hospital.
- An electronic compilation of additional narratives from Michigan Medicine students, staff, and faculties.
- A recurring live panel hosted by the Michigan Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development where participants in this project discuss and answer questions from participants about parenting while working in medicine.
Additionally, we hope this will fuel efforts to create a support community for parents at our facility.
Participation and more frequently asked questions
All Michigan Medicine students, staff, and faculty are invited to express their interest in participating by completing the short survey here. Please reply by November 1st.
What stories is this project looking for?
All stories related to the intersection of parenting and medical career are accepted.
Apart from narratives, is anything else accepted?
Yes indeed! Submissions can also include artwork, poetry, songs, or other art forms that we can print. Works of art can be by children.
Further information can be found at https://wellnessoffice.med.umich.edu/parenting.
