We agree wholeheartedly with Cornelius Woelk that parenting is rewarding and productive work and should be recognized as such. Parenting does have costs, such as limits to career advancement1 and personal pursuits. Although ideally both parents are interested and equally involved in parenting, this is often not the case. Women bear the brunt of child-rearing responsibilities, whether by choice or by default.2 Unfortunately, one cannot be everything to all people (oneself and one's children, spouse, patients, department heads, etc.). Establishing goals and setting priorities at different stages of life should be the objective. The rise in the number of female physicians has forced the importance of parenting responsibilities to surface. These issues are of equal importance to men. Flexibility in practice settings and training programs is helpful to all physicians — parents or not.
Signatures
Bibiana Cujec
Department of Medicine University of Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
David Johnson
Departments of Medicine, Anesthesia, and Community Health and Epidemiology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Sask.
References
- 1.Carr P, Ash AS, Friedman RH, Scaramucci A, Barnett RC, Szalacha L, et al. Relation of family responsibities and gender to the productivity and career satisfaction of medical faculty. Ann Intern Med 1998;129:532-8. [DOI] [PubMed]
- 2.Cujec B, Oancia T, Bohm C, Johnson D. Career and parenting satisfaction among medical students, residents and physician teachers at a Canadian medical school. CMAJ 2000;162(5): 637-40. [PMC free article] [PubMed]