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Non-Clinical Careers > Avoid Transition Mistakes
Transitioning: What Not to Do
Avoiding common mistakes in preparing for and executing a career shift is vital
to your level of success outside of traditional practice.
By Steven Babitsky, Esq. and James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq
We’ve seen it too often: a physician decides to take the plunge into a non-clinical career without truly
thinking through the process. Here are the most common mistakes physicians
make, and how to avoid them.
Asking themselves the wrong question
Many physicians considering a transition to a non-clinical career ask themselves
the following question: “How am I going to replace my current income?” This is the wrong question to ask. For the vast majority of physicians, the
correct question to ask is, “How much money am I losing by staying in clinical medicine?” By almost any metric (training, hours, stress, talent, value of service) most
clinical physicians are grossly underpaid. Many experienced physicians also
face an income that is level and even declining.
Physicians in non-clinical careers commonly earn far more in the short and long
terms than physicians in clinical medicine. Non-clinical positions have the
benefit of salaries that are not in effect set or limited by the government or
an insurance bureaucrat. In addition, it is much easier to leverage oneself in
a non-clinical career than a clinical setting where your earnings are limited
by how many procedures or patients can be crammed into a day. Finally, unlike
clinical medicine, the sky really is the limit in terms of the earning
potential of a physician.
Waiting too long
We have interviewed dozens of physicians who have transitioned into non-clinical
careers. These transitions typically result in better pay, less stress, and far
more regular hours. When asked, these physicians most often say their biggest
regret is not having left clinical medicine sooner because they are so much
happier now. If you are unhappy as a practicing clinician, it is usually a
mistake to keep delaying action on a transition to a non-clinical career. (This
is true even for interns and residents.) It is unlikely that things are going
to change and you suddenly are going to start to love practicing clinical
medicine. The extra procedures you do or patients you see are not likely to
better prepare you for a non-clinical career. Waiting even longer makes the
conversation you need to have with your family even harder, because your
clinical career will be further along. Finally, waiting too long can make
relocation more difficult if your children are getting more established in
their school and community.
Not asking for help and mentoring
Mentoring can be very helpful to a physician seeking a career transition. Most
physicians who are in non-clinical careers can easily empathize with a
colleague looking to make a similar transition. You will be surprised how
giving and helpful your colleagues will be if you humbly ask for help and
advice. A mentor that can point you in the right direction, facilitate
networking, answer questions, and help you avoid common mistakes can be
invaluable. Physicians seeking a non-clinical career should actively seek the
help and mentoring of their colleagues.
Thinking that an MBA is required
One of the most common questions we face in counseling physicians on
non-clinical career transitions is, “Do I need to go back to school?” The short answer is, “no.” Getting an MBA can impart serious and helpful knowledge. It also looks great on
a resume and can help open some entry-level doors for a physician. However,
getting an advanced degree, even if done online, can be extremely time
consuming and expensive. Once you get started in your non-clinical career your
success and advancement will depend almost exclusively on your performance, and
not whether you have an MBA. The real question, then, is whether you need the
MBA to get your foot in the non-clinical career door. For many positions, the
answer will be no. Look at the positions you are considering transitioning to
and determine for yourself whether the time and expense of getting your MBA are
warranted. Do not use getting an MBA as an excuse to delay your career
transition. Bottom line – an MBA can be very helpful, but is very expensive and is not a requirement for
many successful transitions.
Not networking
Most non-clinical jobs are found through networking. Physicians should
understand that done right, networking can actually be fun. You get to connect
with a lot of people and you can learn a great deal about a career, industry,
or organization. Set aside a certain amount of time each week for in person,
telephonic, or e-mail networking.
Being discouraged by rejection
Physicians are accustomed to success. They were typically at the top of their
class in school and generally have been successful at most everything they have
done. It can be quite a shock when a physician starts applying for non-clinical
positions and is rejected over and over again. Persistence and a thick skin are
key attributes. We have worked with numerous physicians who responded to ads
and were rejected for many of the jobs for which they applied. They kept at it
and eventually found their first non-clinical position.
Being inflexible
The more flexible you are, the more opportunities there will be for you. We
often get calls similar to this, “I live in rural Kansas and need a new career where I work close to home (at home
preferable) and have no initial loss in income. I cannot relocate because of
family concerns and I have no interest in going back to school. I hate anything
to do with medical-legal work, managed care, or the government. These are the
reasons I am miserable. Can you help me?” Are there non-clinical careers for such a person? Sure, but the opportunities
are going to be far more limited. Inflexibility in terms of willingness to
modify your lifestyle, initial salary, and willingness to relocate makes a
non-clinical career transition much more difficult. Physicians must be prepared
to at least consider trade-offs.
Not realizing the breadth of opportunities available
There are many traditional non-clinical career paths available to physicians.
These include:
• Pharma (safety, development, regulatory, marketing, sales)
• Medical Devices (safety, develop-ment, regulatory, marketing, sales)
• Insurance (health, disability, life)
• Medical Administration
• Government (Federal, State, Local)
• Occupational Health
• Education
• Communications
• Marketing
• Informatics (IT)
• Consulting
• Entrepreneur
• Media
• Writing
In addition, just because you are a physician does not mean you are limited to
the above traditional fields. Examples of physicians we have worked with who
are successfully into non-traditional careers:
• An occupational medicine physician who started his own profitable gourmet food
company
• A pediatrician who became a very prosperous financial advisor
• A physician who invented medical devices
Physicians who are intelligent, hardworking, diligent, have integrity and
credibility, and can be an asset in almost any kind of business or industry.
Thinking they are too old for a new career
At our 2008 Non-Clinical Careers Conference, a physician asked one of our
faculty members, “I am 62 years old and looking to do something different for the next 10-15 years
before I stop working, would you consider an old fart like me?” The answer came from a physician who was responsible for hiring dozens of
physicians at a large insurance company, “Absolutely. Look, in today’s environment, it is typical for people to stay in a job two years or less on
average. Given that fact, what do I care if you might retire in a few years? If
I can get two good years out of you, I’ve made a good hire.”
