by: Celeste Hollands, MD, FACS, FAAP
Twenty years
ago as I started medical school I focused on graduating and matching into a
residency. The biggest decision was
which residency was right for me. As I
progressed through my residency, I addressed the question of general surgery or sub-specialty and then private practice or academics. That was it.
There always seemed to be two forks in the road.
I am not
sure if it is because I am older and wiser or because times have changed but
the career choices now seem to be organized more into a flow chart than two
forks in the road. There are so many
more choices and so many more options for additional training and these choices
and options are available at many career levels. The information age has put all of this
information at our fingertips much earlier in our career and we can plan for it
instead of stumble into or settle for it when we need a change.
The ability
to have a blended career consisting of clinical and non-clinical responsibilities
is one option. Another is a non-clinical
or alternate career path where you likely will not engage in traditional
clinical practice. Considering these
options early and planning for the advanced degrees and additional training
they may require is important. It is
also equally important to talk to someone currently working in your area of
interest and to seek out mentors in these areas.
This article
is intended to introduce these paths to you and provide resources for you to
begin to consider these options. It is
by no means an all-inclusive piece on alternate career paths for physicians.
Physician Executive Path
Interest in
physician leaders continues to increase.
If you are interested in joining the C-suite (Chief Medical Officer,
Chief Operating Officer, etc. - the highest level healthcare executives with
titles often starting with “Chief”) you will likely need some training in
business. This training can be on the
job training as you rise within your organization or you may choose to seek
more formal training that will give you that business credibility you will need
to be successful.
Three
advanced degrees to consider are MBA (Masters in Business Administration), MPH (Masters in Public Health), and MMM (Masters in Medical Management). These are the most popular degrees for this path
but not the only ones. The resources
listed at the end of this article discuss additional options or link to them.
The American Association of Physician Leaders (formerly
known as ACPE, American College of Physician Executives) is an important
organization for physician executives and offers a number of educational
programs.
Additional
certification as a Certified Physician Executive (CPE) is also available through the Certifying
Commission in Medical Management (CCMM).
Other “Non-Clinical” or
Alternative Career Paths
There are a
host of other non-clinical or alternative career paths to consider. When searching for information on this topic
the term non-clinical is used though any of these paths could be combined with
clinical practice to form a blended career path.
In general non-clinical
jobs can be grouped into: Medical communications/writing/education; Consulting; Health
Information Technology (Health IT); Pharma/Biotech; and Medical Law. The
specific jobs for medical communications/writing/education can include: medical
marketing, medical recruiting, certified medical education, medical
publications, and medical blogging.
Consulting jobs are generally for clinical cases or business challenges,
medical start-up companies, medical device companies, and medical chart
reviews. Health IT jobs may include
electronic health records and medical informatics. Pharma and Biotech jobs exist in medical
research (performing the research or a regulatory position), medical science
liaison, medical sales, and medical entrepreneurship. Finally, medical law is another non-clinical
area to consider.
SEAK, Inc. is an ACCME accredited continuing education &
publishing firm that hosts an annual conference entitled: SEAK’s Non-Clinical CareersConference that may be of interest for those seriously considering these career
paths.
Blended,
alternative or non-clinical career paths are certainly not for everyone.
However, being informed about them and exploring them may just help you
organize your best career path no matter what your current career level.
Resources:
General
Degrees
Organizations,
Conferences and Certifications
