In this interview, Dr. Armin Feldman explains how to use a new kind of medical legal consulting as a lucrative side gig.

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest-running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country. It has over 700 graduates. And, the program only takes one year to complete. 

By joining the UT Physician Executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to find a career that you love. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office at (865) 974-6526 or go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

A New Form of Medical Legal Consulting

Armin describes how he developed a unique kind of medical legal consulting during that time. He sold his clinic network about 14 years ago. And he devoted himself to providing those services full time. After a few years of perfecting his approach, he began teaching other physicians how to adopt what he was doing.

Over the past 12 years, he has trained over 1,600 other physicians through his Medical/Legal Consulting Coaching Program.

Active Medical Practice Not Required

Dr. Feldman’s consulting is pre-litigation and pre-trial in nature. He helps attorneys manage the medical aspects of cases, increasing case value and saving attorney time. He enables them to better negotiate and settle cases and get the appropriate medical care for their clients. And he does not participate in medical malpractice cases.

If you want to learn more, you can check out the home page for his coaching services and watch a short video at mdbizcon.com. And if you’d like to sign up for his biweekly email, just send him a note requesting it at armin@golegaldoc.com

Summary

That was an eye-opening interview. And it seems like a fairly compelling way to leverage your medical knowledge. Following Dr. Feldman's methods, you will be able to provide lucrative pre-trial medical legal consulting services on a part-time basis.

NOTE: Look below for a transcript of today's episode.

Links for Today's Episode:

• Medical Legal Consulting Coaching Program
• Sign up for Dr. Feldman's Email Newsletter at armin@golegaldoc.com
• NewScr!pt

Download This Episode:

Right Click Here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

Podcast Editing & Production Services are provided by Oscar Hamilton

Today's PNC Podcast Transcript

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Transcription PNC Podcast Episode 227

How to Do a New Kind of Medical Legal Consulting as a Part-Time Gig

John: I'm excited to bring you today's interview with an expert on a new kind of medical legal consulting. I think you'll find it very appealing. Dr. Armin Feldman, welcome to the PNC podcast.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Hi John. It is a pleasure to be with you.

John: I've really been looking forward to this because I'll just say that I discovered you somehow doing something that I find very intriguing, very appealing. I've always been one to like, although I've never done it myself, medical expert witness sort of work because I think it fits in with physicians as a part-time gig. But I think you've found a way to even improve on that. First, why don't you just tell us a little bit about your background and bring us through your education and so forth and, and then to what you're doing today?

Dr. Armin Feldman: Sure. I grew up in Milwaukee and I went to college at University of Wisconsin. and then I also went there for medical school. After medical school, I did an internship in internal medicine at the University of Colorado. And then stayed at the University of Colorado for my residency in psychiatry.

After I finished my residency in psychiatry, by the way, for the next five years of Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings, I was also a student at the Denver Institute for Psychoanalysis and I am also a graduate of the Denver Institute. For about 20 years, I have practiced psychiatry and psychoanalysis. And an interesting thing happened along the way. When I was still a resident, I met a young personal injury attorney who was doing some work for a friend of mine. We've been friends now for over 30 years. But after I got into practice, he started sending me his injured clients who primarily have head injuries. And that led me into the field of mild traumatic brain injury.

My true specialty in psychiatry turned out to be mild traumatic brain injury. And I wound up owning an outpatient head injury rehabilitation clinic in Denver. I had a treatment program of my own design. I eventually had other psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychotherapists, biofeedback therapists, and others working at the clinic. And that led me to eventually wind-up owning outpatient head injury rehab clinics all around the country. I was fortunate enough to eventually sell those clinics. And after I sold the clinics, I was thinking about, "Well, what do I want to do next?" I didn't want to retire. I love medicine.

As part of that work, I testified as an expert witness more times than I wanted to remember on behalf of my patients who are either being cut off their medical care or offered some pits of a settlement. And I was quite familiar with our legal system and I thought, "Well, maybe what I could do is just consult attorneys on any kind of medical question that came up in a case and work with them, pretrial pre-litigation".

In other words, in the areas of the law that I started working with attorneys, approximately 9 out of 10 cases settled. And so, that's where I came in. Well, one thing led to another, and I wound up developing what has turned into a whole new subspecialty of forensic medicine that deals with the pretrial pre and aspects of legal cases. And I developed a whole variety of fairly specific services to help the attorneys help their clients to better negotiate and settle cases.

And after doing that for a few years, I realized this probably could be a new field. I started training other physicians how to do this work through a training program and through conferences. And I guess as they say, the rest is history, it's now 14 years later. Through those means I've trained over 1,600 physicians around the country. And so, that brings us up to today.

John: Very interesting. And of course, you've touched on some of the factors that maybe make this a little bit more appealing than some other forms of consulting. But why don't I have you really spell those out for us? When we think of medical expert witnesses for legal reasons, of course, we're talking about reviewing charts, then a certain percentage of those will result in a deposition and then even a smaller percentage will potentially end up in court. It can get a little stressful, a lot of time involved. It sounds like you're doing something a little different that doesn't always involve those aspects. So, tell us about that.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Yeah, that's right. First of all, I should say I don't do any expert witness work and I don't work in medical malpractice cases. I am working in other kinds of legal cases. The work is primarily in personal injury cases and workers' compensation cases with regard to injuries. But I'll tell you any physician in any specialty can learn how to do this kind of consulting. What happens is, the attorney will call me with a case. We will discuss the case. They will send the medical records. After I review the medical records, I'll interview the client of the attorney in every case. Typically, it was by phone, but now it might be by Zoom meeting. Less than 3% of the time I may want to interview the client in the attorney's conference room.

Once I do my review of the records and interview the client, then I'm going to do any medical research that I need to do. And then in many cases, I'm writing a report. Many services don't require a report, but the thing to understand is that I answer and other physicians that do this, we answer any kind of medical question that comes up in a case. And so, the issue may be related to a specific medical question, a specific condition, a specific injury.

By the way, there are about 16, 17 different kinds of services that we offer to these attorneys to help them. And what that means is to better settle the case. It means settling the case for better value with less attorney time. Help the attorney get the appropriate medical care for their clients, and also help the attorney just to negotiate all the medical issues in the case.

I'll give you a couple of examples. The service that is most requested is to provide the attorney with comprehensive medical summary reports, by the way, it's just a term I invented. But comprehensive medical summary reports that they will include in settlement demand letters. Through the negotiation process, at some point, the attorney will file or submit to opposing counsel and to the insurance company a settlement demand letter. And in that letter one of the things that the attorney must put in there, these are fairly standardized state by state, but obviously, they have to put in a description of damages. There are all kinds of damages. Damage to a car, loss of work time, loss of enjoyment of life, which by the way isn't medical damage. Medical damages tend to be the biggest group.

We will give our medical opinions based on all the things that I just told you about regarding every injury in the case. And so, we will write a comprehensive report that includes our medical opinions. And one of the things that makes this viable is in our legal system, physicians are expected to, and are sanctioned to give medical opinions to medical questions.

Now, if it's that 1 out of 10 cases that's going to trial, well, then obviously the attorney is going to need medical experts in every area of injury. But for the purpose of negotiating and settling the case, what the attorney needs are medical opinions, reports, and other services, all backed up by evidence from the medical literature that they can use to settle the case. And this is a completely legitimate thing that any physician can do. These reports will cover everything in the case, every injury in the case, along with a number of other fairly specific things that need to be in this kind of report.

Now, another thing that we do is that we can actually physically sit in and observe independent medical exams that other physicians do, which puts us in a position to write IME rebuttal reports. Now we all know that they're very good doctors that do very good IME. We also know that in every community across the country, there are physicians that are specifically asked to do these by the insurance companies because they have a fairly good idea of what the opinions are going to be. I think I was probably the first physician in the country to actually physically sit in and observe IBS and write rebuttals.

Another thing that we do quite often is we'll answer specific medical questions in cases. And when we do that, what we're doing, for the most part, is we're helping what the attorneys call to prove a particular medical theory for the case. Now sometimes we'll do that and we'll tell the attorney, "This isn't going to fly, don't do this". But most of the time what we're doing is we're helping to prove a particular medical theory for the case.

Let me just digress for a sec and I'll tell you one other thing. When I started doing this, let's say there was some issue in the case related to a rotator cuff injury, and the attorney wanted a report and my opinion on that particular thing. I would write up the report in the manner in which I just told you. My report's going to go to opposing counsel. Our work is not behind the scenes. Our reports are seen by opposing counsel. They're almost always seen by insurance adjusters. They're often seen by judges, treating doctors, IME doctors, and others.

And the opposing counsel gets my report. Well, what's the first thing they're going to do? They're going to look me up. They look me up and they call the attorney that hired me and they say, "Well, I looked Dr. Feldman up. Why should I pay any attention to his report? He is not an expert in rotator cuff injuries". And of course, this doesn't happen to me anymore because people know who I am, but that's what happens with everyone.

But what my attorney's going to say is, "Well, Dr. Feldman acts as a medical consultant for me, by the way, as opposed to a medical expert, but works as a medical consultant for me in all my cases. And if we can't get this issue and negotiate it out in the settlement based on Dr. Feldman's opinions and boards, and I back it up with evidence from the literature so forth, and you forced me to take this case to trial. When I hired my retained orthopedic surgeon, they're going to say exactly what Dr. Feldman said in his report. In fact, they would be both relying on the same literature, so let's get this settled". And that's how it works.

John: Okay. Let me go back a couple of things just to make it crystal clear because these are some of the things I found so fascinating. Number one is you were talking about the IME Independent Medical Exams. And what you're doing when you do them is you're actually observing someone else's IME as a way to kind of keep the whole process valid for your side of the equation for the attorney you're working with. I just want to make that clear. I think you did, but just for the audience to understand. This is like another sort of perspective to the whole process.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Yeah, that's correct. Sometimes it's something as simple as an observation. I did a case. It was a woman that had a head injury. She had

symptoms, there were CNS questions. All the treating doctors were in agreement with this. One IME doctor said, "No, there's nothing wrong with her". So, I went to a different IME and the IME report came back and the report was that Babinski's were negative. Well, one was positive. And I saw it, I observed it. I tested that. I wasn't the only doctor that saw that. Many of the treating doctors saw that.

And so, that was something that came up in that particular IME. But most of the time, it's more of an opinion thing. The person doesn't need revision surgery for the rotator cuff, because there was no dial leakage on her arthrogram. Well, most orthopedic surgeons would say pain and range of motion, degree of functionality. These are the things that would be criteria with regard to whether that revision surgery would be needed or not. And that's what I might talk about in my revision and my rebuttal report.

John: Right. Again, just to point out something you've already said, the fact that you're a psychiatrist really doesn't make any difference. You don't have to be an internist, an orthopedist, or a neurologist. You need really a basic medical background and maybe a little experience and the ability to read the literature and then serve as sort of an interpreter there for your attorney, your attorney's client, that sort of thing.

Dr. Armin Feldman: In fact, John, it's one of the things that's so much fun about this work. Now, some physicians I talk with, they might be interested in doing this. I talk with them and they just want to stay in their lane. They are not interested in this. But if you went to medicine because you found out that you love medicine, and you enjoy learning about all aspects of medicine, then this is just tremendous, it's so much fun.

I'm not in any position to do any orthopedic or neurosurgery, but I put my knowledge base of spine injuries, rotator cuff injuries, complex regional pain syndrome, and other things up against anyone. And I'm such a more well-rounded and better doctor for all of the hundreds of hours of research that I've done over the years.

John: It's interesting. I interviewed someone who is a medical director or a CMO at a life insurance company. And she happened to be a cardiologist. It's like, well, what does a cardiologist know about life insurance? But it was exactly what you're saying. She was asked to interpret. She would do her research. Whether she had to do with pediatrics adult cardiac renal didn't matter. It was all based on the basic background of being a physician that's got a broad sort of training. That's another very interesting perspective. All right. Are there challenges in this thing? It sounds like it's Nirvana, it's fantastic. There's got to be some challenges and probably some pre-work you have to do.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Yeah. Again, I'm not sure this is entirely a challenge, but it's certainly a thing of interest. In my training program, I'm training physicians on two things. I'm training them on the medicine they need to know, but also, I'm training them on how to successfully start-up, but more importantly, how to run a long-term medical legal consulting business. If there's a challenge, it's the issues outside of medicine. How do you get from zero to up and running with your business? How do you market your business? How do you run your operations on a day-to-day basis? How do you do your billing? These kinds of things.

And so, maybe the challenge for physicians is on that side of the equation. Physicians are now just being employees of big corporations or hospital systems. So, what's the biggest trend? Everybody wants their own side gig, right? So many doctors want their own thing. Well, to have your own thing, you have to know something about business and how to run that business. It doesn't run itself. Now for me, of course, this has been part of the fun of it all. But if there's a challenge it's getting used to... And any physician can learn it, but it's getting used to that side.

John: The plus side there it sounds to me is that if someone is unhappy, unfulfilled and is looking for an alternative that if they can just squeeze out some time, they can actually start this on a part-time basis, learn about it, start working on how to get some clients. And then if it really resonates with them, then they can gradually either phase out or quit their other job or get another type of less stressful clinical job let's say.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Yeah, that's right. Now there are physicians that do it full time. There are physicians that do it instead of retiring, but you're right, the largest group are physicians that do this as a part-time side gig.

John: Okay. Now, how does someone get paid doing this? Do you just sort of have a retainer? Do you use an hourly rate? Do you do a case rate? All the above? I think people will have that question.

Dr. Armin Feldman: The way I train the physicians that are doing this is I charge by the hour for everything that I do. One hourly fee. I keep the billing log form along. Attorneys understand hourly billing. Now, of course, in the areas of the law, which I work primarily, it's done by contingency. But I charge by the hour for everything that I do. Just to quick aside. Now I'm not working on contingency. When I send my bill, I expect to be paid in the next 30 days. And in the real world, 90% of the time I'm paid within 30 to 60 days of sending my bill.

But the way that I've advised physicians over the years is to do an informal survey of their colleagues, determine what you think is the average fee per hour for doing medical expert work in your community. Now, obviously, there's a range, right? Not hard to figure the average. So once you get that average, then you want to come in somewhat below what the medical experts are charging doing this acting as a medical consultant, pretrial, pre-litigation.

John: Okay. That's pretty straightforward. And they can get some either from you, if they take your coaching course or elsewhere, they can figure that out. Tell us about your course exactly. What is it? What is it like now? Is it face to face? Is it live? Is it online? Is it recorded? What does it look like?

Dr. Armin Feldman: It's one year and the physician gets all of the business concepts, all the business tools they need, the medical tools, the training, the manual, the how-to on every aspect of the business. They get everything that I use in my business. They get a website, so forth. And it's both on the business side and on the medical side. But the big thing is they get a year of coaching with me. And I've been doing this full-time for 14 years. And so, it's not an absolute necessity. Occasionally somebody joins the coaching program, I don't hear from them much and they're successful. But far and away, far, far and away, the physicians that stay in close touch with me are the most successful. Whatever they need during the launch plan period, I help all of the physicians with some of their marketing. That's how they learn it in the beginning. I'll actually help them to get their first cases in the door. I read tons of drafts of reports before they go out to their attorneys, and really anything I can do from my end that's going to help them to be successful.

John: That sounds like it's fairly comprehensive for those that take advantage of it. Can you give me an example? I'm curious if everyone that learns this from you, do they do exactly what you do or do you see examples where someone might say, "Well, I want to focus on this aspect or that aspect?" Or maybe they just end up doing something slightly different, just because we're all different. Any examples like that?

Dr. Armin Feldman: There's kind of a tried and true way to do this. And not that I haven't learned from coaching members over the years and made adjustments to things, both on the business side and the medical side. But the fact is if you vary too far from the standard approach, it tends not to be as successful.

John: Well, when you've been doing something for 15 years it tends to be a pretty well-oiled machine at that point, I assume.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Yeah. Yeah. And not that I'm not open to hearing what physicians that are training or have trained are doing. But most of them come back around to doing it the way they were trained.

John: Got it. All right. Well, before we go any further, we're getting near the end here, but I want to make sure I mention your website. Actually, it's sort of a page that has this course on it. It's called mdbizcon.com. And I found a video there. It pretty much explains everything. It's again, pretty interesting. That's one of the things that got me interested in getting you on here in the podcast today. So, let's not forget about that. And then I'm also going to put a copy of your email address in the show notes for anyone that would like to get on your email list. Is that doable?

Dr. Armin Feldman: Yeah, that would be great. I do have a newsletter once a month for physicians that are interested in this topic. And then two weeks after the newsletter comes out, I send out a shorter plain text email with tips, advice on various topics as they come up in my day-to-day work. And then I'll talk about it.

John: If you were to be addressing some of my listeners here who are sometimes a little bit burned out or they're just frustrated with medicine in general, what advice might you have for them in terms of thinking about their careers?

Dr. Armin Feldman: I think as physicians, we all want to help people. That's a good portion of the reason we got into it. So, I would say, first and foremost, find something that you can use your medical knowledge to still help people. And this isn't anything profound, I'm sure you've heard it before. But if you're doing something that you really enjoy and find fun, it doesn't seem much like work. If you're going to do something on the side or look for something to cure that burnout, make sure it's something that you really enjoy, that you find fun doing every day. And if you can combine that with helping people, and by the way, making money, what's better than that?

John: Oh, that's absolutely right. Great advice. Yeah, I think if people don't know about these things, then they feel sort of frustrated or resigned that they can't break away from the corporate practice of medicine or something like that. But just in having conversations with people like you, we've seen just dozens and dozens of different opportunities and options for people if they just sort of open their eyes and look around. I appreciate those comments. Anything else you need us to know about this new kind of medical legal consulting?

Dr. Armin Feldman: If you enjoy medicine as a whole, and you got a kick out of being in med school and learning all the things that we know, and you want to put that medical knowledge to work in a nonclinical field that really helps people and is lucrative, this is something that you should look at.

John: Yeah, that's what I thought when I first heard about this. It's intellectually stimulating. It builds on your medical and actual understanding of the healthcare system itself. And you don't have to be in any particular specialty and you don't have to keep practicing to do this ultimately if you decide to do it full-time from what you've said.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Right.

John: All right. Well, thank you very much. This has been very fascinating, Armin. I really appreciate you for coming on today. And I hope a few of my listeners take you up on the email letter and maybe even enroll in your coaching course. With that, I'll have to say bye-bye.

Dr. Armin Feldman: Okay. Thank you, John. It's been my pleasure.

John: It's been great. Thanks. Bye-bye.

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The post How to Do a New Kind of Medical Legal Consulting as a Part Time Gig – 227 appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

Interview with Sarah Campbell

In this episode of the PNC podcast, Sarah Campbell offers her expert advice to become a strong CME writer.

NetCE is a continuing education company that produced online education for health care professions. Sarah has spent much of her career working there. She is the Director of Development. In that role, she works with planners and authors to develop the materials that NetCE produces.

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest-running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. And, unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. Recently, Economist Magazine ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization. As a result, the University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills needed to find a career that you really love. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

What is Continuing Medical Education?

Continuing Medical Education materials are a major component of NetCE's products. As such, it is constantly looking for new content. And it regularly engages a CME writer to produce it.

The topics should timely and widely applicable. The writing should be evidence-based and well-supported by references. And NetCE must expand its offerings to topics not covered before. It helps if the CME writer has a genuine interest and expertise in the subject matter.

“If you're writing about something that's actually interesting to you or that you have been impacted by, then it can be really valuable to the learners.” – Sarah Campbell

For example, NetCE worked quickly to develop a course on COVID-19 recently. An established CME writer for NetCE worked on an expedited schedule to meet the need. In most cases, however, Sarah can predict new course requirements and plan for them in advance.

The Medical Writing Process

Sarah outlined the process of medical writing during our conversation.

1. Before writing a manuscript, authors submit a formal proposal. It includes a brief abstract and a big-picture overview of what the final product will look like.
2. The proposal goes to the Development Committee, which reviews and provides feedback on it.
3. The company issues a contract, and the author writes the manuscript.
4. When the first draft is submitted, the CME writer receives her honorarium.
5. NetCE completes editing, graphics, and publishing. This process can take up to a year to finish.
6. After three years, the company reevaluates the course based on need and new scientific developments. If it is still valuable, the author will complete revisions and receive an additional honorarium.

Summary

In the episode, Sarah also provided advice for CME writers for maintaining a good relationship with CME Communication Companies. And she describes ways to optimize compensation for your medical writing.

Download This Episode:

Right Click Here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

The Clinicians Career Cooperative Official Launch Began on June 1, 2020.

This is the ONLINE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS for nonclinical, and unconventional clinical, jobs and side gigs. We have started with some of the most influential names in clinical career transition, including:

• Maiysha Clairborne
• Michelle Mudge-Riley
• Tom Davis
• Marjorie Stiegler
• Andrew Wilner
• Phil Boucher
• Mike Woo-Ming
• Jarret Patton
• Jill Wener
• Christopher Loo
• Lisa Jenks
• Mandy Armitage

There is an automatic 7-day Free Trial. So, this is a no-risk opportunity to connect with experts and begin your career transition today.

To check it out, head to the Clinicians Career Cooperative.

Follow 4 Easy Steps:

After clicking the link and heading to the Cooperative and watching the Welcome Video…

1. click the Teal Colored JOIN NOW button, then,
2. select the annual or monthly membership by clicking the Sign-Up Link, then
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4. click REGISTER HERE to join the Cooperative.

It's that simple.

Imagine what it will be like 6 to 12 months from now to start a fulfilling career, and leave behind the headaches, long hours, and constant threat of a lawsuit. Joining the Cooperative is the first step on that journey!

So head over to the Clinicians Career Cooperative.

The post Here Are the Keys to Being a Strong CME Writer – 146 appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

On this week's episode of the PNC podcast, Dr. Nneka Unachukwu discusses how starting her own practice as a physician entrepreneur has empowered her to create the career in medicine she wants.

A pediatrician by training, Dr. Una began learning how to run her own practice unintentionally while working her first job. When a relocation forced her to find a new opportunity, she was a bit unsure what to do.

Only 15 months out of residency, she did not imagine that it would be possible to start her own practice. But her employer/mentor reminded her that she was doing most of that work already.

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest-running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. Unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. And Economist Magazine recently ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations. While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to advance your career. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

Equipped with Optimism

One benefit to Nneka being so young when she started her own practice was that she was a bit naïve about the potential risks of the venture. Un-phased by challenges, and equipped with optimism, she leaned into the business opportunity. 

Nneka soon realized that being a clinician and a business owner were two different skill sets. So, she immersed herself in learning entrepreneurship in order to quickly build her practice.

She began by studying other private practices, and answered these questions: 

• Which services do they offer? 
• What kind of brands do pediatricians project?
• Are they tracking their online reviews?
• How good (or bad) are their reviews?
• What do people like about them?
• What do people hate about them?

Then, she began to learn the language of entrepreneurship. She read business books, watched YouTube videos, and asked questions of other practice-owners. 

The second step was taking (sometimes messy) action. Nneka found that she had to pick a direction and take action, learning as much as possible along the way. Then she would refocus and shift if necessary. 

The post How to Be a Successful Physician Entrepreneur – 123 appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

In this week’s episode, John is alone behind the microphone to take a deep dive into nonclinical careers for discouraged doctors. This episode explores some of the best career options for doctors that are not board certified. However, they are also an option for more experienced board-certified clinicians.

Before getting into the specifics of the careers, John highlighted some of the key general tactics that should be used by every physician seeking a career pivot:

• Create a complete LinkedIn profile;
• Network with classmates, colleagues, contacts, etc.;
• Join professional organizations in the chosen field;
• Join LinkedIn groups in the space you're exploring;
• Find a mentor to help guide you.

6 Nonclinical Careers to Save Discouraged Doctors

Medical Writer

For physicians who are looking for flexibility and a career they can do from home, medical writer may be the answer. With a vast range of options, from blog articles to technical writing, discouraged doctors are sure to find something that fits their needs.

Travel requirements are minimal. But this job requires self-discipline. And interactions with others are uncommon unless you're writing based on interviews. So, this may not be the career for the gregarious extrovert.

A great way to get started as a medical writer is to submit unpaid articles to online publications while working at your current job. You can test the waters and build up a portfolio at the same time. If you're interested in pursuing medical writing, check out the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) and take a listen to episodes 22, 56, 63, and 75.

Clinical Documentation Improvement

Medicare regulations have caused an explosion of companies focused on Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI). As a CDI professional, you will be trained in the fascinating intricacies of translating chart information to appropriate billing codes.

Working in CDI is a great choice for discouraged doctors. This job allows for the option to work in-house at your current hospital, as an independent contractor, or from home. The job requires working on CDI teams, interacting with individual physicians, and teaching small groups of physicians.

There are some great resources, such as the Association for Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists, which offer training and certification. You can also check out Episodes 5 with Cesar Limjoco, and 77 with Christian Zouain, for more information about this career choice.

Medical Communications

Medical Communications is one of the careers that are open to physicians with clinical experience and those without. Generally, you’ll be working in marketing agencies that deal with pharma and device companies.

It’s a great role if you enjoy working in a conventional office with a regular schedule. Teamwork and communication skills are important. There is a great infographic to check out with a list of agencies in the space. You should also take a listen to our interview with Dana Carpenter in episode 61.

Consulting

Consulting can be an excellent career choice for physicians without clinical experience. Firms sometimes prefer doctors without experience so they can train them to their way of doing things, without having to break old habits.

Depending on the firm and your location, it may require significant amounts of travel. It can be very lucrative, though, with opportunity for advancement. There are a many companies to look at if you are interested. Here are some of the biggest ones:

• McKinsey and Co.
• Boston Consulting Group
• Deloitte
• Bain and Co.
• Huron Consulting Group

Medical Monitor

Frustrated and discouraged doctors that have experience working in research or with committees that deal with medication would be well suited to a career in medical monitoring. Medical monitors generally work in pharmaceutical research. They monitor research studies and ensure that they are medically sound. The job may involve some travel, but not as much as some of the other roles we covered. If you are interested in medical monitoring, listen to episode 70 of the podcast for more info. There are hundreds of companies that employ medical monitors. Here are some of the biggest ones:

• IQVIA
• Parexel
• Syneos Health
• Covance
• Icon
• PRA Health Sciences
• PPD
• Medpace

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest-running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. Unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. And Economist Magazine recently ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations. While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to advance your career. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

Medical Science Liaison

Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is a good entry job for getting into the pharmaceutical space. Ideal candidates for MSL roles will need to be very familiar with the regulatory landscape. You will also need to be okay with traveling regularly and meeting new people. A career as an MSL can require up to fifty percent travel and involves lots of “meeting and greeting.” The MSL Society and MSL Institute are both great resources. You can also listen to episodes 50, 51, 66, and 89 of the podcast.

Summary

These six careers will allow you to apply your medical training to help patients in a different way. There is an ongoing demand for each of them.

Pursuing them will require some old skills and a period of intense learning. But physicians who have made the transition have generally been very happy with their decision.

Eager to Build a Rewarding Career as a Medical Science Liaison?

Here's the smart way to do it (even if you never completed a residency training program)…

I recently released my first formal course How to Secure a Career as a Medical Science Liaison.

It’s designed to take you from where you are in your career, to your first job as an MSL in the growing pharmaceutical industry.

I chose to focus on this career because it's open to both licensed and unlicensed physicians.

The course is now open. It will be closed for enrollment soon. And the current price is the LOWEST price at which it will ever be offered.

To learn more, go to vitalpe.net/mslcourse.

Links for today's episode:

See text for links.

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It might be just what you need to prepare for that joyful, well-paying career. You can find out more at nonclinicalphysicians.com/physicianmba.

I hope to see you next time on the PNC Podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it on Twitter and Facebook, and leave a review on iTunes.

Podcast Editing & Production Services are provided by Oscar Hamilton.

Disclaimers:

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business. 

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counsellor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career. 

Right click here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

Here are the easiest ways to listen:

vitalpe.net/itunes  OR vitalpe.net/stitcher  

The post Nonclinical Careers That Will Save Discouraged Doctors – 095 appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

In my quest to promote physician leadership, I've been looking for an awesome physician executive to interview. So, I invited Dr. Barbara Loeb to tell us about her career journey. 

Barbara is an accomplished physician executive and leader. Currently, she’s the Associate Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Population Health at Loyola Medicine.

But Barbara started her career as your typical general internist, running a small practice in the Chicago area. Well into her clinical career, she decided to pursue a career in hospital management. She took on leadership roles in the largest health system in the Chicago area, called Advocate Physician Partners, while still practicing as an independent physician in that system.

Then, she moved into the role of full-time VP for Medical Affairs at one of the newly aquired hospitals, where she developed many of the leadership and management skills she would later apply.

She left Advocate to became CMO for a hospital in the largest Catholic health system in the Chicago area, Presence Health. 

Later, she took on the job of chief medical officer for a new health plan in Illinois, called Land of Lincoln. I first met her there, when I represented my hospital on one of the committees she chaired for the plan. 

She left that position to become CMO for a four-hospital health system in Chicago that was part of Tenet Healthcare, a for-profit national health system. When the Chicago hospitals were later spun off, Barbara became part of Loyola Medicine in Chicago, where she now serves as Population Health Associate Chief Medical Officer.

During this wide-ranging interview, we address many issues that face the emerging physician executive. And Barbara provides specific advice about how to prepare yourself for a such a career.

Growing Up in Chicago

Barbara was born and raised near Chicago by a single mother. The family struggled to find medical care without insurance.

Watching her mother go through such challenges inspired Barbara to pursue a career in medicine. “I thought I could help by being a physician and treating patients in the area that I grew up in.”

After graduating from Northwestern University and completing the internal medicine residency program at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Barbara became even more excited about becoming a physician and starting her own practice. “It was sort of a dream come true.”

Eager to Build a Rewarding Career as a Medical Science Liaison?

Here's the smart way to do it (even if you never completed a residency training program)…

I recently released my first formal course How to Secure a Career as a Medical Science Liaison.

It’s designed to take you from where you are in your career, to your first job as an MSL in the growing pharmaceutical industry.

I chose to focus on this career because it's open to both licensed and unlicensed physicians.

The course is now open. It will be closed for enrollment soon. And the current price is the LOWEST price at which it will ever be offered.

To learn more, go to vitalpe.net/mslcourse.

Taking Initiative

Barbara was happy working in her practice taking care of patients for several years. But she gradually became interested in making a bigger difference in health care. Medicine was changing a lot, and she wanted to take a leadership role.

She decided to differentiate herself from other physicians by continuing her education, eventually completing her MBA. And she volunteered to serve on various hospital and health system committees to improve her understanding of organizational and leadership concepts.

Barbara accumulated diverse experience and knowledge beyond her clinical craft. “I moved through so many different things while I was an independent physician, and I felt it helped get me ready to do something further.”

Also, she found mentors who encouraged and supported her efforts to be an awesome physician leader. And these mentors supported her desire to focus on quality and outcomes, not the bottom line.

Our Corporate Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. Unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. And Economist Magazine recently ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations. While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to advance your career. To find out more, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

Learning at the Studer Group

Barbara benefited by spending time working as a consultant at the Studer Group. That experience provided an understanding and tools to address satisfaction for patients, physicians, and employees.

Click here to dowwnload the Free TRANSCRIPT

Here are a few lessons Barbara learned from Studer:

• Being present
• Listening
• Treating others with respect
• Communicating effectively
• Creating a positive work culture

Those lessons were helpful in her subsequent leadership roles. She ultimately moved to a hospital in Chicago that was part of the Tenet Health System. When her hospital was sold to Loyola, she joined the leadership team as Associate Chief Medical Officer.

There, she is now responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of the the medical management for delegated health plan functions, including value based care programs and bundled payments.

In Summary

Unless they decide otherwise, physicians can be in practice for life. However, becoming an awesome physician executive involves changing your mindset. And you may need to make sacrifices because advancing your career requires:

• Flexibility and perpetual learning, since each job presents new challenges;
• Accepting reduced job security and more frequent job change, especially if you want to advance to more challenging positions; and,
• Multiple moves, sometimes to distant locations.

We touched on so many other topics during this conversation. I encourage you to listen to teh entire interview. Also, you can download a transcript of the interview by clicking the blue button above.

Check Out This New Career Course

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve created a brand-new course that will show you how to pursue a career as a medical science liaison. You can learn more about it by going to vitalpe.net/mslcourse. But don’t delay, I’m closing the course soon.

Links for today's episode:

• Dr. Barbara Loeb’s Email Address
• Dr. Barbara Loeb on LinkedIn
• Loyola Medicine
• Northwestern University
• Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
• Rush University
• Land of Lincoln: Health Plan Initiative
• AdvocateAuroraHealth
• American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) (formerly known as American College of Physician Executives)
• Studer Group
• Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
• Epic EMR
• Tenet Healthcare

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It might be just what you need to prepare for that joyful, well-paying career. You can find out more at vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

I hope to see you next time on the PNC Podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it on Twitter and Facebook, and leave a review on iTunes.

Disclaimers:

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business. 

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counsellor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career. 

Right click here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

Here are the easiest ways to listen:

vitalpe.net/itunes  or vitalpe.net/stitcher 

The post How to Emerge as an Awesome Physician Executive – 093 appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

Today we have the conclusion to my interview with chief information officer Christopher Leonard. The stage was set in Part 1. In this conclusion, Chris explains:

• how medical informatics has evolved,
• whether to pursue an advanced degree, and,
• how to enter this growing field.

What Is Informatics?

Chris was intrigued by the way information and technology could help solve problems for physicians and patients. He explains that the standard definition if “informatics” is “information science concerned with the dissemination and analysis of medical or patient data via applications of technology.”

Meaningful Use Requirements Spur Growth in Informatics

As a result of the Economic Stimulus Act, money was directed to the Meaningful Use program, which incentivized hospitals and doctors to adopt technology. “It was very clunky, but its intentions were obviously very good.”

One goal was to increase efficiency. Patients would not need to constantly repeat their medical history. Instead, patients’ medical records would be accessible to physicians, and totally secure and protected.

It also spurred the integration of quality measures into the electronic medical record. This would allow for tracking and improving performance.

“Well, that's the utopia part of it, right? But how do you make this happen? Imagine a hospital system in 2011. You had 200 disparate systems all over the place, trying to interact and communicate with each other.”

“Imagine the size and scope of that problem. While everyone expedited their implementation of EHR systems… you had implementation teams and CIOs that are used to more operational problems. And now you had EHRs being introduced to the mix.”

“Informatics is basically the fusion of medicine at all its different levels with technology… But technology can't be a solution in and of itself. When we implement an EHR, we're going to have implementers… trainers…physician champions… We're accumulating a bunch of data. Now, we need data analytics.”

Announcing a New Career Course

I recently released my first formal career course How to Secure a Career as a Medical Science Liaison.

It’s designed to take you from where you are in your career, to your first job as an MSL in the growing pharmaceutical industry. This is a very popular, full-time, entry-level position in pharma.

I chose to focus on this career because it's open to both licensed and unlicensed physicians. I’ve taken everything I know and pulled it together in one place. As a result, the course will enable you to navigate the process quickly. You'll be better able to find available jobs, submit your resume, and ace your interviews.

The course is now open. It will be closed for enrollment soon. And the current price is the LOWEST price at which it will ever be offered.

To learn more, at no obligation, go to vitalpe.net/mslcourse. This could be your best chance to find that new nonclinical career you’ve been seeking.

Managing Mobile Device Systems and Maintaining Security

As data accumulates, so do security concerns. “What about people who walk into the hospital with their cell phones and want to log into the EHR? How will it be managed?”

“That's just the tip of the iceberg. You've got physicians treating patients. They need a tool to document that. In that tool is clinical decision support, which provides them point-of-care information and guidelines that they can look at, flags for reminders, (and) triggers like all the things you would imagine technology would help with.”

Our Corporate Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. Unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. And Economist Magazine recently ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations. While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to advance your career. To find out more, with no obligation, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

Becoming Chief Information Officer

Here's Chris' advice on seeking a career in informatics (and eventually chief information officer (CIO) or chief medical information officer (CMIO)).

Engage a mentor. One way is to find like-minded people through LinkedIn. “These people are usually natural educators. They like to talk, they're passionate about what they do.”

Get involved at your organization. Look for opportunities wherever technology is being used to improve patient care or streamline a process.

And don't be sidetracked by thinking that moving out of patient care in some way is a “waste” of your medical education and clinical experience.

“There's discouragement sometimes, of going into a field where it seems like there's no clinical implications and your previous years of sacrifice are ‘wasted.’ It's never wasted. There's always context that you'll know that is just not attainable other than having gone through that clinical experience.”

Click here to download the Free TRANSCRIPT

In Summary

This 2-part series was a fairly comprehensive look at medical informatics. I was surprised to learn that there are so many new areas of specialization within the field. And that means that the opportunities in informatics are exploding.

You can download a transcript of the interview by clicking the blue button above. The transcript will include both Parts 1 and 2, so it will be twice as long as the usual download.

Check Out This New Career Course

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve created a brand-new course that will show you how to pursue a career as a medical science liaison. You can learn more about it by going to vitalpe.net/mslcourse. But don’t delay, I’m closing the course soon.

Links for today's episode:

• Dr. Christopher Leonard on LinkedIn
• Vohra Wound Physicians
• Physicians Helping Physicians
• Kansas City School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Medical College of Georgia
• Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
• American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Mayo Clinic
• Northwestern (Informatics Curriculum)
• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
• Meaningful Use
• Economic Stimulus Act
• Reasons to Pursue a Career in Medical Informatics – Interview with Dr. Brian Young – 014

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It might be just what you need to prepare for that joyful, well-paying career. You can find out more at vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

I hope to see you next time on the PNC Podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it on Twitter and Facebook, and leave a review on iTunes.

Disclaimers:

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business. 

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counsellor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career. 

Right click here and “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your computer.

Here are the easiest ways to listen:

vitalpe.net/itunes  or vitalpe.net/stitcher  

The post The Interesting Life of the Chief Information Officer – 092 appeared first on NonClinical Physicians.

Dr. Christopher Leonard is the CIO at a physician management company, where he leveraged several opportunities in medical informatics. He now leads the team that designs and develops a proprietary EHR.

Christopher is a graduate of the University of Georgia, Kansas City School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at the Medical College of Georgia, and Master's in Health Informatics at Northwestern University.

After transitioning from general surgery to health informatics, he focused on raising care quality by bringing data analytics and machine learning to post-acute care.

In today's interview, Chris provides a view into his transition from satisfied general surgeon to Chief Information Officer. And he gets into the details regarding what informatics is, and how it has evolved since he over the years. Finally, he lays out how he would approach a career in medical informatics, if he were starting out today.

Announcing a New Career Course

Today's show has two sponsors. The first is my Nonclinical Career Academy, and its first paid course called How to Secure a Career as a Medical Science Liaison.

It’s designed to take you from wherever you are in your career, to your first job as an MSL in the growing pharmaceutical industry. This is a very popular, full-time, entry-level position in pharma.

I chose to focus on this career, because I’ve heard your requests for information on this topic. And because it's a career that is open to both licensed and unlicensed physicians.

So, I’ve taken everything I know from speaking with MSLs and physician career coaches, and studying and researching the field, and pulled it all together in this one place. As a result, this course will enable you to navigate the process quickly, and prepare you to find available jobs, submit your resume, and ace your interviews.

I’m opening this course up this week – the final week of May and first week of June. It will be closed for enrollment on Saturday, June 29. And the current price is the LOWEST price at which it will ever be offered.

To learn more, at no obligation, go to vitalpe.net/mslcourse. This could be your best chance to find that new nonclinical career you’ve been looking for. Again, that’s at vitalpe.net/mslcourse.

Combining Skill Sets: From Musician to Medical School to CIO

Let’s get back to my interview with Dr. Christopher Leonard. Before going into medicine, he came from a creative background. “I liked science, but I also liked art. I was a musician, and I wrote music and plays, did theater work…a vast array of creative things. Those kinds of things, even in science, are often very applicable” to an eventual career.

Chris attended the Kansas City School of Osteopathic Medicine. “I wanted to do something that wasn't just solely restricted to the lab and academics. I definitely wanted to have social engagement, and that's where the combination of skill sets came in.”

Subsequently, he did a general surgery residency at the Medical College of Georgia. Chris enjoyed the camaraderie and operational aspects.

“I enjoyed the education I got there. They wanted us to understand nutrition and medicine. The most important thing they used to say was: ‘Learn how to not operate.’ It was really about judgment, rather than just operative skills.”

Despite the teamwork, an “us vs. them” mentality still existed: “The doctors in the trenches doing clinical work vs. the administration. One side doesn't always appreciate what the other side has to deal with, and the necessities of the other side. I remember that specifically because I ended up in administration.”

Our Sponsor

We're proud to have the University of Tennessee Physician Executive MBA Program, offered by the Haslam College of Business, as the sponsor of this podcast.

The UT PEMBA is the longest running, and most highly respected physician-only MBA in the country, with over 650 graduates. Unlike other programs, which typically run 1 – 1/2 to 2 years, this program only takes a year to complete. And Economist Magazine recently ranked the business school #1 in the world for the Most Relevant Executive MBA.

University of Tennessee PEMBA students bring exceptional value to their organizations. While in the program, you'll participate in a company project, thereby contributing to your organization.

Graduates have taken leadership positions at major healthcare organizations. And they've become entrepreneurs and business owners.

By joining the University of Tennessee physician executive MBA, you will develop the business and management skills you need to advance your career. To find out more, with no obligation, contact Dr. Kate Atchley’s office by calling (865) 974-6526 or go to vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

Processes, Protocols, and Paperwork

Physicians have to deal with protocols. “A lot of things are protocol. So, why spend your creative energy on…parts of things that should be protocol?”

When Chris went to a rural hospital to practice, he revamped almost every process to improve efficiency. “Through residency, when you see the same things over and over again, like a gallbladder or potential cholecystitis, you have sort of a routine in your head. Wherever there's a distinction, you make note of it.”

Click here to download the Free TRANSCRIPT

By revising those processes, Chris was already doing administrative operational and process work. “It didn't quite click that I was naturally prone to that. I kind of did it as a big bang. I went in and changed everything.”

However, not everyone was appreciative of his efforts. “Sometimes, that ruffles feathers. It's not like I was changing it for everyone else, but people say, ‘We've been doing it this way for a long time. Who are you to come in and change these kinds of things?’”

As he kept identifying new issues to address, he decided to look into getting more training. Looking at the Northwestern University master's degree in health informatics, he found that the curriculum addressed everything he was trying to accomplish with data retrieval and analysis, and process improvement. So he signed up and began the program, and loved it.

Opportunities in Medical Informatics Keep Arriving

People notice when you look at processes and make suggestions. “You see problems… get involved…solve those problems. That will naturally open up opportunities for you for that next step, whether it's in management or getting involved in quality or safety.”

For Chris, the trigger that changed his non-clinical thinking into process-oriented thinking was sharing ideas and suggestions. “I was very enthusiastic and I think they saw that interest in the innovative way that we could go about things and process change. I had lots of ideas I fed back to them.”

Voicing your thoughts and opinions can be risky and you're going to have to do extra work to make something simpler. But it's usually worth it. And demonstrating you're interest and ability to solve problems will make you attractive to employers and supervisors. Problem solving is a valuable superpower!

In Summary

Chris’ story is so compelling and interesting to me. I appreciate that he enjoyed his work as a general surgeon. However, he was naturally drawn to standardizing and improving care. And as he developed solutions to address those concerns, informatics became the obvious solution.

I’ll be presenting Part 2 of this interview next week. And it continues with the story of how Chris pursued his interest in informatics, acquired more pertinent skills, and eventually became CIO of his practice.

He also gets into how informatics has evolved, and the common roles that he sees currently. Finally, he then gets into some detail about how to pursue an informatics career in today’s environment, and to identify opportunities in medical informatics.

You can find a transcript of the interview, by going to the clicking on the blue button above. The transcript will include both Parts 1 and 2, so it will be twice as long as the usual download.

Check Out This New Career Course

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve created a brand-new course that will show you the process for pursuing a career as a medical science liaison. You can learn more about it by going to vitalpe.net/mslcourse. But don’t delay, I’m closing the course on June 29.

Links for today's episode:

• Dr. Christopher Leonard on LinkedIn
• Time (and data) Heals Wounds – article by Dr. Leonard
• Vohra Wound Physicians:
  • Web site
  • Vohra Wound Physicians on LinkedIn
  • Career Site
  • Phone: (305) 866-7123
  • Email: info@vohraphysicians.com
• Physicians Helping Physicians
• Kansas City School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Medical College of Georgia
• Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
• American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Mayo Clinic
• Northwestern (Informatics Curriculum)
• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
• HIMSS Jobs
• HIMSS Jobmine
• CMS Informatics
• Meaningful Use
• CMS Wire
• CMS Data
• Fierce Healthcare
• Reasons to Pursue a Career in Medical Informatics – Interview with Dr. Brian Young – 014

Thanks to our sponsor…

Thanks to the UT Physician Executive MBA program for sponsoring the show. It’s an outstanding, highly rated, MBA program designed for working physicians. It might be just what you need to prepare for that joyful, well-paying career. You can find out more at vitalpe.net/physicianmba.

I hope to see you next time on the PNC Podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, share it on Twitter and Facebook, and leave a review on iTunes.

Disclaimers:

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life or business. 

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

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