First Things First: Handle Your Finances As A Physician

As a physician wanting to control your career, you're going to need to get your finances in order first.

Over the past few posts we've discussed the idea of taking responsibility for yourself and not waiting for others to come save you.  You've hopefully begun reading the blogs of a few of the adventurous souls who have found ways to live interesting lives, and learned about some of your career options here on Freelance MD.  In this post, we're going to discuss the first and primary means of addressing your confinement in a frustrating career.

If you want to begin living a different life, if you want a new career path and you want to branch out from the doldrums of your current career, the first and most important thing you will need to address is your inability to handle your personal finances.

How do I know you aren't handling your finances well?

Well, I don't mean to stereotype you, but let's face the facts: you're a Westerner living in a very materialistic culture that often defines itself by its material possessions, and you're in a profession that puts pressure on you to look and act in a successful manner.  

There are a few American physicians who have developed patterns of proper financial responsibility, but most have not, and one certainly doesn't develop these patterns by accident. These patterns and habits are developed through many deliberate choices day after day until they become second nature, but they are fought tooth and nail by the culture around us.  As physicians we feel the "need" to drive a certain car, have our kids in a certain school, have a certain type of house in a certain neighborhood, and be members of certain clubs.  The current of life in medicine carries us away from sensible financial decisions, and many, many physicians are drowning in their careers due to bad decisions regarding money.

This toxic financial culture in medicine was discussed in the popular book, The Millionaire Next Door .  In this text, authors Stanley and Danko discuss who the really rich in American society are, and usually it's not the professional class.  They note that there's a difference between looking rich and being rich.  Many physicians look wealthy, but when you scratch beneath the surface they're drowning in debt and working 80-100 hour weeks just to break even.  They overspend because they feel entitled to nice things due to their prior sacrifice of years in school and long hours at work (or are simply very foolish), never realizing until too late that they're boxing themselves in financially and completely undoing their financial future.

Of course, while physicians themselves are mostly to blame for this (remember, personal responsibility...you are not a victim), medical schools could do a lot more to help the situation.  It is appalling to me that we have a medical educational system that takes bright, idealistic students, trains them to be physicians, and then casts them out into this current healthcare world without any sort of training or discussions in financial management, various specialty salaries, billing and coding, practice management and the like.  It's more than appalling really, it's completely unethical, and those leading our nation's educational establishments should be embarrassed by what's happening.  

Dr. Robert Doroghazi, author of the book, The Physician's Guide to Investing: A Practical Guide to Building Wealth , said it this way: 

"I believe the position of the academic medical establishment to deny medical students financial instruction is naive, hypocritical, and indefensible.  They should acknowledge that money is important.  It is never as important as your patient.  It is never as important as your family, your health, your freedom, or your integrity.  But is is important."

Unfortunately, I do not believe this ridiculousness in our medical educational system will change any time soon.  As a matter of fact, I received a phone call recently from a medical student who is torn between a couple of different specialties and called to ask my opinion about his situation.  One of the things he said that stuck with me was, "Every time I try to ask questions of people at my medical school about salaries or financial issues, I'm either looked at in a weird way or people tell me not to worry about it. It's like they're wondering, 'Why would you even be asking that?'"

The naivete of our training coupled with a culture that pushes consumerism and materialism has undone the careers of many physicians.  It's a tragedy. 

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way. You can make choices that alter your financial future and therefore alter your life.

Here's a project...

If you are serious about career modification and you're serious about making significant changes to your future, then sit down and take a good hard look at your finances.  If you're honest, what you'll find is that a lot of things your money goes towards are "wants" not "needs" and if you're ever going to be free, you need to take that "want" money and use it to pay down debt and increase savings so you can break free of the rat race you're in.  

This must be done.  

There's no other way.

If you cannot take this first step, then all the other steps are superfluous. 

We're going to be talking more about this concept in the future, and we're pleased that Dr. Setu Mazumdar is one of our authors.  In addition to being a board certified Emergency Medicine physician, Dr Mazumdar is a financial planner and the founder of Lotus Wealth Solutions where he counsels physicians on money issues.  Be sure to check out his posts here on Freelance MD and watch for more good counsel from him in the near future.  

For those of you who want to go ahead and begin getting control of your finances, a good place to start is the Money 101 website from CNNMoney.com .  No website is perfect, of course, and we're not unequivocally endorsing any site or any person (please use your head), but the Money 101 site does have a lot of tools to get you started if you need someone to simply help point the way.

So there you go, your first homework assignment on your road to freedom: handle your finances.

It can be really tough at first, but in the end it is absolutely necessary if you want to modify your career and begin living a better life.  

Keep checking back here on Freelance MD since in future posts we're going to be discussing specific things you can do to improve your financial lot and how to move forward with your plan to develop a new, more exciting future.

Physicians & Lifestyle Design

In the last couple of posts we've discussed the idea of taking responsibility for yourself and "building your own ship" and we've also gone through a few common reasons why physicians aren't the best at career modification.

In this post, I'd like to spend a little time introducing you to the idea of "lifestyle design," something that has become a bit of a buzz-phrase in the business world but as far as I can tell hasn't penetrated the world of medicine just yet (for a lot of reasons).

I'll begin with a personal story...

When I jumped off the academic track in 2006, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do as a career but I knew I wanted something unique.  My idea was to design a career that was flexible, fun, adventurous, and meaningful, all the while paying my bills and being a responsible spouse and parent.  Simple, huh?

I spent months thinking about how to do this as a physician.  I searched websites and blogs.  I spoke with mentors and colleagues.  I read the literature, all to no avail.  There seemed to be no conversation about a career like this in medicine.  I mean, there were a few articles about volunteer opportunities or non-traditional careers, but nothing really like what I was trying to create.  

What I found, though, was that while the medical community was silent about how to develop a very non-traditional and interesting career, the business world had already awakened to the idea.  Within the world of business, the idea of becoming a "free agent" and overhauling your career through "lifestyle design" was beginning to pick up steam. 

Around this time I picked up a copy of the book Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink.  I'm not sure how I found this book, but it became a sort of manifesto for me.  In this book, Dan explains how more and more individuals were escaping their cubicles to become independent free-lancers and living their lives with increasing flexibility and empowerment.  It was a great read and it hit me at a very important time.  Through this book I realized that I was not alone in my desire for more autonomy, and that a lot of workers who had already yanked themselves off the grid were thriving.  I was hooked.

The second book I read was a book that has become a bit of a cult classic already, Timothy Ferriss' text, The 4-Hour Workweek .  This book is a basic introduction to how Tim built a stream of residual income and then used his extra time and money to explore his interests and live a more interesting life.  It was Tim's book that introduced me to the term "lifestyle design," and while the phrase might seem a bit hokey, it's a very powerful concept.  Basically, what Tim discusses in his book is the idea that it is possible to live an incredible life if you prioritize correctly, live frugally, and develop your entrepreneurial side.  Some have criticized the book recently, explaining that no productive person-- not even Tim Ferriss himself-- really only works four hours a week-- but I would argue that that's not really the point.  The catchy title sells books, but it's the mindset Tim describes that is the reason why the book is an important introduction for individuals who feel helplessly caught in a hamster wheel at work.  Tim's point is that you can-- through ingenuity and hard work-- leap off the hamster wheel and into something much better.

So how does all this apply to physicians?

Well, when you have a career discussion with most physicians, it often boils down to whether or not that individual wants to continue practicing clinical medicine or go into a nonclinical job.  There's nothing wrong with either, mind you, and I have friends who have great careers in each; however, for me and for many other physicians, I suspect, this approach is just too simplistic.

The fact is, I like clinical medicine.  I've spent a of of time getting good at what I do and I'd like to continue to be able to help people by providing good clinical care to patients who need it.  I also like many aspects of the nonclinical opportunities available to physicians-- things like consulting, writing, medical device development, and many other niches really appeal to me.

My main question is not whether I want to practice clinical medicine or jump into a nonclinical career, it's how do I design my life to be able to practice medicine, participate in the nonclinical activities I enjoy, and still have the flexibility to pursue life outside of medicine?  Discussions about clinical versus nonclinical are at their core too reductionistic for most modern physicians.  What most modern physicians really need to be having are overarching discussions about how to design a lifestyle that incorporates the multiple facets of their career interests and also does not overlook the ultimate (and most likely unspoken) goals they have for their lives. This is a much deeper conversation, but one that is desperately needed today in this time of significant upheaval in our healthcare system.

So where do you begin if you're a physician and you are interested in exploring this idea of "lifestyle design?"

Well, don't go to the career advice section of your specialty journal and certainly don't go to the HR person at your hospital or academic institution.  

In my opinion, you should begin by checking out the conversations going on in other fields.  There are some incredible websites built around some really creative and interesting people who are living fascinating lives and teaching others how to do the same.  Check out the following as a starting point:

• The Blog of Tim Ferriss: Experiments in Lifestyle Design
• The Art of Non-Conformity Blog
• Thrilling Heroics with Cody McKibben
• The Blog of Corbett Barr

Once you immerse yourself in this culture you begin to see possibilities that you never would have realized before.  What's more, as a physician there are even more possibilities available to you than for the typical person, if only you'll step out and take a little risk.

Over the last few years this idea of lifestyle design has been a focal point of my thinking when it comes to career moves and ultimate goals.  I've invested a lot of time, cash, and sweat into learning how to build a unique career, and my hope with Freelance MD is that we can use this website as a vehicle to help other physicians, just like you, succeed in designing a lifestyle and career they truly enjoy. 

3 Thoughts On Physicians & Career Modification

Non-clinical and non-traditional medical careers are a common theme on Freelance MD.

If you peruse the posts on Freelance MD you'll find articles on a variety of topics—writing and publishing, real estate investing, concierge medicine, medical device development, business skills, leadership, journalism, and many more.

The common theme of all these posts is the idea of career change, or as I like to call it, career modification. It's the idea that as a physician, you aren't forced to accept the status quo; you have options, and there are a variety of ways in which you can harness your skills and personality traits.

Having said this, however, I must say that it is very difficult for the typical physician to make any kind of career change.  It's been a long time since I've met a physician who wasn't significantly frustrated with their career, but I'd say maybe only one out of fifty, or even one out of a hundred, of these frustrated physicians are actively taking steps to modify their career in some meaningful way.  It's a strange phenomenon, but it does seem to be a cultural trait in our profession.

Look, I'm not a professional career counselor.  If you want professional guidance, I'd suggest Ashley Wendel, whose entire career is focused on helping physicians transition into more satisfying careers.  However, for those of you who can tolerate my amateurish anecdotes, here are my top three reasons why I believe physicians have a difficult time modifying their careers...

(drum roll please)

1. Physicians are Narrowly Trained

A typical physician is overall a very narrowly trained individual.  

The majority of us were science majors in college and then spent a minimum of seven years being crammed full of medical minutia.  When we finished our medical training, we had a fairly firm grasp of our area of clinical expertise, but not much else.  Few physicians have had any significant exposure to personal finance, the legal system, business transactions, popular writing, art, negotiations, investing, or anything of the like.  Many of the physicians who I know who do have a special area of expertise outside of medicine sort of fell into it, or were raised in it by their family upbringing, not necessarily because they sought it out.  

When you compare a physician to an attorney, for instance, and the diverse professional experience of the typical person in law or business, it's easy to see why attorneys and business-types seem to transition in and out of careers with a lot more ease than physicians.  We know the Krebs Cycle; they know contracts, and corporate structure, and business appropriateness.  It's not that we physicians are any more or less as professionals than our peers in other professions because of our narrow training, it's simply that what works in our narrowly defined world doesn't necessarily work elsewhere.  

Physicians who have decided to launch into business, or anything else for that matter, without sufficient prep time usually find just how lacking in knowledge they really are.  Our narrow training puts a premium on our clinical knowledge and skills-- it takes a high investment of time and resources to obtain a medical degree and become a licensed physician-- but it also condemns us to a narrow career path unless we actively seek out further training.  

The good news is that with further training, career transition is much easier.  Here at Freelance MD we're committed to exposing physicians to training in a multitude of diverse niches.   We don't want the "narrow training" issue to be an excuse anymore for any physician considering a career move.

2. Physicians have Difficulty with Ambiguity

This reason takes a little more to explain.

Think about your medical training and your current medical career.  How did you get where you are today?  

Few careers are more systematized for more years than a career in medicine.  Most physicians began thinking about medical school before college and worked towards medical school as a goal from the beginning of their undergrad education.

Take and excel at my core science classes...check.  Take MCAT...check.  Get letters of recommendation...check.  Send in applications and pray...check.

Once in medical school our lives are completely structured to the point of exhaustion.  We are routed into our various specialty tracks and move along the medical assembly-line like widgets, getting the final stamp of approval and then shipped to a place of employment where we dig into our clinical careers, join a medical society, buy a house, begin paying off our school loans, and well, not much else, really.  

When we finally take a look around-- years into our clinical careers-- we have no professional experience other than medicine from which to draw and no practical experience in how to transition into something that doesn't have a structure or system to it.  

Become an entrepreneur?  

Where's the fellowship for entrepreneurial medicine?  

Develop a medical device?

Isn't there a masters degree in medical device development somewhere?

Write a book?  

I'd love to, but I don't have time to go back and get a college degree in English.

Does this seem familiar?

Physicians are so trained in a systematic educational experience of structure and hierarchy that it is very difficult to imagine how an ambiguous career move might work.  The idea of setting sail without a predetermined path and system to plug into leaves many physicians completely flummoxed. 

Instead of taking a machete and beginning to forge our own path through the career jungle, we wait for someone to build a superhighway that we can follow, complete with rest areas and gourmet coffee shops.  Of course, this rarely (read, never) happens so many physicians sit around saturating in the magical thinking that someone will come along with a foolproof plan to save us, and getting more desperate and frustrated when that person doesn't show up.

I could go on and on about this point, but I will use this as an easy transition to my final reason physicians have a difficult time modifying their careers...

3. Physicians are not Risk-Takers

Alright, everybody calm down.  

I know you're brave and calm in tense situations.  I know you can thread an angiocath, or intubate during a code, or your steady hands can find the pulsating bleeder with the best of them, even when everyone around you is losing control.  I know you're good under pressure, but this is not the same as being a person who is comfortable accepting calculated risk.

What I've found in conversations with physicians is that their risk profile is extremely low.  Yes, they're frustrated with their careers, but leave their jobs, start a company, move to a different part of the country, invest actual cash in an endeavor? Are you out of your mind?  Greg, those things are so risky...

Look folks, here's the facts...

You will never grow, transition to a better career, get from where you are to some better place, move beyond your current boundaries, or do anything of significance without assuming some measure of risk.  It's impossible and if you're waiting for that risk-free career move to show up, well my friend, I hope you've got a lot of time on your hands.

Many physicians have a difficult time with this aspect of career modification, even sadly, when the only risk is of the potential damage it might do to their professional standing.  I know a number of physicians, for instance, who deep down do not like academic medicine, but who persist in academics because they simply can't bear the thought of what people might say if they left or how it might affect their standing with their peers.  They're afraid they'll be dropped from this committee or not invited to speak at that conference.  They persist in their academic positions not for the love of teaching or the stimulation of their research; they persist because of the fear that they might lose something in the transition.  Their positions have become shackles that confine them, and their peers have become juries whose approval they must have.

When I speak to a physician who is hung up on this aspect of risk, I council them to of course make sure the transition they're considering makes sense-- talk to mentors, read up on the area they're considering jumping into, spend considerable time planning the transition.  However, in the end most of these career decisions come down to taking a jump off a cliff, and when I get to this point in the conversation I always discuss with them the risk of the status quo.

You see, career modifications are not a discussion of risk versus no risk.  They're a discussion of risk versus risk-- the risk of a career change versus the risk of staying in the same place.

I ask them, "What is the risk of staying in your current position for another year, or two, or three?"

If they're honest, they begin to see that staying in the status quo also carries significant risk, and when this is realized, a potential jump doesn't seem as frightening.

The point is that for most physicians, being able to tolerate risk is not something that comes naturally.  We like systems.  We like order. We like knowing our next step and we like having safety nets.  We work in a culture that demands perfection each and every day and the idea of stepping out without a finalized gameplan is terrifying to most of us.  We're creatures of habit with a significant dose of OCD in us-- medical school selects for these traits-- but we have to realize that we'll never begin to grow past where we are if we don't begin stepping out.  The idea of growth without risk is ridiculous, and we need to recognize this fallacy and move beyond it.  Embracing calculated risk-taking isn't optional, it's mandatory for career modification, and the sooner we accept this the sooner we'll begin moving towards a more fulfilling career.  It's that simple.

So there you have it.  My three reasons why physicians have a difficult time with career modification.  

In future posts I'm going to explain more about what I mean by career modification and some unique perspectives on what is available to physicians in today's modern, fully-wired, world.

Until then, check out Ashley's posts here at Freelance MD or her website.  Her advice is excellent for those of you considering a career change, much better than the musings of physician blogger, and almost risk-free.

Almost.

Physician, Build Your Own Ship

Looking back over the past month it's been very rewarding to see the growth of Freelance MD.

It was interesting to read Jeff's recent blog post about Freelance MD's first 30 days and the resonance this site has had with physicians. Freelance MD was created to offer physicians objective, credible information on a variety of topics that are important to modern physicians. We knew going in to this project that there was no other place on the web like this, and we felt that the topics that we would be discussing would fill an important void.  Based on our numbers, it appears others agree with us. Jeff and I sincerely hope you're finding the site to be informative and encouraging.

In thinking about the growth of Freelance MD and the beginning of the Medical Fusion Conference, I began to think more about physicians and their careers. I'm in a rather unique place when it comes to the issue of physicians and their career issues. First, I'm a physician. Second, I come from a family of medical people (my cousin is a medical student, my father and brother are surgeons, my sister is a medical malpractice defense attorney, and my mom is an elected official who sponsored medical malpractice tort reform in my home state). Third, I run two national conferences and come into contact with physicians from multiple specialties who practice all over the country. All of this exposure to many types of physicians allows me a lot of opportunity to discuss the idea of physician career modification and what physicians can be doing to improve their situation.

When the issue of career modification comes up in conversation with my physician friends, it seems that many are frustrated with their clinical practices, but they seem completely overwhelmed by the thought of making a change. These friends are like the survivors of a plane crash on a deserted island who are sitting on the beach in stunned shock realizing they're now marooned. They're so overwhelmed with the shock and horror of the crash that they haven't moved past the shock to the point of working towards their survival and, hopefully, escape from the island. They're still sitting in the sand, wailing, "We've crashed! We've crashed! We're all alone!  How will we survive? What are we going to do!??!!!"

Look, I'm not saying things are rosy and we shouldn't have concerns. I think it's obvious to everyone that the medical profession has crashed. Gone are the days when being an excellent clinician is the only worry of a physician. Today's physicians have to balance clinical excellence with billing codes, patient satisfaction scores, duplicitous administrators, underhanded trial lawyers, and a government bureaucracy seemingly intent on driving the entire healthcare industry into the dirt. It's not a great situation to be in and if there ever was a time when one would be justified a little despair, now is that time.

However, what I've found amazing about Freelance MD and the Medical Fusion Conference is that in spite of all this doom and gloom in medicine, there are a number of talented individuals who are not just surviving the current environment, they're thriving. These people aren't sitting in the sand weeping over their losses, they've moved off the beach and have taken active, deliberate steps to improve their situation.  

I'm reminded of the quip from the author G.K. Chesterton who, when asked by a journalist what book he would most want to have with him if he was ever marooned on a deserted island, said, "Why, A Practical Guide to Shipbuilding, of course..." 

The leaders I've met—many of whom are authors on this website—are inspirational because they aren't just moaning about how horrible the crash has been on them or waiting passively on the beach for someone to rescue them. No, these leaders are out in the jungle, foraging for food, building shelter, scouting out the island for opportunities and, most importantly, building a vessel to get them off the island when the timing is right.

If these individuals have been so successful in making the transition, why then are so many physicians still moribund, stewing in despair and learned helplessness? Why is making the change so difficult for many physicians?

There are a lot of theories about this and there are many individuals writing on Freelance MD who have been addressing this very issue, but it's important to note what appears to be a universal truth:  many physicians are having a difficult time adjusting their careers to the current reality around them.

As we build Freelance MD, one of my personal goals is to build this site in a way that offers very practical, systematic steps for physicians to begin taking control of their careers, shaking off the learned helplessness in which they've been festering, and begin working on their "ship" to get them off their deserted island and back on the road to adventure and a more fulfilling career.

Are you interested?  

If so, join our motley crew and learn from the experts on this site. Get involved and ask questions. Contribute to the community and teach others what you're learning. In short, get started, right now, making the transition for yourself.

The time for sand-wallowing is over.  

It's time to build your own ship.

50% of Primary Care Physicians Would Leave Medicine if They Could

I am asked from time to time about my perception of the level of physician dissatisfaction with clinical medicine. How do I know that physicians are really dissatisfied with their careers?

I recently came across this article from CNN that adds some credence to my theory. The article was a report on a survey performed by the Physicians' Foundation and was published in November 2008. Of the 12,00 physician respondents, almost 50% said they would leave medicine in the next three years if they could find an alternative. Wow.

To me, the most interesting quote from the article was the following:

"Many said they are overwhelmed with their practices, not because they have too many patients, but because there's too much red tape generated from insurance companies and government agencies."

In my mind it's very simple: allow physicians to practice medicine and everyone is better. The problems occur when insurance companies and lawyers and bureaucrats are allowed to dictate to hospitals and physicians and patients. Clinics and hospitals become assembly lines to push "customers" through as quickly as possible. The number of patients seen per hour must go up because the reimbursement per patient has gone down so much that a system with any delay will not survive. Physicians cannot practice medicine and many patients—even ones with excellent insurance—do not feel they get good medical care from their physicians.  It's a mess.

My hope is that Freelance MD and the Medical Fusion Conference will be an avenue to revive many of these physicians who are desperately hanging on. By introducing these physicians to ways they can supplement their incomes and find a niche where they can use their careers in novel ways, I believe many of these people will be able to adjust their clinical responsibilities and be able to enjoy medicine once again.

Instead of waiting for some magic "fix" of the healthcare system to arrive, why not take steps to revive the workers in healthcare that we already have? How many of those physicians in the survey would continue practicing medicine if they could drop their clinical load by 30% and still have their current level of income? How many physicians nearing retirement would continue practicing if they could practice on their own terms? How many young physicians would not give up on their careers if they could figure out a way to better balance their personal lives with their clinical duties?

If society is saying our nation's physicians are a necessary and important resource, then how are we protecting and encouraging this resource?  

The ultimate goal of Freelance MD and the Medical Fusion Conference is to encourage and stimulate the physicians in this country. By giving clinicians hope and purpose and an extra measure of control over their lives, I believe we will help physicians practice medicine longer and with more satisfaction.

Is Medicine Destroying Our Young Physicians?

I came across a blog post not long ago that's a great read. The title of the blog is the Traveling Medicine Show and the specific post is entitled, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?—Leaving Medicine the First Time.

This post is a very interesting and humorous story about how the author—a first-year Neurology resident at the time—decides to leave his residency on an impulse after a spontaneous marriage to his girlfriend.  The story is well-written and quite funny, and it's easy to identify with the author who is so frustrated with medicine but can't seem to quite find a life outside of medicine either.  Here's how it begins:

After the third month of my neurology residency in Chicago, I took a trip out to New Mexico and never came back.

No one leaves medicine. It’s just not done. Or rarely. There was the guy in my medical school who was so twisted, that even after repeated reprimands for being inappropriate with female patients and colleagues, he couldn’t get it together. Though not by choice, he left. Or the anesthesiology resident found dead of an overdose in his call room, a surreptitious IV catheter still taped to his ankle. He left. These were the role models.

I had fantasized about leaving medicine for years. By my second year of med school, I had the feeling that I had boarded the wrong train, but I kept on clunking down the wrong track, hoping things would improve as I passed into each new stage of training. Things would be better when I was in the clinical years. Clunk. Clunk. When I get to my internship. Clunk Clunk. I couldn’t find the strength to leave something that seemed so successful, even noble. Anyway, the ticket had been so exorbitant, and soon so many miles had flown by that getting off was simply not an option.

I won't ruin the story and tell you how it all ends, but suffice it to say that it is worth reading.  I know many physicians who have felt, and still feel, like this author but only discuss these feelings behind closed doors to their closest confidants, if at all.

What's particularly poignant about this post, however, are the comments at the end.  The post was written in 2007, but the comments have been building since then and emote a sense of desperation amongst the writers. "Glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way," reads one comment.  "I wish I had never done [medical school]—just look what they make you give," reads another. 

The comments continue: "I just left residency after two years of medicine...," and "I'm in my first semester of med school and I hate it," and "I’m a family doc, have been practicing for eight years. Recently hit with two meritless, frivolous, ridiculous lawsuits… both still pending, one I’ve fought for two years now... I'm getting out."

There are more comments, but you get the point.

What most disturbs me about these comments is that they are all from individuals at the beginning of their careers in medicine. It's one thing to have a cohort of physicians towards the end of their careers, complaining about changes in medicine and longing for "the good old days." But these writers are all young, early in their careers—and desperate to get out.

Our colleague Dr. Ryan Flesher produced an entire documentary film on this subject entitled The Vanishing Oath.  Ryan's film sheds light on the problem of early burnout in young physicians, and after watching his film, it caused me to be seriously concerned whether there would be anyone left in medicine to care for my family and me when we're older.

When I read comments like the ones mentioned earlier, or see a film like The Vanishing Oath, or speak to colleagues who are overwhelmed by their careers and stressed to the hilt, it makes me even more committed to what we're doing here at Freelance MD.  

You see, I come from a family of medical people. Between the stories I've personally heard and the stories told to me by other family members, I have had a growing concern that the practice of medicine is becoming increasingly toxic to those who practice it. Medicine is devouring its young.

This unfortunate truth is why Freelance MD and the Medical Fusion Conference were developed—to help physicians navigate the now treacherous waters of modern medicine.  

We'll be discussing physician burnout and other indicators of the problems in medicine in more depth, but our hope is that the discussion won't simply digress into a complaint session. We've created this site as a place not to simply document the obvious problems in medicine, but to offer direction for those who are struggling and connect them to leaders who can help them progress into a career that is fulfilling.

So take advantage of the resources here at Freelance MD and begin building towards a better career.  

We need you in medicine.

The Doctor is in...the Cage?

Family Physician and Professional Mixed Martial Artist, Dr. Seth Kleinbeck.

Okay, so you're frustrated with your medical practice.  You need a hobby to blow off some steam and maybe make a few bucks on the side.  You're considering moonlighting in another career just to see how it would go.  Not sure what you want to do exactly but open to ideas?  

How about cage fighting?

Dr. Seth Kleinbeck is a Family Medicine physician in Arkansas who also is a professional mixed martial artist.

Interestingly, as a native Arkansan and a student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), I heard about Dr. Kleinbeck a few years ago when I visited a Little Rock BJJ school and heard stories about a local doctor who "punched as hard as anyone we've ever seen."  

From what I can tell, Dr. Kleinbeck fought in a variety of smaller shows before being signed by the now defunct EliteXC to a six fight professional contract.  According to fight reports on mixed martial arts (MMA) websites, Dr. Kleinbeck has an 8-4 professional record and last fought in late 2007.

No word as to whether the good doctor has retired from fighting or just looking for another venue.  If we hear anything, we'll let you know.  

One thing's for sure: the guy's no joke. Here's a highlight video of some of his fights.