For any married couple—especially for two career-driven people—life can be busy. For two physicians who put in long hours and never really leave work behind thanks to being on-call, busy is an understatement.
Elliott Antman, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Karen Antman, MD, dean of the Boston University School of Medicine, understand that better than most. They have been together since medical school and, like the Drs. Klotman profiled by AAMCNews, have dealt with the demanding schedules of two medical careers throughout their relationship.
“I think you have to recognize that it’s hectic, but it’s extremely rewarding,” Elliott Antman said. “You can support each other, which I think is a wonderful dimension to a relationship.”
In the video below, the Drs. Antman share how mailing a letter started it all between first-year medical students and give advice to newly married physician couples.
One Family, Six Doctors
The Drs. Antman also know that finding a reasonable work-life balance while managing two medical careers is challenging. “The hardest time was probably when the kids were young,” Karen Antman admitted. “By the time we had two kids, the childcare was costing more than I was making.”
They made it work, however, and served as a model for their two children—who are now also doctors with physician spouses, as they explain in the video below.