Forging Your Own Path? Any change in career path—especially one where you may be taking the road less traveled—can be daunting.   Here are 10 suggestions offered by physicians who have been there, done that. 1. Arrange your priorities. Is this what you really want to do in your career? Will this fulfill you both financially and personally? If it isn’t, it may be time to look for something else. “If you go about it in that kind of structured way, you’ll never be disappointed,” says Michael Duffy, MD,  a family practitioner in Twin Falls, Idaho. “If you have to compromise, compromise on those things further down on the list.” 2. Think boldly.  A move from Boston to Twin Falls, Idaho, may initially sound bizarre. But, it may be a smart decision if it means you can stay in your chosen specialty and trade the pressures of urban life for the beauty and slower pace of rural America, for example. Whatever you do, don’t feel stuck doing the same old thing just because that’s what you were trained in. “As a physician you have the ability to adapt to many environments and you have the skills to do many things,” says Sherif Osman, MD,  an internist-turned-wound specialist. “You may not realize you have so many options.” 3. Be proactive.  If you have your sights on a specific practice, call the physicians and ask to spend time with them and get to know them. “Nobody would hire you if they didn’t know you,” says Douglas Keel, a San Diego dermatologist. “Try to spend as much time as possible in the practice you’re interested in. You need to get a feel for the way things are run. Long-working relationships always help.” 4. Be persistent.   Map out a strategy that includes both exiting your current situation and maximizing your new opportunity. “And keep knocking on doors,” suggests Osman. “You never know which one has the perfect opportunity behind it.”

5. Research carefully.   With the Internet, it’s easy to research things thoroughly. Conferences are also a great resource, where people always seem willing to share information. You meet people with similar interests but who may have used different ways of approaching the same goals. 6. Get opinions from others. “I talked to a lot of other people who are in the business of wound care, but I also talked to general business consultants who knew nothing about medicine. The more views you get, the better off you are,” says Osman. 7. Think out of the box.   If you are looking for geographic desirability, you may need to alter your notion of what your practice will be. “In my case, those two happened to agree,” says Duffy. “In small towns in a mountain area, you are the guy who is expected to do everything from delivery of babies, to care of babies, to caring for their parents and grandparents. You also must be able to do all the procedures attached to that practice. That just won’t happen in your typical managed care practice back East.” 8. Excel.  The best way to increase your options is to excel at what you do. “You need the knowledge base and the clinical skills and the proper licensing to accomplish what you want to do,” says Osman, who planned to be board-certified in wound care, a new specialty, in October. 9. Make it win-win.  “It has to be a win-win deal, for the benefit of both the hospital and the physician,” says Osman. That thinking extends to any business deal. How can you make it a positive deal for both sides? How can you foster a long-term, positive working relationship?   10. Hire an attorney. If your dream opportunity involves a partnership, an entirely new venture, even joining an established practice, be sure to get an attorney’s input. Physicians are best at treating health issues. Leave the legal work to an expert and avoid high drama later.   g