Several times a year, I’m privileged to step away from my role as chief medical officer of a health insurance company and return to a previous role I cherish – teaching.
This isn’t the clinical teaching that I used to do as a hospital medicine attending or palliative medicine consultant. These are mostly 4th-year medical students who have 90 minutes or so set aside during their primary care rotation to learn about “the business of medicine.”
I always begin by telling them that when I went to medical school, “I always intended to become a health insurance executive – NOT!” (If I get a few laughs, I know the time will fly by.) I share the history of my improbable career arc and how I wound up doing something I didn’t even know existed when I was their age. And, I still try to impart some pearls of wisdom in case they remember any of this discussion as they embark on their own personal and professional journeys, knowing that at this stage in their young careers, they will be almost totally immersed in their clinical training.
Dr. Howard R. Epstein
I find myself being asked by an increasing number of mid- and even late-career physicians, “What did you have to do to get that job?” Sadly, what most of them are really saying is: “I need to find something else to do. I just don’t think I can do this for the rest of my working life.” As a practicing physician until only a few years ago, I completely empathize. The increased pace and productivity demands of medicine, the additional component of being measured on quality, safety, and patient experience, and the negative aspects of working in (for?) an electronic medical records system have all been cited as reasons for the increasing trend of provider burnout. So – preferably before you ever reach that point – allow me to share some of my personal “career pearls” that I share with those medical students.
1. Do what you love
Sounds simple, but too many of us make the expedient choice, or the one expected of us. Work is hard enough without being able to find some joy and meaning every day in what you do. Every job has aspects that must be tolerated, but if you don’t find a greater purpose in practicing medicine, then find a way to get it back – or think about doing something else.
2. When opportunity knocks, be prepared to answer the door
For me, I enjoyed caring for patients one at a time, perhaps 15 or so during any particular day. Being a hospitalist is important and fulfilling work. But my experience as a hospitalist enabled me to recognize the “quality chasms” that existed in my hospital and across the “system,” namely lost opportunities to provide better end-of-life care and to better coordinate care within the hospital and across the care continuum. A new mission evolved for me: to do whatever I could to improve the safety, quality, and efficiency of the care we provided, and to make the hospital a better place to work. I taught myself the clinical skills to practice palliative medicine, and I attended courses that helped me prepare to become a service line medical director in hopes of starting a program at my hospital. I also took on the role of medical director of care management at my hospital, which in a sense allowed me to help take care of several hundred patients at a time – the beginning of my transition to population health.
3. Be a lifelong learner
When these opportunities arose, I was prepared for the challenges thanks to training opportunities I actively sought out, and thanks to the support of my mentors and my medical group to attend leadership training, such as SHM’s Leadership Academy. No matter what your role in your group or at your hospital, gaining these valuable skills outside of the usual medical training will help position you for new opportunities that can only help you create a more sustainable career. And although I never went back to school to earn another advanced degree such as an MBA or MHA, additional formal education is something to consider. You can never have too many tools in your toolkit.
4. Diversify!
It’s good advice from your financial adviser, and it’s good advice for your career. I’m not suggesting you take on a side job as a lawyer or a carpenter, but you might want to think about becoming an expert in a related field like perioperative medicine, primary palliative care, or postacute care. Or consider developing a niche as a sought-after leader for hospital-based committees, such as Quality or P&T. Or maybe consider clinical research, even if you’re not at an academic medical center. The point I’m making – and I know this may seem controversial – is that practicing medicine 100% of the time is probably no longer a sustainable plan for the entire 30- to 40-year span of your postgraduate career. Find an area that you can develop into protected, paid time apart from providing direct clinical care.