It can be both rewarding and demanding to work in healthcare, and you’ll sacrifice long hours and your own emotional well being to keep a strong sense of calm with your patients. Balancing a healthcare career with family life is not easy. 

When you’re managing young children along the way, it can feel very overwhelming to try and keep one foot in your career and one for at home. However, with the right planning, support, and good time management, you’ll be able to juggle both very successfully.

1. Work on building a support network. From your family and friends to the carefully chosen preschools that you pick for your children to attend, you need a good support network to help to keep you in one piece and com. Having people to help with child care, running errands, or even just giving you some emotional support after a busy day can make all the difference.
2. Prioritize managing your time. If you’re balancing a demanding job and family responsibilities, then time management is a must. Planning your daily routine, your work hours, and your family time takes time, but you can make use of planners, calendars, and apps to organise both professional and personal tasks. With time management being prioritised, you’ll be able to remain organised which allows you to allocate time more efficiently.
3. Set some boundaries. One of the biggest challenges in a healthcare job with family life on one side is separating both work and home. You have to set clear boundaries between the two so that you avoid burning out. This means consciously switching off after work hours and leaving work at the door. You have to have a dedicated space at home for relaxation and family time, and when you’re with your family you have to focus fully on them.
4. Communicate. It’s so important that you communicate openly with your employer about your family commitments, especially if you need time to do pick ups and drop offs at preschools. You can also do the same thing with the preschools and schools that your children attend because there may be before and after school care that you can rely on when you need to.
5. Don’t forget yourself. While you’re busy juggling all of the plates, you need to take care of yourself as a priority. Your professional and personal well being depends on it. Working in healthcare, particularly in a high stress environment, can take a huge toll on your mental and physical health. You should schedule regular self care activities when you can and make sure that you are putting yourself and your well being at the forefront of your mind at least once or twice a week.

Balancing a difficult job in a difficult industry with your family may not be easy and it may never be easy. But with careful planning and a lot of support around you you can make it work so that you can continue to build your career while your children are young.