Focus On Your Own Purpose Not Financial Products

Focus on the financial products and you could well be missing your finacial goals.

I’m often asked “How do I begin to get my financial affairs in order?”

That’s a great question. The task can be daunting. Do you begin with gathering documents, or do you start reviewing your investment portfolio, or do you start reading Money magazine and hope that you’ll be able to solve this seemingly complex problem?

I suggest to forget about all of that stuff…for now. Honestly, that stuff just isn’t as important as the more meaningful discussions you should have about your finances. Let me explain.

The problem I see with most physicians—and most financial advisors--is that they focus on the products too much and not on the purpose those products are serving. It’s like focusing on the proverbial trees and missing the forest.

So before you pick the next stock or buy the next annuity or hire a financial advisor, you need to define exactly what your goals are. Your goals dictate the financial products you buy and the investments you make. In other words financial products are simply tools to get you to your goals. They are means to an end.

For example, when you see a patient in your office or at the hospital, you take a history and physical, formulate a differential diagnosis, and then come up with a treatment plan. But the ultimate goal is to make the patient better in some way. Our focus as physicians is ultimately to improve the lives of our patients. And the prescriptions we write or the procedures we do are tools we use to achieve that ultimate goal.

That’s what you or your advisor should be doing in your financial life—focusing on your goals and using appropriate tools (investments, insurance, etc.) to help you achieve those goals.

What do I mean by goals?

Your first thought may be retirement. The problem with this is that “retirement” is a really vague concept. What does retirement mean to you? Is it to lay on the beach and do nothing, or is it to switch careers and do something else outside of medicine that you’re passionate about? Or perhaps is to continue practicing medicine but on a part time basis so you can travel the world.

List ALL of your goals out and rank them by priority. Then clearly define those goals as precisely as you can. For example, “I want to retire” is not a goal. “I want to retire at age 63 with enough money so I can spend $10,000 per month in today’s dollars in order to travel”—now that’s a clearly defined goal.

Once you have a list of the precisely defined goals you want, only then can you start thinking about the tools you need to use to get there.

Before you board a plane you’ve decided on which destination you’re headed to.  So the plane ride is just that—a ride. Similarly your financial goals are the “destination” and the financial products you use are there for the “ride.”

Your entire financial life should revolve around your financial and nonfinancial goals not investment and financial products.

Bottom line: Focus on purpose not products.

Dr.Dr. Julie Silver, Editor Of Harvard Health Publications Joins Freelance MD

Dr. Julie SIlver joins the physician authors of Freelance MD to educate other physicians about writing and publishing.

Dr. Julie Silver, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, is a noted expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation (physiatry).  Dr. Silver is the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications, the consumer health branch of Harvard Medical School, and is on the medical staff at Massachusetts General, Brigham and Womens, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts.  She has been a member of the medical staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where she worked in the Lance Armstrong Foundation Survivorship Clinic and is the co-founder of Oncology Rehab Partners, an innovative healthcare company breaking new ground in the field of cancer care.

Dr. Silver wears several hats in the publishing community, serving as Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications, Director of the Harvard CME course titled Publishing Books, Memoirs and Other Creative Nonfiction and an award-winning author of numerous books on health and wellness.

She is the author and editor of over a dozen books, including a number of medical textbooks and the books What Helped Get Me Through; After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger; Chronic Pain and the Family; Understanding Fitness; and Life After Stroke.

"I enjoy teaching doctors and other healthcare professionals how to write and publish," says Dr. Silver. "Teaching others how to publish is extremely gratifying as I work with so many talented healers who have much to offer people."

"We're very excited that Dr. Meyers has joined us," said Greg Bledsoe MD, Freelance MDs co-founder. "Dr. Silver is a fantasit communicator that has helped thousand of physicians realize thier goals in publishing, and personal fulfillment."

About Julie Silver MD
Julie K. Silver, MD is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications (www.HarvardHealthBooks.org), the consumer health branch of Harvard Medical School.

About Freelance MD
Freelance MD is an active community that gives physicians around the world intelligent information to gain greater control of their medical practice, income, and lifestyle.

Leaving Your (Professional) Comfort Zone

While many more physicians these days (certainly the ones I talk to) are more open with the idea of expanding their career outside of the clinical medicine they've been trained for, there are others that are still very deep "in the closet" with their desires for change.

I've wondered what makes physicians such a different breed of professional, when mid-career people in different industries or professions see career jumps and side-steps as an expected and required part of their career progression. In the corporate world you are looked at funny (i.e., as lacking skills or ambition) if you're not considering a move to a different company or role within 3-5 years of being in one place.

So what makes doctors so different? Why is it so difficult for you all to leave your comfort zone and move to something new? What are the unique barriers and drivers for professional change that you experience?

Well, true that the years of training inhibit changing careers, the time and effort, and certainly the investment you've placed on becoming a successful physician. 

But there are other factors too.  Expectations of yourself.  Expectations from others. 

While many times the desire for a career change is something that has developed over many years, even starting as far back as med school, it is inhibited by the very real expectations of those around.  One doc I worked with described it as a "train he couldn't get off "... once the expectations from his very traditional family (with a long lineage of physicians - his father, grandfather) placed him there, he buckled down and did his best, all the while ignoring the nagging voice inside of him that said "this isn't a good fit for you". 15 years later he is deciding to do what he needs to to be happy and professionally fulfilled ... and with the support of his wife, he is looking outside of medicine for the first time.  What a relief for him, and how exciting the possibilities.

And of course there is what I simply hear over and over again - that one of the main drivers to leave clinical practice comes from the increasing level of disappointment with what being a physician means today... dealing with being "squeezed" by the changes in healthcare, being told how to practice, feeling undervalued, feeling out of control when it comes to your professional life and how it impacts your personal one. 

Notice that none of the people I've talked to say that they "hate medicine" or don't like taking care of their patients - on the contrary, most physicians I speak with consider that the most rewarding part of their work.  It's just everything else that gets in the way.

Luckily there are some very positive reasons I hear physicians wanting to expand outside of purely clinical work. Another client of mine encompassed it as "wanting to do something bigger". As an anesthesiologist he felt that he had hit the growth ceiling when it came to his specialty, and felt that instead of simply doing the same thing day in and day out, he wanted to leverage his skills/experience in a larger platform. Figuring out what that platform would be and how he uniquely brought value to that industry / role was his next challenge, and he brought passion to figuring that out. 

Physicians as a whole are some of the most entrepreneurial types I've ever encountered. Smart, organized, linear thinkers - put them in line with a strategy, and they just go. If anyone can build something to make change happen, it is a determined doctor.

The outgrowth of communities like Freelance MD, and conferences like Medical Fusion (which I highly recommend) show that the desire and the drive to explore and expand outside of your professional box is not yours alone. There are many other like-minded professionals who are out there, interested in the same thing. I hope you use venues like this to connect and compare notes. Getting out of your comfort zone is easier with inspiration and encouragement from those who are doing it too. Good luck!

Dr. Ryan Flesher, A Documentary Film Maker, Joins Freelance MD

Freelance MD today announced the addition of Dr. Ryan Flesher as a contributing physician writer.

Dr. Mazumdar is an affiliate of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA>, the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP, and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

"We're tremendously excited to have Dr. Flesher onboard as a contributing writer." said Greg Bledsoe MD, one of Freelance MDs founders. "Dr. Flesher adds an important voice as both a physician and a film maker. His experience as both is of tremendous value to our physician members."

About Dr. Fyan Flesher
Ryan S. Flesher, MD, is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine physician, screenwriter, director and producer.

His peers in film and medicine recognize him as an outstanding clinician with an eye for the human-interest story. Dr. Flesher explores and exposes nuance in a realistic and accurate manner. His clinical expertise brings a rich knowledge that appeals to advertising agencies, marketing firms, medical vendors and pharmaceutical organizations. His knowledge of the film industry makes him an invaluable technical consultant, creative director, writer and key team member.

His film education has been through various outlets including, advanced screen-writing seminars at the acclaimed Grub Street in Boston, two independent short films of his own and work on major motion pictures. He wrote, directed, produced and edited a feature length independent film in 2002 while finishing his residency. His most recent work, The Vanishing Oath, is a feature length documentary: a view of health care from the inside.

Dr. Flesher was featured on the Learning Channel’s Trauma: Life in the ER in which the episode was focused on the fact that a physician was making an independent film, as it was, on his medical cases.

About Freelance MD
Freelance MD is an active community that gives physicians around the world intelligent information to gain greater control of their medical practice, income, and lifestyle.

What is FreelanceMD?

Now that our new community is up and running, I'm already being asked, "What is Freelance MD?"

Great question.

Freelance MD is a physician community site that was borne out of necessity. Physicians today are looking for ways to expand their careers and there is a dearth of honest, practical information for them to access.

I should know.

I am an Emergency Medicine physician who has practiced clinical medicine since I graduated from my residency in 2002. My career has had many twists and turns, but five years ago I set out on a personal journey. My quest was to build a career that was enjoyable, flexible, fun, and still covered my financial obligations. The question was, where do I start? How do I design a career like this? Were there others in medicine who were attempting to do the same thing and if so, where could I find these individuals and how could I learn from them?

I spent countless hours on the internet looking for answers. I spoke to colleagues, went to conferences, read books, interviewed friends in other careers, and still came up lacking. After months of searching, what I found was that there was no hub for physicians like me, no real place to begin. I was overwhelmed, not only because of my narrow medical training, but also because I didn't even know what questions I should be asking. I was concerned about purchasing products I did not need, or signing on for services that didn't work. I needed direction and a mentor, but when I looked around I didn't find anything but murkiness.

Over the course of the past five years I have spent literally thousands of hours developing the idea that has resulted in our Medical Fusion Conference and now Freelance MD .

The idea is to provide physicians with cutting edge information on everything they need to broaden their careers and make their lives more manageable. Our hope is that Freelance MD can become a resource for physicians looking for answers on anything from entrepreneurship to clinical practice management to investments to nonclinical careers and everything in between. 

In order for us to provide the best information, we had to assemble the best team to speak on the subjects about which physicians were interested in learning. Take a moment and review the bios of our authors. This group is an incredibly talented bunch who are passionate about teaching their skills to interested medical professionals.  We've assembled this group from word of mouth recommendations from trusted friends and colleagues, and we're excited about what they'll be teaching all of us on Freelance MD. What's even better is that even more authors are coming on board in the near future to add even more depth to Freelance MD.

In short, if you're a physician like me who is eager to expand their career, or simply a curious person who loves to continue learning, FreelanceMD is the community website for you. Our goal is to provide teaching and mentoring-- physician to physician-- to those who want to continue growing.  

So take a moment and check us out. Comment on our posts and recommend us to a friend. Together as physicians, we'll lock arms and begin moving forward together. It's going to be a lot of fun, and we'd really enjoy including you on the journey.

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Networking Your Way to Career Change ... Are You Ready?

In my work with physicians expanding outside of their clinical roles, one of the biggest success factors I see with docs who are able to do this well is their ability to network.  

No, not the kind of networking that many of us think of ... the attending networking "events", approaching strangers, handing out business cards in desperation, making small talk to find out what they can do for me - kind of networking ...

No, the kind of networking that works. The kind that is about building relationships, and expanding your circle of trusted colleagues that allows you to become one of their trusted contacts. Networking is about finding a common goal and a common mind-set with other professionals and capitalizing on that for both of you. It's about finding a "win-win".

An Emergency Physician that I recently spoke with told me that his recognition of networking in this way totally changed his approach and his success with his own career change. While still practicing, he began reaching out to his close friends and colleagues to share with them his ideas for career expansion. The good news is that he had done his homework and knew the direction he planned to take outside of medicine (which in his case was independent consulting work for a healthcare consulting firm). He told me that having a point of view and a sense of how his skills/experience fits the industry helped, as it framed the questions he asked and the people that he connected with.

What started as a few conversations with colleagues he knew well (particularly one, a physician he had been in residency with who had left clinical practice to do consulting work), grew into more focused and directive conversations with "friends of friends", and others within the industry who helped him both build the confidence and the knowledge he needed to make an educated career move.

He also told me that he did his best to connect others as he networked, and found that doing so added value for the people he was meeting. He said that creating this reciprocal relationship was critical in his networking - it not only provided a benefit for the people he introduced, but it also positioned him as someone who could recognize a need and "connect the dots" - a big win for his reputation.

This physician is now working for a boutique healthcare consulting firm, and while he told me that it is not his "optimal" role yet, it has moved him significantly in the direction he wants to go. And he confided that he would have never had the courage, or the inroads, to move into this phase of his career without the people that he met and built relationships with.

A terrific resource for people trying to begin networking is Keith Ferrazzi's book "Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets For Success One Relationship At A Time".

If you want to step it up a notch, I've heard good things about his more recent book on building your personal / professional network - "Who's Got Your Back: The Secret to Finding the Three People Who Will Change Your Life".  

I highly recommend them both.

The 3 C's Of Working With Industry

The 3 C's: What you bring to the table as a physician.

If you are a doctor interested in working with industry, you'll need to take a look at your value propostition-what you promise to deliver- before sticking your toe in the water.

There are several places to contribute and participate in different roles. Fundamentally, however, whether you work in drugs, devices, diagnostics, healthcare IT or service innovations, as a physician you bring three things to the table that industry wants. I call them the 3 C's: content expertise, credibility and connectedness.

The first is your domain CONTENT and clinical expertise. Like no one else, you bring an understanding of clinical problems, patient issues, potential solutions, work flow processes, an understanding of the socio-economic landscape and a feel for what makes docs tick. Your contribution will be to help industry partners "live in your world" for a while and share your insights about barriers to adoption and penetration of new products and services.

Secondly, because of your experience, background and reputation, you bring CREDIBILITY to the enterprise. Of course, your value increases as you become a recognized thought leader, researcher, published author , blogger or leader in your specialty organizations. Sometimes, the initials after your name or your academic or organizational affiliations add value.

Finally, you bring CONNECTEDNESS to the value chain of innovation. The more you can build networks to inventors, suppliers, service providers, patients and potential customers, the more attractive you will be to industry as a marketing, product development or business development consultant or partner.

If you are interested in bioentrepreneurship, working with industry is a great way to get started and build a base of knowledge and experience. Sure, finding the right fit and opening the first door is not easy. You'll have to kiss a lot frogs to find your first opportunity. The more you bring to the table, however, the more likely you are to find your prince.