The Life of a Professor

That title makes me laugh...it's not what it seems!

University life is quite different from private practice---I miss working with little ones, but I'm learning way more...forced into topic areas that I avoided before and actually never had time as a practitioner to delve into.

BUT being a professor in my field is a far cry from the leisurely, coffee-sipping, book-reading images that I had in mind! I imagined that I would sit in my office having time to pour over literature and current research...that composing a lecture or PowerPoint would be breezy, and that exams were "no problem" to create. Wrong, wrong, and wrong again!

In reality, I think we have one of the busiest, demanding departments on campus...and as faculty members, are stretched more than others. Because it is a clinical environment, the students go from class to clinic and back to class again, and so do the faculty---we are often there from 8-5, with no down time. There is not a moment to breath in the day (rarely time to eat); and if I do have free time, there are five students lined up outside my door that want to talk to me! I tend to like a hectic pace and am getting better at doing three things at once...and getting better at closing my door so they don't think I'm there :)

Our department does have "perks" though....such as Fridays when there is no class or clinic :) Today I am "working from home" lounging in a chair with books, papers, and laptop in a cozy corner of the Plaza library (my house distracts me)...no students and not much distraction here (except my blog!)...hey, I'm taking a break from PowerPoint! Blue skies outside huge windows, surrounded by the potential knowledge of books, and no kiddos hollering around me. I guess this "professor" thing IS kind of nice...and there is a Chipotle across the parking lot...my new "work" hangout is looking better and better.

Here's to making the most of the "perks" in your work to drown out the "downers"!