Balancing professional and family life can be a struggle, especially for those in the medical profession who may be called in to work at any time of the day or night. Janice Marie Carson, MD, 1982 U-M Anesthesiology residency graduate, found a way to continue working as a professional in the medical field and spend time with her young family.
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She married her husband, Curtis, during her fourth year of medical school at U-M and their eldest daughter Erin, now 12 years old, was born two months after she completed her Anesthesiology residency in June of 1982. The young family moved to California and Dr. Carson taught anesthesiology at the University of California-Irvine, where Dr. Tremper was her colleague. After a year and a half, Dr. Carson accepted a position as director of the Anesthesiology Department of Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, IL. Their second daughter, Cari, was born during a period when the hospital was short staffed and Dr. Carson was on call every other night and weekend. She was administering anesthesia one Wednesday when she felt her first contractions. She went home early, and her daughter was born the next morning, Thursday when she was to be on call!
During her years working in private practice, Dr. Carson felt that she was spending too much time away from home due to her unpredictable schedule. Anesthesiology is unlike office based medical practices. You provide in-hospital services to someone else's patient. Thus, you deal with surgeons, and are called in many times at their convenience.
So in 1987, when her husband accepted a position in South Bend, Ind., Dr. Carson took a leave from work to enjoy their children, then aged five and one. Upon returning to medicine, a year and a half later, she chose to continue in the administrative field, rather than in the clinical arena. As director of medical services for the Northern Indiana State Development Center, she oversaw pediatricians, family practitioners, and a host of specialists, as well as ancillary services at the center.
While Dr. Carson said medical administration does not relate at all to anesthesiology, she did rely upon her private practice and teaching experiences in her new career. Her experience dealing with administrative issues while in private practice, and negotiation skills learned while supervising nurse anesthetists both in California and Illinois were useful. ŅI learned to be flexible, and recognize that each team member had a contribution to make and sometimes their ideas were better than my own.
With children 12- and 7-years-old, Dr. Carson has left her position to spend the summer enjoying activities with her children. She feels lucky to have been afforded the opportunity of being not only a physician but a mom too. When fall rolls in this coming year, she plans to return to her career in medical administration while pursuing a graduate degree in administration.
Dr. Carson is also actively involved in her community. She was vice president, and is now president, of her area's Home Owner's Association and she teaches a junior class at her church. She enjoys traveling with the family, and sailing their new boat on Lake Michigan.
Originally published in September, 1994