Skip to main content

Notes from Academia: We Only Succeed When We Support Our Colleagues with Kids

The stories I hear from my colleagues in academia with kids living at home are something else, especially if they are young. For those on tenure track, the pressure to succeed in the face of such uncertainty is staggering. Some places, like my home university, have extended tenure clocks for those who may need it and have mobilized support groups.

There will be, of course, the inevitable faculty members who simply can't understand why non-tenured faculty on research tracks with children living at home are struggling so much. After all, in their day they did not have all the legal provisions and extra protections that young faculty have today. Or just put the kids on a schedule! Scheduling is the key to success in everything! Sound familiar?  Wouldn't you like those folks to see how working and homeschooling goes if their grandkids or grand nieces and nephews came over and spent a week with them?

Faculty who think that way are thinking from a highly privileged place. No one in academia in recent memory has faced the kinds of challenges COVID-19 is presenting the world. Our industry is upended and like so many things, nothing will ever be the same.

The message for these times is: Don't do things the way we've always done them.

From here on out, here's how we support each other--especially our colleagues with kids at home--during these times.

  • Figure out how to collaborate efficiently and effectively. 
  • Keep everyone in publications. There's no better time than the present to work together and show a track record of collaboration that will help you get research funding in the future.
  • Find ways to collaborate on research ideas that address the problems of the now. Adaptability is key to getting through this period.
  • Ask our parent colleagues what they need to succeed and help them.  If they don't know, help them figure it out.
Above all else, it's everyone needs to know it's OK to NOT be as productive as you normally are these days. At the same time, it's an opportunity to be productive in different ways.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Is it time to get your PhD in Nursing or Midwifery?

 Over the years, I've written a lot about pursuing a PhD in nursing and I'm including midwives because we need more PhD prepared midwives too.  Getting a PhD is a great way to address the problems you've seen on the frontlines of COVID-19, another way to address the social injustices of racism and discrimination on health outcomes, and to make your voice heard by the decision-makers. A third of the 1% of nurses with PhDs will retire in the next five years so we need people to take their place. We cannot lose our voices in all the places where nurses and midwives with PhDs work. Here's a compilation of the posts I've written about getting a PhD and the things to think about as you figure out where you want to apply. PhD or DNP?   This is where many people start when trying to decide on their doctoral-level career advancement. This post has my two cents on the topic. Should you work as a nurse before getting a PhD?   There's a lot of opinions out there on this sub...

The 32 Hour Work Week for Nurses

Sometimes it's nice to see research that confirms a hunch you've had for a few years.  A recent study in Health Affairs , one of the most influential health policy journals in the United States, looked at the effects of 12 hour shifts on patient satisfaction and nurse burnout rates. Turns out, results are not good.  The longer nurses worked in a day, the less satisfied patients were with the quality of care.  In addition, nurses working 12 hour shifts were more likely to become burnt out than those working fewer hours. On the overtime policy front, that's good news for nurses.  The study adds just one more reason why mandatory overtime is bad policy.  It should create incentive for staffing units appropriately and closer to the California standards. From another perspective, we know why nurses like 12 hour shifts.  Let's face it, 3 days a week of work and then a bunch of days off in a row, so many sometimes that you don't have to use vacation day...

US Nurses: Vote Today!

Nurses: There is no excuse not to vote .   There is too much at stake this year that affects the health of our patients. Be a smart voter and choose five major issues that affect your job and your patients' ability to get care and services.  Take those five issues and make sure you study how candidates at all levels, from local representation through the president, match up with your perspectives. Voting because of a single issue or stance by a candidate is not good critical thinking.  The world is too complex for your vote to come down to one single thing. Finally, if you experience any voting issues, or are the subject of intimidation from other voters, poll watchers, or election site workers, please call 1-866-OUR -VOTE for legal assistance at no charge.

Translate