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[ohcanada]

I originally posted this on the "chronic illness" thread, but thought more people might see it if I repost as a separate topic.  So, apologies for double posting.

I could use some advice from anyone who has been on long-term medical leave while pre-tenure.  (Or, for that matter, anyone who *hasn't* but has experienced how such things work from the perspective of a chair or dean...)

I've been on leave for depression/PTSD and when I return I will probably have been away for a year. I know that my tenure clock has stopped while I'm on leave, and it will be turned back on when I return.  But, I'm concerned about whether that will be enough.

It makes sense that if I'm off for a year, the clock would be delayed for an equal amount of time. Except, I feel like I'll be coming back at such a disadvantage.  It's one thing to be away for a couple of weeks or a month -- but to be gone for a year, I feel like I'm going to be spending a lot of time just reorienting myself to my research.  I (irrationally) feel like I've forgotten everything I ever knew about my field.

So -- my questions.  Has anyone been in this position? How did you handle it? And, have you had success at negotiating a longer delay on the tenure clock in order to get back up to speed?

Thanks for your thoughts...

[treehugger1]

I wasn't exactly in your position, only being a grad student and not pre-tenure. But I took what amounted to one year off after having worked very part time for 3 years (due to medical problems).

In retrospect, I erred in not giving myself enough time (and not explaining to my advisor and committee that I needed the time) to re-establish the context for my dissertation. Maybe you won't need to do this after only one year, but who knows? Try to be honest with yourself about what you need, start slow (if you need to) and resist the temptation to hit the ground running.

Good luck with it all!

[porcupine]

Also had the 'year off while doing doctorate' experience, but I hope this is still helpful.  You don't want to undo all the good work you've done in getting healthy. I took a year off my doctoral program following a bad accident (surgery, recuperation, PTSD), and it was and still is challenging, but it can be done. In my case I had my accident returning from a conference on my dissertation topic, so to get back to work, in addition to my other problems, I had to overcome the panic-inducing association between my work and my accident. I still have problems with writing as a result, seven years on - but I manage them.

I agree that you should give yourself time, and be very careful about easing yourself back into work gradually. Certainly meet with your chair or a trusted advisor to discuss your tenure clock. There are practical requests you can make to help even if you are stuck with the original clock. You could ask for a reduced teaching load, for only lower-level courses, or for two sections of the same course in your first year back, to cut down on your teaching work and stress.

You should also check with your chair to make sure you know how much research you will be expected to produce by the end of the year, explaining your concerns about doing effective work quickly after time away, so you can put a firm plan in place. Make sure you keep communicating with your chair, and keep things practical. I ended up terrified because I got way behind on my dissertation and was too afraid to contact my supervisor. In the end he gave me a lot of support and fixed things administratively so I could have more time, but I could have been fairer to him by updating him regularly and telling him I was having trouble keeping up much earlier than I did.

I would try and go to a small conference in my subfield to get back into the swing of things research-wise. Don't present a paper - just go and listen, and make comments if you feel like it, so you get used to feeling comfortable in the research context again. You might consider collaborating with a colleague on a paper, or  in order to jump-start your thinking.

Finally, I would make sure that I discussed my return with my therapist in order to strategize effectively. Maybe your campus has an office that can help with this as well.

It does take time, so you need to be prepared to be kind to yourself and not to expect too much at the beginning from yourself - or indeed from others. Many idiots out there simply don't understand PTSD - ignore them, document everything tenure-related, and concentrate on staying well.

[sikora]

I take it you are in Canada?  Good. 

[smilingone171]

I'm just returning to school, (I'm in 3rd term draduate school) after many years of being away from academia for chronic health reasons.

I feel at a real disadvantage since all my colleagues in my major are all in the education field---in one way or another, and since the degree is a Master's in Higher Ed, and no such background, I feel like a kid lost in the candy shop.

It's taking up all my time trying to be the perfect student--and I'm undergoing a third knee replacement in a couple of  days and will be completing the term from rehab. Consequently rather than clothes, my suitcase is packed with books and course readings, and a seperate one holds my printer.  After all the years wasted on mental health and physical issues, I'm not giving in to surgery to blow my 4.0, or have wasted an entire term.

Anuone else struggling with a past mental illness and gaining heath to thepoint where you don't have time to be depressed or caught up in the PTSD web?  Maybe I'm worried about nothing, but I feel at a disadvantage to my colleagues, and it ends up showing when it comes to feedback from the instructor, who's into picking on the class over a small citation issue, than the real substance of their work.  It makes me uncomfortable because until June, I had only heard the phrase APA Format, and now I live and breathe it-- and this joker cuts us down, instead of helping the situation by letting us know what it was we blew--

Being the new kid in town hasn't been a lot of fun. Especially when I have to hide why I reeally took so much time off between degrees. It would be nice to know someone gets what I'm talking about.