“It must be a balance in everything we do, not too much of everything, keep it simple, not complicated.”
— Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
We are pleased to announce the name of our Blog on the Gateway to Health Communication and Social Marketing Practice – CDC’s Health Out Loud. Thanks to everyone who submitted suggestions. We are sending a fantastic prize (okay, it’s just a CDC coffee mug and a flash drive) to Ian Chaves from Canada. Please keep sending us ideas about how to improve the web site – we want it to be the best possible site for YOU to use!
In this blog, we want to start a discussion on a critical topic, one that we all frequently face in the front lines of public health promotion:
How do you respond to near-term emergencies and also find time for the important long-term health needs of your communities?
So, how do you balance your time and focus between emergency situations or fast-breaking health concerns, and long-term public health problems which ultimately can take the greatest toll on health? Emergencies may require our immediate attention; when the media (or the boss) calls, we have to be prepared to respond. But we can’t forget the tremendous impact that chronic conditions and risky health behaviors can have on the people we serve. Balancing these priorities can be especially challenging for the most vulnerable groups, and more difficult in communities with fewer resources. That’s not to mention maintaining our personal work-life balance!
So tell us: how do you do it? How do you respond to near-term emergency demands, while not losing your focus on long-term health goals? We know there are lots of one- or two-person communities of practice doing critical work to improve health. Share your best lessons learned or if you have some tool you use to achieve this balance – your colleagues want to know!
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Public Comments
Comments listed below are posted by individuals not associated with CDC, unless otherwise stated. These comments do not represent the official views of CDC, and CDC does not guarantee that any information posted by individuals on this blog is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. Read more about our comment policy ».
September 17, 2010 at 10:27 am ET - Sheree Vodicka
My best strategy for being able to balance is to be prepared in advance with messages for those urgent requests — which means planning for it, writing down key messages and keeping them in a file that is readily accessible. That way, I can spend my day-to-day energy focusing on our overall goals and objectives, confident that when an urgent issue arises, I have at my fingertips already what I need to manage the “emergency.”
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September 17, 2010 at 10:49 am ET - Bob Rogaski
Having been a Boy Scout, a well learned strategy that serves me well is “be prepared”.
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October 1, 2010 at 2:46 am ET - Camea Kirkpatrick
I work as on full time on call weekend nurse for a busy hospice. I work a 48 hour shift. During part of the shift I am with a partner. Our phones are answered by triage. From Sun. at 5 until Monday morn at 8 I am alone. When we get swamped with calls we triage and use phone support and non nursing support to assure families while we are on our way. I have had three people go into crisis and two pass away all within an hour. At that point you make a one two three list, using priorities, and work it as fast efficiently, professionally as you can. I also have admissions that I am just putting on service that we attend to that are just coming out of the hospital, many in very bad shape. The first interaction with a staff member is important because that is where the trust is developed. You can’t go in there and appear rushed. You have to take the time to assess and make sure all their needs are covered.
When I have a family in crisis, I simplify and really do make a one, two, three list for them to follow to get through. I write it on a big yellow paper and leave it with them. The other night I was running doing admissions, crisis calls, pulling fluid off a paracentesis and then sat and ran IV’s all night. The people with the iv’s thought they should be first but the women with the purging abdomen took precedence. I just use nursing skill, judgement, assess support systems, and pray to make the right decisions. To keep myself sane, I sing (listen to great music) I pray and I mentally prepare as best as I can for what I am about to walk into at the next place. I also take walks with my dog, take bubble baths, read and chill when at home (which isn’t much because I am in full time grad school too) What a life!
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November 8, 2010 at 8:29 am ET - Zile Pekmezi
My best strategy for being able to balance is to be prepared in advance with messages for those urgent requests — which means planning for it, writing down key messages and keeping them in a file that is readily accessible
Zile Pekmezi
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December 28, 2010 at 1:39 pm ET - Jeanine
If you are lucky enough to work in a field where there are ‘cycles’ (I work in higher education so there are some “quiet times” during winter break, etc) using those down times to prepare files, including the most professional/accurate website references, on various, somewhat expected topics (i.e. abuse of Ritlan or Adderall recently for higher ed) is most effective.
For this particular higher ed community, having various sources of what is going on is also helpful. I learn from my target population (students) what is going on health wise and from health care providers what they are seeing. By putting together the info, you can identify trends before the trends become publically known (i.e. higher administration) and do your research by using listservs and such.
Jeanine
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July 3, 2011 at 9:31 am ET - Marbou
You can always list out what are “urgent” vs “important” matters. From the list, separate them and try to match with your daily activities. Try to internalize it, and once you remember them, you can easily differentiate between urgent vs important matters.
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August 21, 2011 at 4:29 pm ET - George T Felt
Remember Dr. Covey’s advice from “The 7 Habits…” in which he suggests that we make a 4-square mental table listing High Urgency (HU) and Low Urgency (LU) on one side, and on the top line list High Importance (HI) and Low Importance (LI). Prioritize your engagement time on these according to their relative rank:
HUHI then HULI = LUHI, and LULI when you get around to it. The problem is that it is really hard to get the LUHI stuff done when it is crowded out by so much HULI, and yet it is a mistake to neglect important things in favor of urgent trivia. Knowing how to assign the tasks on your plate to these categories requires competence and professional insight. Acting on the correct assignments requires wisdom and the toughness to brush aside trivial urgency in favor of important tasks with long-term horizons. Effective people do get this done – but it is a never-ending challenge. May God grant us the serenity to accept what we cannot accomplish, the courage to get done what we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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October 4, 2011 at 1:45 am ET - Tim Papa
Have a plan for emergency situations especially in the case of natural disasters. Keep up to date contact information. On a weekly basis, I try to reach out to others in the community providing moral support/counsel and mentoring and am also part of a volunteer disaster relief organization. Balance is a key but since those who have immediate needs often need those most attention. We try not to neglect anyone so regular communication is vital.
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May 21, 2012 at 7:22 am ET - Peter Bablis
Thank you Katherine for this posting.. it’s very beneficial for all peoples..keep it up. Peter Bablis
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