Follow Your Passion.

Abstract

I recently had a conversation with some midwifery students nearing the end of their education program. One of the concerns they voiced was how to avoid burnout. I gave them fairly standard advice about choosing a job carefully, recognizing the limits of our time and energy, saving time for the people and activities we love outside of work, and practicing good self-care. Rest assured (especially my dear husband and others who know me well and may find some irony here) that I was forthright that while I am not always great about practicing what I preach in this regard, I do keep trying to get better at work-life balance with age. The conversation segued into talking about the many volunteer opportunities available to midwives and how some of what seems to lead to burnout is all of the volunteer work midwives do. The words and the force with which they came out of my mouth surprised me a bit, and I've found myself repeating them in several other conversations with midwives since that time. They can be summed up simply: follow your passion. While passion for women's health, birth, reproductive justice, and/or other aspects of midwifery are what brought us into this profession, passion isn't always the gauge we use for what to do with the precious professional hours that we get to choose how we donate. There are seemingly endless opportunities for midwives to volunteer across a wide variety of venues: the American College of Nurse-Midwives, other professional associations, community organizations, global initiatives, and more. The world absolutely needs midwives willing to commit significant time and energy to doing and leading volunteer work, but we need to choose this work wisely. It's easy to get involved in something because it is what a mentor or colleague is doing, especially if, as one of the students noted, we are flattered by their invitation. But if that committee or project isn't what we are passionate about, we can end up investing time and energy while being miserable. Certainly not every minute of volunteer work is enjoyable, even if it is a perfect fit for our passion, but it is hard to do our strongest work when we are not passionate about something. And exhausting ourselves with opportunities that aren't of great interest to us may lead to burnout and being reluctant to volunteer again. How would you suggest I go about working on my writing? I've always felt myself to be a weak writer. Every time I get asked to do something I cringe and then do it because I love the subject matter and I don't want to let the person down that has asked to me do something. However, deep down inside I hate to write. I'm so much better explaining things in person. I just want better educated providers who are stronger clinicians who are providing the highest level and quality of care to their patients that they can provide. In terms of improving your writing, you might look into taking a class and/or reading a book on writing. I can send you some suggestions if you're interested in that option. But…if you really hate writing, it doesn't have to be your thing. I have two suggestions in that regard. One is you might be happier pursuing speaking as a way to transmit your wealth of knowledge and wonderful passion. The other is to consider teaming up with a strong writing partner so you can be the content expert who can generate content then the other person can focus on the actual writing. The advice to follow your passion and find an outlet doesn't just apply to new graduates or new opportunities. It is also important when we've committed to something that we are no longer passionate about, which happens. Just because we started out on a certain committee or devoted years to a particular area of work doesn't mean that we must do that work for the rest of our life. Sometimes moving on to something new is exactly what we need to do. I recently heard the author Elizabeth Gilbert say she feels that much of her speaking involves handing out metaphorical permission slips, and I feel like I'm joining her in this when it comes to professional volunteer work. Whether we are being asked to take on something new or renew a commitment, we must ask ourselves if this is (still) our passion before we answer. We get to make choices about our volunteer work, and making the right ones benefits us and those who will get our best efforts when we judiciously say yes.