Our profiled doctors have provided tips to help out those who are thinking about having a family/may already have a family and are looking for advice.
- Set up a coffee group in your area. Having other medical parents to talk to, who understand what you’re going through, can be a huge help. Think about setting up a coffee group in your area where you can get together regularly for a chat. It also helps with the social side of things if you are feeling isolated.
- Start looking at daycare early. If you are planning to return to work within the first year of having children, it is a good idea to start looking at your daycare options as early as possible—many facilities have long waiting lists.
- Have a daycare plan B. If you are planning to send your child to daycare, they get sick. All the time. So have a plan in place of how you are going to deal with this when it occurs.
- Look into job sharing. Many medical parents are interested in job sharing, however most jobs of this description require a job sharing agreement and it can be difficult to find someone else interested in sharing a position. Try looking at the Job-X website: http://www.jobx.co.nz/worktype/job-share-jobs/medical-practitioner-jobs/.