Skip to main content

Physicians with Children: Nurturing Humanism and Returning Joy to Medicine

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Humanism and Resilience in Residency Training

Abstract

In addressing concepts such as humanism, doctoring, parenting, and joy, one inevitably enters the territory of subjectivity. As an illustration of (and a complement to) findings in the current literature, the authors offer meaningful insights from their own experiences. This chapter draws upon the authors’ personal narratives and reflections as physicians who are parents with children. The authors also recommend readings that help them to maintain well-being in the sometimes stormy ocean of parenthood and work-life integration, while remaining effective and fulfilled as physicians in a modern medical culture.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Villwock JA, Sobin LB, Koester LA, Harris TM. Impostor syndrome and burnout among American medical students: a pilot study. Int J Med Educ. 2016;7:364–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Borelli JL, Nelson SK, River LM, Birken SA, Moss-Racusin C. Gender differences in work-family guilt in parents of young children. Sex Roles. 2017;76(5-6):356–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lerner H. The mother dance. New York, NY, USA: Haper Collins; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Association of American Medical Colleges. 2017. www.aamc.org/system/files/d/1/321468-factstablea6.pdf. Accessed 12 Nov 2019.

  5. Willett LL, Wellons MF, Hartig JR, Roenigk L, Panda M, Dearinger AT, Allison J, Houston TK. Do women residents delay childbearing due to perceived career threats? Acad Med. 2010;85(4):640–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement guidance on pre-employment disability-related inquiries. www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm. Accessed 12 Nov 2019.

  7. Wood W, Eagly AH. A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: implications for the origins of sex differences. Psychol Bull. 2002 Sep;128(5):699.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Collier VU, McCue JD, Markus A, Smith L. Stress in medical residency: status quo after a decade of reform? Obstet Gynecol Sur. 2002;57(8):496–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Sandler BJ, Tackett JJ, Longo WE, Yoo PS. Pregnancy and parenthood among surgery residents: results of the first nationwide survey of general surgery residency program directors. J Am Coll Surg. 2016;222(6):1090–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Humphries LS, Lyon S, Garza R, Butz DR, Lemelman B, Park JE. Parental leave policies in graduate medical education: a systematic review. Am J Surg. 2017;214(4):634–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Lashbrook DL, Frazier LM, Horbelt DV, Stembridge TW, Rall MJ. Pregnancy during obstetrics and gynecology residency: effect on surgical experience. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189(3):662–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Cole S, Arnold M, Sanderson A, Cupp C. Pregnancy during otolaryngology residency: experience and recommendations. Am Surg. 2009;75(5):411–5.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Abbett SK, Hevelone ND, Breen EM, et al. Interest in and perceived barriers to flexible-track residencies in general surgery: a national survey of residents and program directors. J Sur Educ. 2011;68(5):365–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Brown EG, Galante JM, Keller BA, Braxton J, Farmer DL. Pregnancy-related attrition in general surgery. JAMA surg. 2014;149(9):893–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Bogan AM, Safer DL. Women in psychiatric training. Acad Psychiatry. 2004;28(4):305–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Sayres M, Wyshak G, Denterlein G, Apfel R, Shore E, Federman D. Pregnancy during residency. N Engl J Med. 1986;314(7):418–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Sheth S, Freedman MT, Arak G. Policies and attitudes toward the pregnant radiology resident. Investig Radiol. 1985;20(4):413–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Jagsi R, Tarbell NJ, Weinstein DF. Becoming a doctor, starting a family—leaves of absence from graduate medical education. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:1889–91.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Doolittle BR, Windish DM, Seelig CB. Burnout, coping, and spirituality among internal medicine resident physicians. Med Grad Med Educ. 2013;5(2):257–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. LaPorte D. White hot truth. Vancouver: Virtuonica; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Koelsch S, Skouras S, Lohmann G. The auditory cortex hosts network nodes influential for emotion processing: an fMRI study on music-evoked fear and joy. PloS one. 2018;13(1):e0190057.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Lenoir F. La puissance de la joie. Paris, France: Fayard; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Wang Y, Qi Z, Hofmann SG, Si M, Liu X, Xu W. Effect of acceptance versus attention on pain tolerance: dissecting two components of mindfulness. Mindfulness. 2019;10(7):1352–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Yim J. Therapeutic benefits of laughter in mental health: a theoretical review. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2016;239(3):243–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Horowitz M. Stress response syndromes: character style and dynamic psychotherapy. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1974;31(6):768–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Diamond GM, Shahar B, Sabo D, Tsvieli N. Attachment-based family therapy and emotion-focused therapy for unresolved anger: the role of productive emotional processing. Psychotherapy. 2016;53(1):34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. West TG. Plato’s Apology of Socrates: an interpretation, with a new translation. Ithaca: Cornell University Press; 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Lenoir F. Du bonheur: un voyage philosophique. Paris, France: Fayard; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  29. H-C R. Life’s in session. Humans winning at life. 2016

    Google Scholar 

  30. Bormann JE, Abraham TH. Evaluation of the mantram repetition program for health care providers. Fed Pract. 2019;36(5):232–6.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. O’Meara R. Pause: harnessing the life-changing power of giving yourself a break. New York: Tarcher Perigee; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Yamamoto-Mitani N, Wallhagen MI. Pursuit of psychological well-being (ikigai) and the evolution of self-understanding in the context of caregiving in Japan. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2002;26(4):399–417.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. GarcĂ­a H, Ikigai MF. The Japanese secret to a long and happy life. Newy York, NY: Penguin; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Bond C. The training of the “helpless” physician. MedGenMed. 2007;9(3):47.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Law M, Lam M, Wu D, Veinot P, Mylopoulos M. Changes in personal relationships during residency and their effects on resident wellness: a qualitative study. Acad Med. 2017;92(11):1601.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Frankl V. Man’s search for meaning: Boston, MA, USA: Beacon Press; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Lenoir F. L’Âme du Monde. Paris: Nil éditions; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Bormans L, editor. The world book of happiness. Buffalo: Firefly Limited; 2011. p. 349.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Danish-English English-Danish Dictionary, Hermann Vinterberg and Jens Axelsen. David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1959

    Google Scholar 

  40. Day L, Ziehm SR, Jessup MA, Amedro P, Dawson-Rose C, Derouin A, Kennedy BB, Manahan S, Parish AL, Remen RN. The power of nursing: an innovative course in values clarification and self-discovery. J Prof Nurs. 2017;33(4):267–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. TED. This could be why you’re depressed or anxious. www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_this_could_be_why_you_re_depressed_or_anxious?language=en

  42. West CP, Dyrbye LN, Rabatin JT, Call TG, Davidson JH, Multari A, Romanski SA, Hellyer JM, Sloan JA, Shanafelt TD. Intervention to promote physician well-being, job satisfaction, and professionalism: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(4):527–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. U.S. Department of Labor. Family and medical leave act. www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/. Accessed 12 Nov 2019.

  44. Vogel L. Starting a family during residency? Leave policies complicate the choice. CMAJ News. CMAJ, 18 Jan 2019. https://cmajnews.com/2019/01/18/starting-a-family-during-residency-leave-policies-complicate-the-choice-cmaj-109-5709/. Accessed 12 Nov 2019.

  45. Raj KS. Well-being in residency: a systematic review. J Grad Med Educ. 2016;8(5):674–84.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Caroline Giroux .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Giroux, C., Shimoyama, S., Alexander, D. (2020). Physicians with Children: Nurturing Humanism and Returning Joy to Medicine. In: Hategan, A., Saperson, K., Harms, S., Waters, H. (eds) Humanism and Resilience in Residency Training. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45627-6_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45627-6_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-45626-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-45627-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics