KEMU hosts session on ‘Doctors as Parents’

LAHORE:A session on “Doctors as Parents: Challenges and well-being” was organised by Department of Child & Family Psychiatry and Academic Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at King Edward Medical University on Thursday.

Dr M Zeeshan, MD, Child Psychiatry Fellowship (Harvard) Clinical Assistant Prof, Psychiatry, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey was the guest speaker and Prof Mehmood Ayaz was the chief guest of the occasion.

Dr Zeeshan focused on various challenges physician parents faced and highlighted that if you’re a doctor and parent and are finding both gigs challenging, you are not alone. It can be extraordinarily stressful juggling both roles. He gave tips for parents to help develop meaningful relationship with their children and not to be too hard on themselves.

Prof Mehmood Ayaz shared his experiences of work life balance and advised younger doctors the various positive aspects of childcare in our society with grandparents taking on the responsibility of collective parenting.

Panelists for the session included Prof Aftab Asif, Prof Bilquis Shabbir, Prof Haroon Hamid, Prof Aisha Malik and Prof Asghar Naqi. Many other senior faculty members Prof Yar Muhammad, Prof Ali Madeeh Hashmi, Dr Sohail Niazi and Dr Uzma Malik also joined the session, which was also attended by participants online. Panelist answered questions and shared their experiences of parenting with the participants.

It was stated that with women making up an increasing percentage of the physician work force in Pakistan, they still face challenges as they continue to take primary responsibility for childcare and domestic activities. Women are torn between their careers and their families and sometimes feel inadequate in both roles. Strategies need to be employed in both the workplace and at home to achieve an acceptable balance between being a physician and being a parent.