DR. DOWNES'S STORY

In 1981, Dr. Downes started treating the children of her community while beginning a family of her own. As a working mother, she found immediate rapport with many of the parents in her practice. She made it a priority to care for their needs, as well as those of her young patients.

Now, with three children of her own, ranging in age from 14 to 26, Dr. Downes understands the challenges of balancing a demanding full-time time career with family. She deliberately created job-sharing opportunities to give other women the opportunity of working part-time so they could enjoy the best of both worlds. "I think it is too hard to be a full-time working mother. My generation suffered a loss of family ties in order to be doctors," she says. "So, in my practice, I have all young women who work three days a week. This way, they can be pediatricians and spend time with their children, and balance their lives. I continue to keep a full-time schedule myself to maintain structure."

Dr. Downes says the three-day-a-week staffing arrangement is beneficial for all. The parents like it because many of the pediatricians on staff are the same age they are, and relate to them very well. The pediatricians are able to balance work with family, and her practice has 100 percent coverage.

"I don't think you can meet a pediatrician who doesn't love being one. Where there are children, there is hope," she says. "Even if bad things have happened during the day, it all melts away when you see a baby smile."