“I wanted to deliver babies since before I could remember. Apparently, an OBGYN came to my pre-school class and told us about pregnancy and birth. When I got to medical school, I tried so hard to choose a different specialty, because I heard about the challenges with work/life balance. But I knew it could be different. And I continue to this day, to look for other women and physicians, who are doing it in a way that makes sense,” said Dr. Lucy Lomas, Obstetrician, Gynecologist and Health Advocate.

Despite the many joys, it’s no secret that parenting often conflicts with paid work. Particularly for Mothers, who still own most of the childcare and household responsibilities. So, after having kids many of us feel like we’re holding onto careers, we spent decades training for, by our fingernails.

But every industry is going through a post-pandemic revolution. And if we want to make work, ‘work’ for parents and caregivers, now is the time to prioritize healthy outcomes. This is critical for all sectors, but especially in healthcare, where the health of workers sets the tone for the whole population. So, increasingly trail blazers are finding ways to reinvent work from the inside. And that’s exactly what Lucy intends to do.

Burnout Continues to Haunt Us

Lucy said, “As a full-time OBGYN with two kids, working 24 plus hour shifts and seeing 25 or more patients a day at the height of the pandemic, it’s clear why I burned out.” She wanted to be an OBGYN since she was three years old. But working in high passion fields, even when it’s your calling, doesn’t protect you from burnout. Although work changed for everyone in the pandemic, we’re at a different stage. So, what if we stepped back to reexamine the building blocks of work?

But We Can Normalize Healthier Patterns

All of them, from the schedules to expectations, rituals, and rewards. Healthcare – including how it works for women, as patients or practitioners, broke long before Covid. And Lucy aims to design a better birth experience, to improve outcomes for everyone, Moms, babies, and medical teams.

She said, “When I was in the thick of the grind, I had to reframe this for myself. How do I show up better for my patients so, I can take care of them? And I recognized that God truly wants me to be well.” We all know what the data proves. That pushing people, to the point of burnout, doesn’t lead to better productivity or innovation. In fact, it’s counterproductive. So, how can we make changes?

Because Everyone Needs Flexibility

Lucy said, “Flexibility is a priority because at its core, the system has to be designed to sustain itself.” Remote work, can be life changing but it’s just over half of the workforce with access to it. And flexible work is much bigger than just working from home. Leaders need to revisit expectations, decision-making, accountability, strategic pivots and how workers access discretionary time. Whether it’s for deep work or self-care.

Many health facilities run on 12- or 24-hour shifts, time blocks that aren’t friendly to childcare, family, or self-care routines. So, can we really change health for the broader population, when health workers, have unsustainable schedules?

Especially During Prime Caregiving Years

Flexibility always matters. But as Lucy explained, there are life stages when caregiving is likely to be frequent, like when our kids are younger, and parents are older. “My daycare provider was sick the day before yesterday. So, guess who had to provide care for my son? My family is not from here so, I can’t just drop him off somewhere. And he’s not old enough to be quiet while my husband is at home working.” Caregiving is dynamic. Although it begins with pregnancy and the vulnerable return-to-work phase, most of us need grace in our schedules well beyond that.

We Can Change What a ‘Workday’ Means

Although healthcare has a profound impact on our lives, these challenges exist in many industries. Whether it’s higher education, government, technology, or retail. When the work is mostly onsite, and starts hours before childcare or school is available, it puts an incredible strain on families. Particularly Mothers, while the gendered divide in workload, remains the norm in most households. Lucy said, “Flexibility is critical, particularly when we know we need more support.”

So, Create Your Ideal Setting

Lucy said, “Now I seek to achieve what I set out to at a young age. To me that means I get the opportunity to dream up or create system, a place where OBGYN’s can live, work, and thrive. And nurses, midwives, doulas, and healthcare workers are better supported and taken care of.” And this shift is already happening in other industries. New models, like 4-day work weeks, shifted hours and fractional or part-time roles, even in leadership, are becoming more common.

And Advocate for a Better System

After the past few years, workers continue to reprioritize and many, are leaving healthcare. Especially in female-heavy roles like nursing, making the whole structure more fragile. Lucy said, “At the end of the day, right now, our healthcare system is a business. And as individuals we need to know that. Because when we know this, we can approach it that way. It is part of the challenge and where there’s lots of work to be done.”

The future of work needs to be inclusive. Especially for women and people of color who have been shut out of leadership and economic growth for far too long. Improving work/life in industries that disproportionately shape our culture: like healthcare, government, education, and the largest corporations, will have a positive ripple effect through our society.

Many thanks to the talented Dr. Lucy Lomas, MD!

Follow Lucy’s great adventure on her website, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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About Lucy:

Dr. Lucy Lomas MD is an expert in women’s health and wellness. She is leading a community-owned wellness center located in Roxbury that prioritizes the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of patients and healthcare workers. Lucy is a board certified OB GYN physician with over 10 years of clinical experience. She serves as the director of community, health and wellness for the New England Medical Association, a network of black physicians.  She graduated from the University of Southern California for Medicine (2009) and Biomedical engineering (2004). Lucy loves creating joyful experiences for her children, family and friends.