more unstable than my checking account and a shoulder with a rota-
tor cuff tear the size of Staten Island.
I was also stretched too thin in my writing and speaking engage-
ments. The chapter I thought was due next month was due yesterday.
And the committee I volunteered for proved to be more demanding
than in-laws on vacation.
It's good for you
When life loses its zest and you seem to have nothing to look forward
to, it's time to take a break, to recharge the battery and to sharpen the
saw. But breaking away from the job is no easy feat. Even though stud-
ies have shown that vacations will help you live a longer, healthier life,
so few of us take them. Only slightly more than half (54%) of the surgi-
cal facility leaders Outpatient Surgery polled in 2011 took a vacation
that year — and many of those were long weekends or "staycations." A
similar poll in May 2009 found that only about one-third (36%) of OR
managers take all the vacation time that they earn in a year. The rest
they forfeit or carry over in the hopes that one day soon they'll take
that dream vacation. Sadly, one day soon never comes for far too
many. When did we become "no-vacation nation?" We cannot give
what we do not have. Vacations prolong life, increase productivity and
nurture relationships. You may raise some eyebrows with your regular
respites, but your coronaries and gastric mucosa will be forever grate-
ful.
Nobody on their deathbed ever says, "I wish I'd spent more time at
the office." They say, "I wish I'd spent more time with my family and
friends."
OSM
Dr. Kelly (johndak4@gmail.com) is an orthopedic surgeon/sports-shoulder
specialist who practices in Philadelphia, Pa.
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