Help - please respond if you have ideas for non-clinical job ideas.

[moneyhappens.net]

Spouse of a surgeon here.  After 10 years of long days and call, my wife is quickly reaching burnout in medicine. She recently started thinking about pursuing something that is medicine-related and would use her years of training but might have a better schedule.  We have two children and her desire would be to spend more time with our kids while still pursuing a meaningful career.

Anyone on these boards that has either pursued or is currently working in a non-clinical position while still using their MD degree?  Would love to hear what you pursued and what you think of the experience.

Thank you in advance for your input!

 

[Joseph]

Burnout is real.  I know an anesthesiologist who walked away and know she writes/consults/teaches. There are lots of admin positions available especially overseeing EMR/HIPAA stuff.

There are always business ventures available for the entrepeneurial spirited.

[NJDoc]

Any part time ENT opportunities? I realize she may be ready to walk away from medicine...believe me I understand...but she is a trained specialist in a specialty that can in some locations be part time. Hate to see a highly trained Doc leave.

[Otodoc]

try out this site

https://www.dropoutclub.org/

[Docbeans]

Ask DW to look into a facebook group called "Physician Mom Grp (PMG)". 50,000+ strong, mostly in US, although members worldwide. It is a secret fb grp- which means she has to be invited into it by an existing member and verified by admin. Very likely she is already on it. There are tons of incredibly useful ideas re: non-clinical jobs, work-life balance, etc. Overall a great resource and support group of peers. Best to both of you!

[BCBiker]

Here are 20 ideas I thought of in less than 5 minutes.  Obviously, most will not replace the surgeon salary immediately or ever. But the less salary one needs, the more options that are available. Also, some might be considered morally apprehensive or less desirable from a human perspective.  The good thing is that all of them have better hours!

 

Pharma, laboratory management (helps to be board certified pathologist, but CLIA allows for MD with certain experiences to qualify), day spa (think botox and filler injections), writer (the public at large is interested in the physician view point - this could be as blogger or for main stream publications), teaching/instructor (many "private DO schools" are popping up that pay people to teach, also undergraduate universities would love MDs for teaching/career guidance), hospital administration,  medical school administration, cash only personal physician (concierge-style, few patients, potentially less hassle), real estate investor, physician abroad experiences, medical non-profit admin, technology developer in industry (for specialty specific products or otherwise), high-end tutor for mega-wealthy, financial advisor, develop board review course for specialty, advisor to law firms for malpractice suits, lobbyist, politician, podcaster, multi-level-marketing business.

[BCBiker]

Otodoc wrote:

https://www.dropoutclub.org/

Click to expand...

+1 cool web site.  I wish the name did not imply that those who join are dissatisfied with medicine. I like the opportunities available in my chosen specialty but am also open to new and more non-traditional schticks.  I probably won't join with real name just because I don't want potential traditional employers to think I'm not serious about main stream medicine.  The forum discussions look interesting; maybe will join with pseudonym...

[Psyched]

+1 for the dropout club. I am not really interested in "dropping out" actively, however I have signed up just because I like to see the job updates they send me.

 

Also, I am not sure what area of the country you live in , but there may be a decent chance of your wife scoring a locums ENT job, especially if she contacts several locums companies. That way she could dictate exactly when and how she would like to work and take temp assignments from there without committing to being an employee. I do exclusively locums and at this stage in my life I want to avoid being an employee for as long as I possibly can.....

 

I don't want to sound rude asking, but I was always under the impression that ENT got a lot better after residency and was more of a 9-5 gig with few emergencies? But then again, administrators are squeezing all of us these days. I hope she finds something that is fulfilling to her soon...best of luck....

[moneyhappens.net]

I appreciate everyone's input.  Definitely some great ideas here that we didn't know about like the dropoutclub, their forums and the facebook page.  Thank you for taking the time to respond!

[moneyhappens.net]

"I don’t want to sound rude asking, but I was always under the impression that ENT got a lot better after residency and was more of a 9-5 gig with few emergencies? But then again, administrators are squeezing all of us these days. I hope she finds something that is fulfilling to her soon…best of luck…."

 

I don't want to speak for my wife and while the lack emergencies (at least on a regular basis) is correct - being in private practice and covering all their overhead and dealing with reduced reimbursement rates - her hours are nowhere near 9-5.  More like 8-9 most days and then catching up on charts over the weekends.

 

Thanks,

moneyhappens.net

[Psyched]

That sounds incredibly difficult and exhausting, especially with two kids. I hope that she is able to find some balance and/or a new position. Would you mind checking in in a few months to give us an update?