New career directions: Financial factors and practice models to consider

Driven by technology, a wave of practice consolidations and changes in the regulatory environment, some physicians are steering their skills into new ventures, practice models, or job roles that they hope will deliver a more promising financial future.

But before making the leap, physicians need to consider several factors, perhaps most importantly what a change in practice does for control of their professional and financial future.

“The whole self-identification as a physician is terribly important for doctors to work through,” says consultant Philippa Kennealy, MD, MPH. “If it’s just critically important to your identity, you’re destined to be unhappy in a next career.”

Kennealy worked in a California primary care practice for nine years earlier in her career, but increasingly felt less authority to dictate patient care as managed care gained popularity in her state. She added a part-time role as a hospital administrator, but quickly realized she couldn’t do both jobs well.

Related:Career decisions: Should you start, buy or join a practice?

She decided to concentrate exclusively on the administrative side, eventually becoming a hospital chief executive officer and, more recently, a career coach for doctors. Her take-home pay her first year in her own business? An $11,000 loss. She was fortunate to have a working spouse, however, and the couple worked as a team to keep personal expenses in check, she says.

“Physicians are feeling a great deal of stress right now, particularly mid-career physicians. They trained with one practice model and that’s changed significantly. There are increased clinical pressures, administrative tasks, and patient metrics,” says Cathy Lanteri, MD, FAPA, a psychiatrist in private practice who also coaches other physicians. “It’s not just getting an accurate diagnosis today.”

In a survey of 2,005 physicians released in April by Cejka Search and VITAL WorkLife, 15% of respondents said stress caused them to leave their practice. Of those, however, just 52% reported that the change alleviated the stress, with the remainder saying it helped only somewhat or not at all.

“It’s a common fantasy for unhappy physicians to want to bail out when things get stressful,” says Francine Gaillor, MD, MBA, executive director of the Physician Coaching Institute. “I try to get them thinking about career expansion instead, not abandoning the white coat,” but widening the scope of their careers, she says.

 

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