3 Tips for Physicians Considering a Career Change

It’s no secret that physicians are among the most dissatisfied career professionals. But, there are less known options for doctors who have exhausted their desire to work in clinical practice. In fact, a simple Google search can provide you with a wealth of alternative career ideas.

Why are physicians searching for other career paths? A 2016 Physician’s Foundation survey revealed that increasing regulatory and documentation requirements and loss of clinical autonomy topped the list of factors contributing to physician dissatisfaction. These were in direct conflict with physicians’ primary source of satisfaction: the doctor-patient relationship. Doctors see too many patients, resulting in shorter visits, with less leeway to use their clinical judgement for positive outcomes. In short, they are experiencing less and less of what drew them to medicine in the first place.

Luckily, physician skills and knowledge are often transferable to other careers. Articles such as this one from Medscape list alternative careers in hospital administration, management consultancy, healthcare insurance, pharmaceutical research, freelance writing, and teaching, to name a few. But professional development coach Dr. Evgenia Galinskaya cautions against relying too heavily on these lists for a new career path:

…What if none of the options on these numerous lists seems ‘right’? Does it mean there is something wrong with you? … My eureka moment was when I realized that my next job may not even exist yet and that I could create it based on what I know about myself, my interests, strengths, passion, dreams—what is right for me.

Until you find what motivates you, it will be hard to chart a new career path. If you’re thinking of leaving, changing, tweaking, or augmenting your clinical practice, you can help refine your desires by following these three tips:

1. Identify the “whys.” What don’t you like about what you are doing now? Is it your schedule, paperwork, hours, your specialty, or medicine itself? You are unique, and so are your reasons for desiring change.
2. List your goals. Are you looking to reconnect with what first attracted you to medicine, or was medicine something you pursued to fulfill someone else’s ambition? Identifying what you hope to gain from your career can help narrow your options.
3. Find your passion. This is the most important part to finding a career you love. What gives you the most joy? What has always been your greatest motivator? As Lissa Rankin, MD says in her blog post on creative careers for doctors, “You can quit your job, but you can’t quit your calling.” Your new career should provide a sense of mission, purpose, and abundance.

There are also other variables to consider. Is there a ready-made job description that fits your ideal career? Or do you need to chart your own path? Perhaps you don’t really want to leave clinical work after all.  Maybe you can fulfill your goals by changing your hours, your patient load, or your practice model. Perhaps you could move to concierge medicine, share a practice, or combine medicine with a second career. Or maybe it’s time to jettison medicine altogether and pursue something entirely different.

The rigors of the old clinical practice model combined with new regulatory and documentation burdens is making it harder and harder for some physicians to find fulfillment. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It may take patience and creativity to utilize your gifts in a new and rewarding way, but it can be done.

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