Americans, in general, are a distracted bunch. We drive distracted by cell phone calls or text messages. We exercise at the gym in front of scores of televisions tuned to various channels and in the background pumps music from various sources. We put a positive spin on our scattered patterns of life and thought, proudly saying we are multitasking or striving for balance, but by dividing our attention among so much we lose focus.

As the chief Washington correspondent for MSNBC News and mother to three children under the age of three, Norah O’Donnell has every reason to feel pulled towards dizzying distraction. To add to the mix, her husband, Geoff Tracy, runs four popular restaurants in the metro Washington, DC area and just opened a fifth in Tyson’s Corner, VA this year. It would seem that their fast-paced careers and young family would catapult them into a unique situational chaos.

Dr. Esma Akin is originally from Ankara, Turkey, but has called Northern Virginia her home for the past 14 years. She currently works as the Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine in the Department of Radiology at George Washington University Hospital and as Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at GWU School of Medicine.

Esma is married to John Losee, also a physician. They have two daughters, Yasemin, 11 and Rima, 9, and the family tries to spend as much time as possible on weeknights, weekends and holidays. They are a musical family: Rima plays the guitar and Yasemin plays the bass, and they practice with their father, who plays both instruments. Esma helps the girls with their piano.
 
Whenever possible they like to cook together, read, and enjoy having heated debates about the books they've read. Esma tries hard not to carry work stress or sad medical outcomes home with her, but when it's unavoidable, her physician husband is "not only supportive, but also therapeutic in his wisdom."

Being a pediatrician is at times a 24x7 job. Although Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Watts is now the Chief Executive Officer of Capital Area Pediatrics and only sees patients one day per week, she used to work as a pediatrician for ten years, so she knows the drill.

Patients and their parents have so much to offer, she feels. “You don't become an expert in parenting from medical school. That comes from listening closely to thirty parents a day and learning from their combined experience." Which means that Adam, age 21, Joel, age 17 and Hannah, age 13 have many mentors.

Juggling two medical practices and three children under nine (Jordan, age 9, Jack, age 7 and Anna, age 5) is no easy task. Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Zapp focuses her energies between Sterling Family Practice, Loudoun Medical Aesthetics and her family, working about thirty-two hours per week. At Sterling Family Practice (SFP) the office offers pediatric, gynecological, sports and internal medicine.
 
A year ago, Liz opened Loudoun Medical Aesthetics (LMA) in Sterling, Virginia. Here she personally provides chemical peels, microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing, hair removal, leg vein treatment, photorejuvination and Botox. She admits a career in medicine can consume every waking moment, which is why having some down time is so important to her. "I try very hard to set boundaries and plan time for friends, family, and myself," says Liz.

To relax, she does yoga, enjoys a glass of wine/good meal with friends or family, goes to spas, reads, hikes, bikes and rock climbs. Liz has a solid support system in her family. Her husband, Greg, "has always been very supportive of everything that I do and expends endless energy raising our kids, helping at home, and managing his own career." Her parents take care of the kids while she’s at work.

Liz advises other women pursuing medical careers to: "Work hard to be the best doctor you can be, but also strive to find a balance. If you don't take care of yourself, you cannot take care of others."

At one point in her life, Dr. Jennifer White wasn't sure she would have children, but now says that Jaelyn, age two and Ariana, seven months are the greatest joys of her life. She loves "seeing the world for the first time through their eyes and the smiles on their faces."

After Jaelyn was born, Jennifer stepped down as the Facility Director of two clinics to become a staff physical therapist at Commonwealth Orthopaedics in Reston, Virginia. She works 28 hours per week treating patients after orthopedic injuries/surgical procedures. This schedule allows her more flexibility to be with her family.

Since her patients are scheduled months in advance, she relies on her husband, Tony, or her mom to help out if one of her children is sick. For Jennifer, the most difficult part of her job is when the patient experiences pain and she is unable to alleviate it with therapy. To wind down, she jogs, prays about tough medical situations, or talks to her co-workers, who can relate to what she's going through.

Jennifer believes the medical field is a great one to be in when you are raising a family: "Your schedule can be flexible. It is not just Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00." She believes it is beneficial for her daughters to see their Mom go to work, demonstrating that both their Mom and Dad's roles inside/outside of the home are important.

Kim Marinetto (a 20 year veteran of nursing) and her husband, Steve, opened AVIE! Medspa and Laser Center in March of 2009, a dream realized after over two years of careful planning. "After having children, I decided to take my career in the direction of my passion, which is helping people feel better about themselves," says Kim.

Running a successful medical business while raising a family (Lucas, age 6 and Macie, age 10) requires having clear communication and schedules. "Everybody knows the game plan on a daily basis, and one of the reasons I wanted to have my own business was so that I could remain flexible and be there for the children's games, etc." Steve fully supports her in the daily demands of career and family. "We have a lot of faith in each other and we address the speed bumps as they come," she adds.

To take care of herself, Kim works out regularly doing cardio and weight lifting. "On the weekends, we try to power down as a family and just spend time doing things together. We try hard not to over schedule ourselves or the children," she says. They watch movies together at home and catch up with friends and family.

Kim hopes to foster goodness, caring, creativity, passion, and love in her children and wants them to follow their dreams. Last time she checked, her daughter wants to be a "dancing fashion designer" and her son wants to be a "baseball playing Jedi Knight!"

"Having my child and returning back to work is what encouraged me to start my own business," says LaSondra Gray, owner of AM Gray Consulting/Barrington Group. The company was established in 2004 and named after her sons, Adam (9 years) and Matthew (5 years). The company provides business development, operations, staff placement, and marketing services to a broad spectrum of medical specialties.

With a demanding job, a positive family life is important to her. Helping is LaSondra's husband, Gresford, who, she says, is her rock. “He encourages and inspires me to pursue my dreams, he cooks, cleans and takes great care of the kids. His mild, calming manner helps to keep harmony in the household.” The family also has an au pair to whom they entrust their children. When possible, the family takes in a movie, plays laser tag, goes rock climbing, swimming, and traveling.

As much as possible, she joins her children on field trips and meets them for lunch. LaSondra is proud of her professional accomplishments, which includes an “ability to establish myself as a market leader and industry expert within a marketplace that has major barriers to entry for women," But she loves the fact that she has meshed her business life with her family life. "I think it gives them [the children] a balance and a sense of pride in knowing that you can be serious and focused with your career and still have the warmth and fun as a mom."

Beating Breast Cancer: One Musical Note at a Time

Julie Murphy Wells is known and loved by many in the D.C. area for two things—as the lead singer of the popular band Eddie from Ohio and as a breast cancer survivor.