I've just accepted an offer to do a 4-year PhD at King's College London, which is funded by Cancer Research UK. I'll be working in the lab of the Department of Immunology, examining whether dendritic cells can be used in tumour therapy. This very much falls into my field of interest and I'm very thrilled about this fantastic opportunity, but there is the fear of the PhD taking over my life once I get started. Will I have time to keep up with what's happening in the world? Will I forget my spouse's name? How do I manage not to drown in the workload which I expect to be enourmous and manage my life?

I would very much appreciate advice on how to sustain a satisfactory quality of life as a PhD student - can anyone help me avoid some of the traps many before me have fallen into?

Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine! Work/life balance (and how to achieve it!) is a recurrent theme in research! However, the flip side of the fact that your research could take over your life is that unlike medical training, where most stuff consists of fixed commitments, research is flexible and can be fitted around your life.

My main advice would be to use common sense, and to make sure that you set time aside for home life (whatever it is that you value outside work). When you are at work try to stay focused - quite a few PhD students can easily dispose of huge amounts of time surfing the net, posting on discussion forums etc etc KCL will have a Graduate School, and most have seminars and training programmes that provide advice specifically aimed at time management and this type of issue. When you start, find out about the graduate school and go to this type of seminar. Don't think that because you're a doctor you are superb at time management - I've supervised quite a few clinical fellows and their ability to time management is variable!! Don't worry that a PhD will be an enormous workload; properly supervised it is a great experience and will take you to the point of being able to do independent research as a postdoc. 

And finally, enjoy yourself; it's a great opportunity and will change your life, hopefully for the better! 

The first thing to say is congratulations ! Well Done.

You should see this as a fantastic opportunity and one to relish. I completed 3 years of research and found this time the most rewarding experience i have had since i qualified. You will learn a completely new skill set and by the time you come out of your PhD you will be in a fantastic position.

Don't be apprehensive about a PhD overunning your life. This should not the case. Spend your day time doing your PhD and relax at night. The important thing is to work steadily during the couse of your study and that way you should not feel overun. There will be plenty of time to do the things you enjoy but just ensure you keep up to speed with your targets and have a clear plan of deadlines to keep. It is truly a fantastic expereince to study a specific area in depth and to become an expert in your chosen field. It is daunting at first for sure, but you will retain much autonomy during the course of your PhD.

having said the above, research is not everyone's cup of tea but i am a believer in the priciniple that whatever effort you put in, you will reap double the reward.

Good luck and keep us posted as to how it goes.

It would make a nice blog ..................................

RR

Am a Nursing PhD student, i have life and work and home to care for, evey thing going ok, you need to manage your time. engage your wife with what you are doing this will help her understand if you become busy for a while.

this is an opportunity many other people look for in their life time.

Good Luck

Bushra from Jordan