A restorative sabbatical

Dr Katie Ben | Nelson anaesthetist and ASMS National Executive member

The ASMS MECA allows all senior medical officers to apply for a sabbatical of three months paid leave every six years for the purposes of “strengthening or acquiring clinical knowledge or skills or undertaking an approved course of study or research in matters relevant to their clinical practice”.

Historically, many SMOs have taken this opportunity and combined it with overseas travel, benefitting from both the travel experience and the exposure to clinical expertise in other major centres. With travel curtailed by Covid-19, I decided to apply for sabbatical leave to allow me some time without the stress of a call roster to write up my master’s thesis.

When my application was assessed, the sabbatical committee emphasised the need for my project to benefit the DHB and asked how I was going to pass on my learning to colleagues. (NB: this is not a requirement under the MECA).

My thesis subject related to the rationing of health care with a focus on ventilation and ICU access during a global pandemic. I felt it was particularly relevant. However, with no new skill, technique, or practice improvement as an expected outcome, it was a more difficult interview than I had expected.

I had managed a postgraduate diploma in Bioethics and Health Law during the previous two years as a distance student through the University of Otago. However, it had required a fair amount of juggling non-clinical sessions, flexibility from colleagues, and most of my CME funding and hours to make it work.

More time less stress

To do the master’s research and the writing required more time, more sleep, and less stress, so the sabbatical was an ideal option. I was able to organise online meetings with supervisors, make phone calls during the working day to sort out library issues, and had enough time to read all the papers, articles, and book chapters needed. I also had enough time to work out how to use EndNote – which, if anyone is thinking of any form of essay-based study, is an absolute game-changer!

The researching, reading, and the fun of hme from a grumpy old anaesthetist into a person I almost didn’t recognise.

My days weren’t all spent stuck to a computer screen. I used some of my time away from work to recharge the mental and physical batteries which had been depleted during Covid-19 lockdowns, along with the stresses of coping with elective throughputs, call rosters, Covidscenario planning, and replanning. I was away from the hospital, away from the stress of being on call as the single anaesthetist to cover maternity, ICU, theatres, ED, and acute ward patients (with no registrar for assistance), and away from the day-to-day clinical workload.

After the first two or three weeks my sleep pattern settled to something slightly more regular, and I developed a routine of working while my two boys were at school.

The researching, reading, and fun of writing a 27,000-word essay transformed me – I was relaxed, I had space to breathe and think, and I could cope easily with spontaneity and change (this is huge for an anaesthetist, trust me).

Although it seemed a long stretch of time at the start, the three months and two extra weeks of annual leave I added to the end went too quickly. My thesis was researched, written, and submitted, and I had to return to work. Ironically, I was only back at work for a week before my son brought Covid home from school.

Relaxed and recharged

It has given me renewed resilience, a better work–life relationship, allowed me to be fully present at both work and home, and filled me with enthusiasm.

What surprised me on my return to work was discovering how fatiguing our normal working week is. It had taken me three weeks at the beginning of my sabbatical to catch up on a decade of disrupted and variable sleep patterns, which I mostly ascribed to having worked a demanding on-call roster for my entire clinical career. My first week back I was surprised by how tired I was after a ‘standard’ 10-hour day.

I would recommend a sabbatical to anyone and everyone. It is a hugely valuable part of our MECA, with many more benefits than the obvious learning new things or consolidating existing knowledge.

Having me at home for three months has been hugely beneficial for my family, and I have re-evaluated my priorities as a result. It has given me renewed resilience, a better work–life relationship, allowed me to be fully present at both work and home, and filled me with enthusiasm.

I now have the drive to implement ideas that I think can improve patient care, patient pathways, and patient outcomes. If that isn’t a benefit to the DHB, I don’t know what is.