WORK/LIFE BALANCE
LOCUMING:
Glasgow one day, Edinburgh the next. We work for a week in Falkirk and then it’s off to Somerset to see out the month, praying that the car doesn’t fail. With all the travelling, it’s easy to develop a mild addiction to Kit Kats and Red Bull.
The uncertainty of work schedules can bring with it levels of stress that are not found in some other professions. Patients’ lives are in our hands. We spend a lot of time on the roads. We spend a lot of time seeking out our next opportunity. And yet, we continue to provide first-class services to new people, as part of different teams, on a weekly basis. While we help our patients, our own work/life balance can suffer.
MAKE TIME FOR FAMILY How I dealt with maintaining a healthy work/life balance was by managing my time more effectively. I tried to be the most organised locum pharmacist on the planet. I used an annual calendar and I set aside time
20 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
FINDING THE WORK/LIFE BALANCE L
by Jonathon Clarke
ocum pharmacists are to be admired. Working throughout Scotland, we find ourselves in
for learning. The most important thing that I did was that I set aside time for my family, friends and my hobbies. Exercising was important too, helping me to de-stress.
DITCH THE CAR
I started by ditching my car. Taking the bus or train to working locations helped me to catch up on sleep and allowed me some time to read my favourite articles and novels. I grew to look forward to travelling to work. This became my time to clear my head and lose myself in a world of fantasy or entertainment. A word of advice here: be careful that, if you’re going to sleep on a train or bus, remember to set an alarm. You don’t want to miss your stop!
EAT LUNCH
I was like a lot of you guys. I used to think that I was a hero and I would regularly work through my lunch. Not only did this completely ruin my eating pattern, but I grew to resent the sun being in the sky. I decided one day that I would always eat my lunch and that I would leave the pharmacy for at least fifteen minutes per day for
a quick walk. It was great to get my head showered and it was beneficial to get my heart rate up. I wasn’t as groggy in the afternoons as I had previously been.
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE Pharmacists know that laughter is the best medicine (sort of!). Are you into videos of dogs playing with their tails, babies laughing or things getting blown away in the wind? Get yourself on to YouTube! Having a laugh is a fantastic way to brighten up your day and is a great way to remove some of the stress from your life.
EXERCISE
When I made plans with my friends, I would stick to them. If I made plans with my family, I would commit to those too. I knew that I couldn’t exercise every day, but I set myself a goal of working out for three hours every week. I made sure that I took my holidays on the same days as my fiancée did. I feel that our relationships are the most important things in my life. I work to live, I don’t live to work.
MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF Pharmacists are naturally caring people and we are prone to putting patients and work first. But we need to make time for ourselves. We need to be selfish on occasion. If a patient came to us and suffered from a work/life balance that induced stress, we would tell them to find time for themselves. Maybe we should follow our own advice. •
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I DID WAS THAT I SET ASIDE TIME FOR MY FAMILY, FRIENDS AND MY HOBBIES. EXERCISING WAS IMPORTANT TOO, HELPING ME TO DE-STRESS.
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