#HAWMC Day 21.
This is a day to reflect. For the WEGO Health family, we reflect on the inspiring and tireless work Health Activists do every day. Reflect on your journey today. What are your thoughts and hopes for the future?
Is the #HAWMC prescient? Now is a good time to recall my life goal and reflect on my earlier blog entry – the key to happiness.
Recently I got a committee post where I can serve my country, but without pay. That in itself is not surprising. I was a WOC faculty for 9 years until 2012. WOC stands for Without Compensation. I taught medical students and mentored residents and fellows, without pay. My only other compensation was that I could admit patients at the university hospital.
But this time, I felt I could no longer serve without pay. The how much was not even the issue. I am not about to ask for the moon but only that my time be valued somehow. Endless meetings … there are opportunity costs! When others left, I stayed. As an Iskolar ng Bayan I am paying back. Is there a limit or a finish line that says I am done paying back?
Not too long ago, I attended a session by women endocrinologists on mentoring at an Endocrine Society annual meeting. I was particularly struck when someone said that junior faculty spend most of their time teaching, serving on committees and doing no work of their own. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Correct on all three. I resolved then to do more work of my own. And as I look back at the recent months, I have done work I can call my own. More recently, I got accepted as a semi-finalist in the Stanford MedX Symplur social media research challenge.
Social media and healthcare – that’s my niche! I checked my Facebook timeline. On Jan 6, I chose a theme instead of a New Year’s resolution for 2015: INTENTION.
Melinda Johnson writes in Try a New Year’s Theme Instead of a Resolution –
Quite simply, the theme of intention has to do with deliberately choosing how you spend your time, and also choosing how you approach tasks. In other words, it’s choosing to spend time doing what you consider important, and less time on activities that are mindless or wasteful.
I should begin planning the next #hcsmph with the #HealthXPh team! More importantly, I need to publish my social media and healthcare research this year. My up or out deadline is June 2016. I don’t want to revert back to WOC status.
INTENTION. Please pray for my intentions and may God bless them!