My practice had become a burden. My patients seemed annoying and overly demanding. I was living alone in a small duplex, feeling isolated. I was sleeping more than usual, yet fatigued most of the time. Any resiliency had been stretched and tested and was wearing thin. My usual optimism was gone. I did not become overtly suicidal, but I began to have thoughts about what it would be like if I was no longer “around.” […]
I was awakened at 2:30 AM by the ringing of my home telephone not two feet away. It was startling and disorienting. My “land-line” never rang at night. And my wife and I rarely answer it because only telemarketers call us on that phone. But my wife answered. She determined that the caller wanted to speak to me. After clearing my head for a few seconds and focusing on what the caller was trying to tell me, I [...]
I really miss attending the physician leadership annual conference of the AAPL. For the past 2 ½ years, I have been consumed with starting a new urgent care center north of Chicago. In addition to interviewing, hiring, writing policies and procedures, and training staff, this required that I study for the American Board of Family Medicine exam (thankfully, I passed!). It also required a thorough review of workers compensation and occupational medicine. And I needed to take a mandatory course [...]
I've spent lots of time involved in planning, producing, evaluating and participating in CME. And I've observed over the past two decades that the number of CME providers in Illinois, where I live, has been declining. But there are recent changes that indicate that it's time to reintroduce your CME program if your organization has withdrawn from the CME planning world. Participating in CME (continuing medical education) has been a big part of my professional life. After completing my residency, [...]
Welcome to my second interview with a successful physician executive and leader. This time, I interview Lawrence Earl, MD. Larry made the transition early in his career from practicing clinician to medical director and then owner/CEO of his own urgent care company. He later sold his practice to Concentra, a large provider of urgent care and occupational medicine services that is very well-known in the urgent care arena. I know the company because when I was looking to [...]
I was about 5 years into my medical career. It was a busy and exciting time. I finally felt confident in my clinical skills and I was ready to immerse myself in a new subject matter. I had not yet considered a management career. My partners and I had started a pension plan and we were making regular contributions. But none of us really knew how we should invest our contributions. I realized that I needed to learn [...]
A common question arises when considering a career change to a non-clinical position. If you're seeking work as an administrator, you may be thinking: “Will I need a business degree?”. It seems that more physician leaders have an MBA, MHA, MMM or MPH (an MPH is not actually a business degree, but a significant number of physician executives seem to have one). A business or management degree is definitely not a requirement for a career as a physician executive. There are many very [...]
