Another Great Medical Fusion Conference

I just returned from presenting again this year at the 2011 Medical Fusion Conference - what I think is the best conference out there for physicians who are exploring non-clinical career options.

Once again it was a engaged group of docs who brought an openness and curiosity around "what else is out there" for themselves.  Held at the beautiful Aria Resort in Las Vegas, it also had a great faculty line-up, which included Dr. Barry Silbaugh, recently retired CEO of ACPE, who gave a great opening talk on "Leaving the Tribe" and why it is so difficult for many physicians to consider a move outside of clinical practice.  There was Dr. Ken Cohn, a fabulous speaker and all around great person who spearheads Healthcare Collaboration, got everyone on their feet and doing some hands-on activities during his two talks on "Should I Get An MBA?" and "Independent Consulting". Dr. Greg Bledsoe, the conference founder and Expedition Medicine expert, thrilled and grossed us all out with pictures of his many adventures in different countries and on different mountain tops.  Dr. Julie Silver, of Harvard Health Publications and an inspiring cancer survivorship advocate, spoke not only about writing and publishing a book, but she also got people fired up about how to get Information Products out on the web and making a difference!  These were just a few of the interesting and enlightening talks that were part of the two days.

My talk focused on the "how" of career transition, giving the physician participants a roadmap for making their process - and non-clinical landing place - a sustainable one.  It is always refreshing to get out in front of this group, and to help provide them with some tools for growth.  

I think my favorite part of the conference is watching the participant group connect with each other and feel the collective energy they build.  Given the fact that transitioning out of clinical practice is still somewhat of  a taboo subject among physicians, it is great to see the openness and shared momentum that the group picks up over the course of the three days. 

At the end of each conference my hope is that all of the great physicians I meet and talk to are able to maintain the clarity, focus and momentum that they build while they are in Las Vegas.  If anything, this conference gives everyone the chance to step back and assess their own professional direction, compare it with other peoples' paths, and think honestly if there is a better road for them than the one they are on... and if there is, start to make progress to make their goals - and true professional fulfillment - a reality.

For all of you that were there, I wish you best of luck in your career exploration and expansion into "post-clinical" work.

For those of you who weren't there, I hope we'll see you there next year!

Medical Fusion Conference Thoughts

Julie Silver MD at Medfusion 2011

I went to Medfusion last year and was really impressed. This year I was blown away.

I got back from the Medical Fusion Conference last night and I wanted to set down my thoughts while they're still fresh in my mind, so here are some of my take-aways kind of as a stream of consciousness.

• The Aria is a nice hotel for conferences and the Sky Suites are sweet. From the time that I parked the car (I drove down) I didn't step foot outside of the hotel until I left on Sunday. (I've been to Vegas a lot so no need to dawdle.)
• The conference always surprises me with how savvy the physicians are who attend. If you're looking to keep you head down and love to toil in obscurity, this is not the conference for you.

• Dr's Ed Hsu and Italo Subbarao are incredibly fun and very generous: Ed and Italo have written an intense (I'm half way through) thriller on bio-terrorism and I got to spend some time with them that included taking some photos at the room in the Aria referenced in their book.  I'm sending some copies to friends. You can buy Prion on Amazon here.
• Greg handles conferences really well: (The experience now doubt.) They seem to just flow along without a hitch. (Whoever was running the front desk also deserves kudos.)
• I always wish that I had more time: There were a number of writers for Freelance that were there and I would have loved to sit down with and learn something from but I missed completely and probably came across as an ass. My sincere apologies to those that I didn't sit down with. I hope to next year.
• These guys are all really good speakers: From Barry Silbaugh's first talk to the end I was really impressed with every presentation. Super good stuff and everyone brought their A-game.
• I need to work on my public speaking: No one threw cabbages out of kindness but there's room for improvement there.
• The networking is at least half of the value: Medfusion isn't like most of the medical conferences that I've been to where you already have a cadre of buddies or everyone's doing exactly the same stuff and it's not that interesting. (If you're a plastic surgeon, how many other plastic surgeons do you already know who are doing exactly the same thing that you are?) Medfuion really is about opportunity and real changes and deals get done.
• Julie Silver is a fantastic speaker and terrific person. (I owe you $40 Julie.)
• Gautam Gulati is doing some really interesting work and is a great presenter. I'd be taking his class on Medical Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Hopkins if I were there.
• Students want this information and access too: There were a number of students at Medfusion this year and they're also excited to know that, as a physician, you can do something that's uncommon or non-traditional and that you can still have and control your own career in medicine. This was personally exciting to me and we'll be launching a companion site to Freelance MD that's targeted exclusively at medical school students and residents. (This will not be 'integrated' in to the Freelance MD physician community since the audiences are completely different.)
• Opportunity is everywhere and there are physicians who are taking advantage of it.
• I dropped the Twitter ball: I didn't see until after the conference all of the tweets that were going out in real time capturing part's of the presentations. I should have been more forward-thnking and used my iPad. I should also have taken more pictures. My iPhone just doesn't cut it long distance.

Anyway, those are a few of my initial thoughts. I look forward to finding out what some others think of their experiences.

Find Out What You Love As A Physician

Freelance MD is about finding out what you love as a physician outside of clinical practice, and then going there.

Here's what Steve Jobs had to say about it where you should be.

You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.... Don't settle...

...Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Steve Jobs - Commencement address, Stanford University, June 12, 2005

If you feel that you're not following the path that you want, it is possible to cut a new path and find the career and lifestyle that you want. But you have to start.

If you're looking to understand your options outside of clinical practice and get some personal face-time with others who are where you want to be, come to Medical Fusion. Not only will you get a fantasitc understanding or what's available out there, but you'll have mucho face-to-face access to every speaker (and other attendees) during breaks and accellerator sessions. (Take a look at who's speaking at Medical Fusion.) I hope to see you there.

The Medical Fusion Conference - November 11-13, Las Vegas

The Medical Fusion Conference

Discover all of the options available to you as a physician.

The Medical Fusion Conference is a unique event that allows clinical physicians the opportunity to learn about unique niches where they can apply their clinical knowledge.  Learn more about the Medical Fusion Conference in the following video:

Medical Fusion isn't just another conference where you're sitting around and listening to an endless parade of speakers that lecture from behind a podium. Instead, you'll have every opportunity to talk to any speaker you're interested in learning more from. Our Accelerator Sessions are a perfect chance to make connections and deep-dive into the areas that are of interest to you.

You can view more videos on our Freelance MD YouTube Channel

More about our Accelerator Sessions

What are physicians saying about attending Medical Fusion?

“[The Medical Fusion Conference] was fun, professionally run, and highly stimulating.”

Dr. Mark Kroll, former Chief Technology Officer of St. Jude Medical

“My son thought being a doctor might get boring. I brought him to the Medical Fusion Conference and he saw whole worlds of medicine that he never dreamed existed. Now he can’t wait to go to medical school.”

Kenneth Kamler, MD, VP of The Explorers Club and author of Surviving the Extremes

“The Medical Fusion event is a unique forum to learn from and network with like-minded medical entrepreneurs. Our organization connected with other attendees from the 2010 event and we are well along the path collaborating on joint initiatives.”

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, Founder & CEO of Medical Justice Services

“The Medical Fusion Conference is a great way to meet other physicians considering non-clinical transitions or learn more about how to supplement your income. If you’re stuck in a rut, I’d recommend it.”

Arlen D. Meyers, MD, MBA, President and CMO of Medvoy.com, CEO, Society of Physician Entrepreneurs

"The Medical Fusion Conference is a unique event that brings together entrepreneurial physicians, business people, and investors to explore the intersection between business opportunity and clinical medicine."

Bruce Robertson, PhD, Managing Director, H.I.G. BioVentures

“Medical Fusion is setting a standard for physicians seeking alternative non-clinical careers that go beyond medical directorships or pharma jobs. [The Medical Fusion Conference] will continue to provide excellent insights into career options for physicians who no longer want to be only clinicians.”

Dr. Philippa Kennealy, Founder/CEO, The Entrepreneurial MD

“If you are interested in meeting like minded physicians, who are empowering themselves, and doing some AMAZING things in their practice and outside of medicine, you’ve got to attend [the Medical Fusion Conference].  The first conference was not only great for networking, it also inspired me to meet other doctors who “get it.”

Dr. Mike Woo-Ming, internet entrepreneur and founder of IncomeMD.com

Pro Golfer Zach Johnson Mentions Medical Fusion

It's not every day that a Masters Champion mentions your medical conference.

On September 27th, PGA golfer and 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson tweeted the following to his 55,000 Twitter followers:

All you physicians, docs, and health experts, check out this website! www.MedFusionConf.org great info, good people, and lots of big words!

All of us with the Medical Fusion Conference appreciate Zach's kind words and the plug for our event.

Momentum for the conference is building so if you haven't already registered, be sure to get your name in for this life-changing event.

Physician Writing & Publishing

In this short video Dr. Greg Bledsoe discusses how physicians can learn more about writing and pubishing books for the public.  In addition, Dr. Bledsoe introduces Dr. Julie Silver, Chief Editor of Harvard Health Publications, and discusses what Dr. Silver will be teaching at the Medical Fusion Conference.

More Information on Physician Writing and Publishing:

• Harvard Writing Course
• Harvard Writers
• The Value of Cross-Semination
• An Interview with Physician & Author Ken Cohn
• Your Book & Its Niche
• Rookie Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to Publish a Book
• Go the F**K to Sleep: A Bestselling Book
• Do You Listen When You Write?
• Dumbing It Down is Downright Disrespectful
• Writing a Book Proposal is Like Writing a Rx
• Getting Great Publishing Advice

Freelance MD: Upcoming Events

If you missed our recent Expedition Medicine National Conference, you missed a great event.

The above photo is of Dr. Tim Erickson, Vice Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago.  Dr. Erickson is renowned as a speaker and he didn't disappoint.  This photo was taken just after his famous "mushroom" lecture at our ExpedMed event.  Tim obviously enjoys his work!

Below is a short video and a schedule of upcoming events for both ExpedMed and Medical Fusion.  

The Medical Fusion Conference is just around the corner so please register early to ensure your place at this entertaining and educational event.  Thanks once again for reading Freelance MD and we hope to see you at one of our events very soon!

Upcoming ExpedMed and Medical Fusion Events

ExpedMed Polar Bear CME Adventure

October 16-20, 2011, Churchill, Canada
www.FrontiersNorth.com
Cost:  $3,969 plus $899 CME

Medical Fusion Conference

November 11-13, 2011, Las Vegas
www.MedFusionConf.org
Cost:  $979

ExpedMed Kilimanjaro CME Adventure

March 24 – April 6, 2012, Kilimanjaro
www.Tusker.com
Cost:  $5,630 plus $899 CME

ExpedMed Great White Shark Diving CME Adventure

August 27-31, 2012 - Guadalupe Island
www.SharkDiver.com
Cost:  $3,100 plus $899 CME

Expedition Medicine National Conference

September 2012 - Washington, DC
www.ExpedMed.org