A picture of balance

Featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Scrubs
As the administrative director of perioperative services at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., Carol Majewski’s duties range from long-term strategic planning to on-the-spot problem-solving. Running a department of 300 people means plenty of meetings (about 25 hours a week), emails (about 100 a day) and the occasional ego to smooth (she does work with surgeons). The responsibility is daunting, the pace frenetic, but come the weekend, she winds down by turning her focus to nature photography.

With camera in hand, Majewski freeze-frames scenes that would flash by in the blur of a workweek: a baby loon mimicking its mother on the lake behind her house, or light dancing on a snowy landscape. “I’ve found that photography nurtures me in a way I need,” says Majewski. It’s a lesson in self-care she shares with the people she supervises. “My nurse managers see the pictures hanging in my office. They know I take time off, and I encourage them to be role models by finding balance.” The displayed photos also serve another purpose: “Looking at them is like a mini-break taking me back outdoors to a moment in time.”