When I lived in NYC I met two female doctors who were registered nurses (RN) prior to becoming medical doctors (MD). A challenge that resonated with them both was their ability to balance their family and their careers as they attended medical school to become a MD. Both women expressed how their decision to attend medical school came with a lot of sacrifices which included strained marriages. One of the physicians, who was a cardiac fellow at the time was eventually asked by her husband to choose between her career and her marriage. She chose her career! She continued to share that choosing her career also caused disruption with her parents and in her faith. As a Catholic, divorces are frowned upon.
My questions to the Upscale readers are…why do women have to choose family over careers?
Why can’t we have both? Am I living in a unrealistic world?
We have 24 hours in a day…I believe that is enough to accommodate both. The reality for me is that in the past I’ve had to choose family over my career advancement. However, in all fairness to the female physicians I mentioned in this blog, my decision involved children and aforementioned females did not have not have any children.