Switching off can be hard, but hopefully everyone will have the time to do so this festive season.
It’s approaching the end of the year when many of us take stock of all that has passed and I want to share some thoughts with you, as someone who has scrambled through the year and measured the passing weeks by tasks and deadlines. I’m certain I am not alone and that there are many who, too, have juggled the responsibilities of professional and personal lives and who have also allowed days to slip by without time to reflect or savour the simple, small pleasures in life.
It is my belief that biomedical scientists share a similar mind set and the double edged sword of our professional dedication and desire for absolute accuracy is our reluctance to sometimes stop and let go. We don’t need anyone to punish us for errors, we are more than capable of doing that for ourselves; endlessly. One of our greatest fears is that of “getting it wrong”.
Let’s pause and think for a moment; in relation to the number of tests and samples that are analysed each year, the number of queries that are handled and the number of individuals being trained and developed, biomedical scientists are dedicated and safe professionals that deliver an unwaveringly high quality service. When most of the UK is celebrating the season, biomedical scientists will be the unsung heroes, ensuring business as usual for healthcare.
If I could give this profession a gift, it would be the recognition it so richly deserves and the ability to just “switch off”. I know that switching off can be difficult, particularly so in December when festive cheer is compulsory and hospital A&E departments are crammed with the casualties of excess. However, I hope that amid the pressures and expectations of the season, everyone can find some time to reconnect with what is important to them.
None of us live “ideal home” lives and I cannot be the only person not to have achieved the pouty perfection depicted in perfume adverts.
I am a creature of habit and every Christmas I settle down to watch The Snowman on television. I love the escapism of that gentle snowy world and that special moment of anticipation when the little boy takes his snowman’s hand and together they run faster and faster soaring up in to the air, flying. If you too watch The Snowman you will be sharing a moment with me when we have switched off the real world and are savouring one of life’s small pleasures that we have earned.