Hello, yskesa-ga!
I have compiled a few ideas for you! My first suggestion would be to
get your hands on the following books if you have not already read
them:
"Leaving the Bedside: The Search for a Nonclinical Medical Career," by
Maija Balagot (Editor), Mark Ingebretsen (Editor), Suzanne Fraker
(Editor), American Medical Association. (1998)
Available from www.amazon.com and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/)
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"Life After Medical School - Thirty-Two Doctors Describe How They
Shaped Their Medical Careers," by Leonard Laster. (1996)
http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring96/071030.htm
To order: http://www.wwnorton.com/orders/wwn/071030.htm)
==
The following article provides a general overview of the paths some
physicians have taken outside of the conventional medical field:
Kent Bottles (KB) is a board-certified pathologist.
KB: "We recently had a continuing medical education conference about
how physicians can transform themselves and their careers. What I
think they need to do is take a hard look at assessing their own
strengths and weaknesses and then decide what niche they want to
fulfill. Take a look at me. I was brought here by Sherif Abdelhak to
be the Professor and Chair of Pathology at Allegheny, and about a year
after that they went bankrupt. So, I sort of had to redefine myself
and I?ve been through the whole process. If you look at my
transferable skills, I?m a pretty good public speaker, I?m a good
writer, I?m a fairly good teacher. And when I went around and decided
what I wanted to do, since my family didn?t want to move again, I
decided that I best be in the private sector doing teaching and
consulting. I had to find a company that would hire me. I created a
job that would play to my strengths and then actually had to go out
and sell it to an employer."
"What one may decide to do is to just change careers within clinical
medicine, going from being a primary care physician to maybe an
administrator in an integrated delivery system. Another way is to
pursue a non-traditional career. At the conference we had physicians
who were happy working in the pharmaceutical industry. We had a
physician who?s been CEO of several large companies. We had a
physician who?s the medical director for Fox TV and radio......."
PND: What are other alternatives for physicians wishing to remain
within the clinical setting?
KB: "....... there really are tremendous numbers of new jobs opening
up, but they?re jobs that have never happened before. When I was
looking at jobs outside of the Delaware Valley after the Allegheny
bankruptcy, I looked at large health systems in Seattle, in Chicago,
in Indianapolis. Every single job I looked at was a newly-created job
for a physician executive. In one case they wanted a physician to
coordinate the specialty care at a large university. In another case
they wanted a physician to combine a private practice pathology group
with a university group. These were all brand new jobs that have never
happened before - physician executives were being sought who could
provide both a clinical role and an executive role in managing people
and managing resources. So, all of the excitement and chaos in
medicine creates disruption to our careers, but it also creates
opportunities.
"As another example, doctors are faced with patients asking a lot of
questions based on research on the Internet....... There?s all these
virtual communities on the Internet with people who are concerned
about one disease or another: breast cancer, MS, ovarian cancer. Some
of them are quite large groups that meet everyday on the Internet.
* "Why shouldn?t some enterprising physician go to one of those groups
and offer to become their hired physician to help them deal with third
party payers, to help guide them through the good material and the bad
material on the Internet, to help them deal with their providers? I
bet there?s an opportunity out there for some physician that?s
interested in that kind of thing."
From "Re-evaluating physician career paths," by Christopher
Guadagnino, Ph.D. Physician's News Digest.
http://www.physiciansnews.com/spotlight/899.html
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Physicians are moving into the financial field
------------------------------------------------
"Today, every major health care investment-banking group has at least
one physician on its roster of associates and principals. If one bank
has a doctor on staff, then every bank needs to have one. This me-too
mentality has created a new alternative for physicians who find they
like learning about medicine, but no longer want to practice it."
"Venture capital firms specializing in biotechnology aggressively
recruit the smattering of physicians that graduate from business
schools each year. White-shoe consulting firms are hiring physicians
straight out of medical school and residency."
* "A natural niche for physicians is in an investment bank's research department."
* "Management consulting firms such as McKinsey & Co., The Boston
Consulting Group, and Monitor & Co. actively recruit doctors."
* "While investment banks often prefer that physicians also have
graduate degrees in business, consulting firms don't seem to care.
McKinsey offers a program in which it takes a group of doctors on a
weeklong retreat to introduce them to the business."
"Venture capital firms that specialize in health care also actively
recruit physicians. One example is Whitney & Co. in Stamford, Conn.,
where a number of physicians occupy senior positions. Whitney,
formerly JH Whitney, is the major nonmedical society investor in
Medem, an Internet health care company founded by the AMA and six
specialty societies."
"But you can't only have a good technical knowledge to work full time
on Wall Street. This is where doctors make a lot of mistakes. They
assume that because they have a lot of knowledge they'll be great
analysts for one of the Wall Street firms and that's definitely not
the case. In order to make that transition you also need to teach
yourself the fundamentals of finance," Saint-Amand said. "After that,
MBA programs can't hurt."
"Experts in firms specializing in transitioning physicians to new
careers agree that the easiest way to Wall Street is through the doors
of a traditional business school."
"About 15 schools offer MBA programs tailored to working doctors and
about 20 offer joint MD/MBA programs. A recent survey by Witt/Kieffer,
an Oak Brook, Ill.-based executive search firm, found that about 40%
of physicians surveyed are either working on an MBA or intend to
pursue one eventually."
"A few caveats apply. Most of the physicians on Wall Street began
transitioning their careers around age 30 and few make the break past
40."
"Anyone starting a new career on Wall Street starts at a junior level,
despite education or work experience. Experience only accelerates
promotions. Even in cases where someone older than 40 is willing to
assume a junior-level job, most banking professionals worry that older
individuals will be unwilling to make the sacrifices of time and
lifestyle that these jobs routinely require."
"Most physicians working on Wall Street did a few years of residency,
or none at all, before they decided to leave. For those looking for a
way to test the waters on Wall Street without leaving their medical
practice, Saint-Amand's firm offers a third alternative."
"Gerson Lehrman employs a council of health care advisers -- a group
of about 1,000 physicians and scientists who are paid to consult with
institutional investment managers that are seeking experts for short
consultations and due diligence. Clients are typically mutual funds or
hedge funds who are looking to make investments in biotechnology
companies but need the expertise offered by doctors to better
understand these highly technical businesses."
From "Moving your career from Main Street to Wall Street, by Scott
Gottlieb, MD, AMNews contributor. Nov. 13, 2000.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2000/11/13/bica1113.htm
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Gerson Lehrman Group - Healthcare & Biomedical
------------------------------------------------
"Gerson Lehrman Group's Healthcare and Biomedical practice helps
investment analysts develop unique insights about the evolving
healthcare and life sciences industries. We provide our clients with
regular access to over 25,000 Council Members, including some of the
world's leading physicians, scientists and healthcare professionals.
http://www.glgroup.com/healthcare.asp
Career Opportunities:
http://www.glgroup.com/careers.asp
==
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER MD'S DOING?
================================
"If you think working in healthcare is only about hospitals,
healthcare facilities, physicians' offices and clinics, think again."
* "Doctors are also routinely used on movie sets, television shows and
commercials to make sure medical story lines are credible.
* "Additionally, some physicians become medical experts for news shows."
* "Medical products, pharmaceuticals and equipment provide a wealth of
opportunities for spokesperson positions."
* "Many casinos and casino hotels in Las Vegas and throughout the
country employ medical personnel to handle guest emergencies as well
as staff emergencies and medical needs."
From "A New Venue for Healthcare Careers," by Shelly Field. Monster Healthcare
http://healthcare.lycos.monster.com/career/articles/newvenue/
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* "Gigi Hirsch, MD, once worked as a psychiatrist and now is the CEO
of MD IntelliNet, LLC, a research, consulting, and physician placement
firm in Brookline, Mass."
* "Peter Moskowitz, MD, once worked as a radiologist before he founded
the Center for Personal and Professional Renewal in Palo Alto, Calif."
* "Todd Pearson, MD, is a pediatrician who founded the Center for
Physician Renewal, in Bellevue, Wash."
From "Some Pursuing Alternative Careers," by Maureen Glabman.
Physician.com (December 15 2002)
http://www.careerlab.com/qiphysician/alternative_careers.htm
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Some doctors have started fitness clubs:
"It's a risky proposition based on the whims of a small segment of
people, but running a fitness center has proven to be intriguing to at
least a few physicians who feel there is a market for medically
integrated exercise regimens."
From "Doctors promote fitness with health clubs," Mike Norbut. AMNews
staff (July 7, 2003)
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2003/07/07/bisd0707.htm
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Physicians as Medical Writers:
"Dr. Arushi Sinha was trained as a medical anthropologist, but she
quickly realized that she was less interested in studying or
practicing medicine than she was in writing about it."
"I enjoy more of the writing side, and more of the writing that
involves translating technical information into a readable format,"
said Sinha."
"Health care writers are a small but growing group of professionals
who write or edit most of the medical studies printed in journals, the
information pamphlets included with prescriptions or over-the-counter
medications, and the articles published in industry magazines such as
Cure."
Read "Medical writers' ranks increasing," by Victor Godinez. The
Dallas Morning News. March 2003
http://www.s-t.com/daily/03-03/03-11-03/l02ho142.htm
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Physicians as Technology consultants:
"The implementation of electronic medical records, treatment
protocols, electronic commerce and connectivity initiatives designed
to link physicians, hospitals and insurers are fueling demand for
technology-savvy physician consultants. Another factor driving demand
is that some qualified doctors prefer to do research or design
information systems rather than consulting, said Erica Drazen, vice
president of Emerging Practices Institute, the research arm of First
Consulting Group Inc., a Long Beach, Calif.-based health care
consulting firm. She estimates that there are between 100 and 200
physician technology consultants in the country."
"Those doctors are well paid, recruiters say. Doctors who join
consulting firms at a senior level earn more than $300,000 a year;
those at the entry level earn more than $100,000, Grossman said."
From "Corporate consult: Some physicians can become technology
consultants." by Tyler Chin. AMNews staff. April 9, 2001.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2001/04/09/tesa0409.htm
==
Also read "Choosing your career."
http://www.idiopathic.com/mo/id127.htm
==
You might want to contact a placement firm for ideas:
TMI Executive Resources
Boston Office:*
20 William Street, Suite 100
Wellesley, MA 02481-4102
(781) 237-3777
Fax: (781) 237-8913
[* Other offices are located in Stamford, CT; Hartford, CT; and
Arlington, VA. Please contact Boston office for initial conversation.]
"Since 1986, TMI Executive Resources has helped physicians,
executives, and entrepreneurs gain control of their careers and chart
new paths to opportunities. TMIer has successfully dealt with nearly
3000 clients and provided Corporate Outplacement services to over 200
companies. They have established a niche in the Career Management
industry half way between executive search firms and conventional
career counseling/outplacement organizations. Their services focus
more on "business planning" for the individual with a goal of driving
toward a final bottom-line result."
**
"TMIer is ideal for the physician who is certain that they would like
to leverage their medical degree outside of clinical practice, and
most likely in a business setting. TMIer, staffed by a team of
professionals and executives from a diversity of backgrounds, provides
a broad range of career retooling resources under one roof, including
access to an exclusive networking forum of high level executives and
professionals."
**
Contact TMIer by calling John Decker, Executive Vice President, at 781-237-3777.
==
I don't know if this type of opportunity is still viable since this
question from the Mom MD website is several years old:
Alternative Careers for Doctors
-------------------------------
"I was an older med student, now 36 and just recently completed
internship. For personal and family reasons, I have decided not to
continue with my clinical residency. I am interested in learning more
about alternative careers for physicians. I would greatly appreciate
any recommendations." -- SK (October 2000)
ANSWERS
"I am a stay at home mother at present after finishing my residency in
family medicine - I have been home for 6 months and have not yet
practiced independently. I am currently doing some work from home on
my own schedule for an internet company called Medcases.com, located
in Philadelphia, PA. They are looking for physicians who can write
medical cases for educational/CME purposes. The pay is less than for
clinical work ($1,000 per case), but the work schedule is flexible.
This is one type of opportunity that exists for MD's who want
alternatives to clinical practice." AQ (12/2000)
http://www.mommd.com/qaaltcareer.shtml:
About MedCases.
http://www.medcases.com/about.asp
Careers
http://www.medcases.com/about.asp?c=Careers
===
How about becoming a Virtual Doctor?
http://www.virtualmedicalgroup.com/
Join our Network Overview
http://www.virtualmedicalgroup.com/doc_network.cfm
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Some other ideas:
* Start your own online health consulting site
* Provide Medical Research services to Attorneys or Insurance Companies
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I hope these suggestions serve as a start to spark some new ideas!
Sincerely,
umiat
Google Search Strategy
career alternatives for new physicians
alternative careers for medical doctors
physicians becoming consultants
venture capital firms AND physicians
doctors starting fitness clubs
doctors as medical writers |
