Wow, what a blank blog. You can see that I’ve had a very quiet couple of Christmas and New Year holiday weeks. It is normally the only time of year that I get a proper break. I guess I should make a New Year’s resolution of some sort about that.
I’m back at work today, and while teaching was fun this morning I’m again struggling with the realities of being an academic far too involved with teaching. I’m not publishing papers, I’m not applying for grant money, I’m not in the lab, and yet I’m ridiculously busy. How come? The medicine teaching year, and in particular the post-graduate, fast-track medicine teaching year is longer than normal BSc or BA teaching years. Too long. Barely do we finish summer resit exam boards before we start teaching again. Anatomy is taught all year long, and it’s a big, main-stay, foundation of medicine-type subject. There’s only so much you can “omit” from teaching. Also, my research has become “industrial”. Which is good, but means patents rather than papers and investors rather than grants. It feels less scholarly, but puts you closer to producing a product that would directly benefit a patient. Which is nice (if it ever happens).
So, as with every new year, I’ve been setting goals for my sporting efforts. Should I do the same for work? Would they help, and what should they be? How can I prioritise research over teaching or vice versa?
Too many ideas and a love of cortisol.
