Some Introductory Thoughts: I found my way into medicine, psychiatry, and academics in an effort to achieve several goals. First, it was important to work in an area that was intellectually stimulating, as I am easily bored. Second, school was always exciting and I hoped to enter a profession where continuing to learn was part of the job. Third, I hoped to make a good living, but not make income the yardstick for success. Finally, I always felt family must come before work, and the ideal job would allow me control over my schedule.
My goal here is to offer a psychiatric resident or psychology post doc the flavor of what my academic life is like in light of these goals. I’ve chosen a typical day that blends together clinical work, teaching, administrative time, and research. The latter is the central element of my reason for staying in an academic career.
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The Morning—The Time of Day I Usually Enjoy Most
Because I have always been an early riser, my day began at 6:30 a.m. When our children were younger this allowed me to have breakfast with them and help send them off to school. Now the early morning hours allow me to eat with my wife, and drive to work before the rush hour.
I arrived at the office about 7:30, looked at overnight e-mails, returned calls from the East Coast, and set my goals for the day. The next 2 to 3 hours were spent reviewing and processing manuscripts as Editor of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, and meeting with members of our three research teams. I began with the group carrying out the follow-up of sons of alcoholics and controls, noting our progress to date, and reviewing interviews. I then met with a senior colleague who helps oversee the projects, and talked with the staff who recruit siblings for a genetic study, and met staff working on the follow-up of a large cohort of families of alcoholics. The morning was also my time to interview a new patient on the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program (ADTP) to demonstrate to students how a diagnostic interview and preliminary treatment plan can be developed from a relatively short session.
This left the rest of the morning to read relevant papers in the literature (we’re in the process of writing several grants) and work on papers we hope to publish.
Challenges from the morning do not always fade away, so I took this time to settle down my heart rate and remind myself there is a life outside the walls of the hospital. University of California San Diego (UCSD) is one of the few medical campuses contiguous with an undergraduate university, so I went for a long walk. I usually have no agenda but always seem to arrive back at the office more relaxed and with fewer concerns than when I left. The remainder of the midday break on that day was also used for a brief visit with a medical student facing a life crisis.
This afternoon began with a 15-minute administrative meeting with the ADTP staff to clarify communications between nurses and counselors and make sure that all groups and educational lectures were covered despite turnover in staff. This led to a clinical hour where psychiatric residents and medical students briefly presented new patients to the combined inpatient and outpatient staff.
Most of the remaining afternoon was spent with teaching and supervision. This included sessions with two junior residents to discuss patients and talk about a recent article, followed by a similar meeting with two medical students. This was a wonderful chance to tie together some of my research interests and teaching responsibilities.
My official day at work ended with a half-hour meeting with a junior colleague who was wrestling with problems related to a paper she was developing. The emphasis was on clarifying the major message, and using consistent terminology to be certain the key issues were optimally explained.
Academics, for me, is a blending together of home and work, as much of my reading, thinking, and writing is done at home but structured around my focus on my family. My wife and I walked before dinner to discuss what occurred that day, and I then relaxed, looked through the newspaper, and helped prepare dinner. Eating was followed by a time to catch up on journals, read and edit drafts of papers, and organize materials for the next day. This was also our chance to listen to classical music, watch a movie, and, at day’s end, immerse myself in a novel. Investing in books helps me to decompress from the day, and I never allow work-related issues to enter that important hour.
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Some Impressions of the Day
Regarding the goals I established when I entered academics, as I look back on my day, I was never bored—not even for a minute. I had the opportunity to learn new things, teach, and spend a substantial portion of my time on research. The combination of processing papers for our journal, preparing a grant, working on my own papers, and keeping up on published articles, along with the time spent enjoying music, movies, and novels, is like being paid a good wage to have never left school. I love to have a career where I can gauge my progress by the quality of my research and teaching. Clinical work and administration are also important, but the research is my reason for working where I do. Finally, I had control over most of what I did and how I spent my time. I structured the start and end of the workday to optimize time with my family, kept research as the fulcrum around which other professional activities revolved, and melded clinical and teaching activities into the day in a way that kept me busy and stimulated. What more could I ask?
Dr. Schuckit is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, and Director, Alcohol Research Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA.