WOMEN’S COMMITTEE UPDATE Nicole Vigh, DO, MPH

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WOMEN’S COMMITTEE UPDATE

By Nicole Vigh, DO, MPH

Ibecame a mom for the first time in February 2021, during my third year of my emergency medicine residency training. I graduated residency and became an emergency medicine attending physician in June 2022. Becoming a mom has been one of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences I have ever had. Becoming a physician has its own set of rewards and challenges. But becoming a physician mom is a whole other experience, with its own very unique set of joys and challenges. The ACOEP Women’s Committee is full of moms who have shared their experiences as a physician mom, sharing the greatest joys, challenges and even some “mom hacks” they’ve learned along the way.

Many of us can agree that becoming a mom has made us better physicians. I have found that since becoming a mom I have a better understanding of what my patients and their parents or family members are experiencing and am able to be more empathetic. The first time I frantically brought my son to urgent care with a weird rash it helped me to understand the fear that parents have when they bring their child to the emergency department, unsure what’s going on with their child, unsure if their child’s fever is something serious or a mild cold. Having cared for my own sick child has given me a unique understanding of what other parents are experiencing. On the flip side, being a physician makes us better moms as well. As Dr. Carrick, mother of three boys says, “I am able to be the best caretaker when they are sick and injured.” As the mother of a 19-month-old son who has already had his first trip to the ER for stitches, I too can agree with that!

As a mother we need to think about providing financially not only for ourselves and significant others but our children as well. The financial reward of being a physician provides families with a comfortable lifestyle. As Dr. Dziedzic says, “I don’t have to worry about my (3) kids not getting needs met due to the cost of something.” Being a physician gives Dr. Carrick the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of traveling and making memories with her husband and three boys. The financial aspect of working in medicine takes away the financial worry of providing for a family.

As I had mentioned I had my son during my third year of my fouryear emergency medicine residency training program. Did I mention during a pandemic, with gestational diabetes?

It was really hard. But, having my son by my side during my final year of training made each and every day better and was incredibly rewarding. He watched his mama graduate from residency and of that I am extremely proud. I am proud that my son will grow up watching his mom go to work each day to help others. As Dr. Carrick says, “My boys see me working hard every day, encountering really difficult situations with students and patients, and holding important leadership positions. I tell them stories about what I do.” Dr. Selley agrees, “The biggest joy about being a physician is sharing the unique responsibility of how we care for other people that are not our family members with my (2) kids.” As physician moms we all hope to provide our children with a great role model to look up to and to learn from. I hope that my son grows up knowing that he can accomplish anything with hard work.

Being a physician mom of course comes with challenges and I think the number one challenge that all working moms can agree on is the mom guilt! I went back to work when my son was seven weeks old and I felt terrible leaving him, working long hours and missing many “firsts”. Now that I am working as an attending, I have chosen to work three night shifts per week, although it’s still hard to leave those nights, I know every week I only work three nights and the rest of the week I am completely off. Those days off I maximize the time I spend with my son and husband, planning fun activities just about every day. Dr. Dziedzic agrees working all nights has been beneficial for her and her family, “Now I only have two schedules, work and off. This allows me to be home for most after school activities and have dinner with my family every night. I even get to see the kids before school most days.” Dr. Selley agrees as well, “One of the biggest challenges of being a physician mom is trying to balance being there for my kids and still having the drive to excel in leadership and not feel guilty.” Dr. Carrick recently transitioned to a new role as the Associate Dean at Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, working only two clinical shifts per month. “Most of the time I work weekdays only so I can take my boys to their activities and be home most nights.” Finding balance between our work and home lives can be challenging but it’s important to set our priorities and make the most of our time away from work.

As physician moms we owe some of our success to the many “mom hacks” we’ve learned along the way! Juggling multiple different schedules can be really difficult. Dr. Dziedzic uses one calendar with each person having a different color for their activities to help her to manage herself, her husband and their three children’s busy schedules. Dr. Carrick, Dr. Selley and I agree our greatest mom hacks includes utilizing services and tools that make our life easier! Grocery delivery services, meal kit delivery services like Hello Fresh, a cleaning service, or a Roomba (a great gift from my mother-in-law… possibly a hidden message…anyway it’s been a life saver!). Utilizing these services allows me to make the most of my time off and spend it with my son and husband. As Dr. Selley says, “Whatever it is that would give you the ability to breathe and not stress.” It is also important to continue doing the things you enjoy and what gives you your own identity. It’s important to be intentional with planning time for yourself. I have always enjoyed working out, but after I had my son I couldn’t get myself to spend time off exercising without feeling the mom guilt, until I found my favorite “mom hack”. Fit4mom is a mom group that does exercise classes with the kids, the instructors sing to the kids to keep them entertained, all exercises are done with your kids in the stroller and at the end of class the kids can run around and play together. It has been a great way to get in a workout without the mom guilt!

While being a physician mom comes with its own unique set of rewards and challenges, we can all agree being a physician mom combines two of the greatest jobs there are, and we wouldn’t trade it for anything! Utilizing our greatest mom hacks helps us to be successful in our work and home lives. And of course, having a great group of physician moms to talk to, share experiences and advice with helps as well! –•–

…BEING A PHYSICIAN MOM COMBINES TWO OF THE GREATEST JOBS…”