5 Things Before You Leave

Your WhyRunway Not LaunchpadGet Over YourselfPlan For SuccessPartner For Support

AND Get Help

Why

Your "Why" is perhaps the most important and often overlooked questionwhen beginning.  Knowing why you are doing what you are doing and theultimate purpose will serve you well on this journey.  Many ask whatyou do and then the conversation dies off after you state - physician. "Oh cool or what type of doctor are you?" is the common response.What follows next is their short rant about how great it must be to be a physician.  Few realize the reality of what working full time in thetrenches of medicine actually means.

Defining your true passion provides a long-range objective thatsubsequent efforts can be directed towards.  A better response to the"what do you do" question is sharing 'why' you do what you do.  If youhave truly searched inside, sharing your why will energize andmotivate not only yourself, but also others who hear your message.

Runway

The end result of either a runway or launchpad is the same - altitude.The process however, is entirely different.  Sitting on the launchpad waitingfor lift-off is what I hear from my fellow dissatisfied physicians.They are sitting on the launchpad waiting for something to happen.  

We are all accustomed to the grumbles and moaning about how bad thingsare, how much pressure administration puts on physicians, how littlecontrol doctors have over their circumstances.  Many hold out hope thatsomething good will simply come their way, pop up on the radar or the nextgreat deal or investment will manifest spontaneously without any effort or exploration.

Leaving full time clinical medicine requires a longer runway thanleaving other careers.  Replacing the clinical salary that goes alongwith medical practice is completely possible, but requires planning.

Some physicians may stumble upon a unique offer or opportunity and canhang up the stethoscope immediately, but most require a bit moreplanning and time to achieve.  Incremental steps and building up speedwill allow a smooth takeoff from the runway out of clinical practice.

Get Over Yourself

I hear this all the time. "I am a doctor."  

Really?  

Is that all you are?  Is that what your family and children say?  Maybe it is all they know because you are putting in a crazy amount of hours to achievewhat the public perceives as a privileged life.  

Get over yourself.

You weren't born a physician and your identity is much more than only a physician. Taking care of people is what you do but should not solely define your existence.  

Many physicians I help initially have some difficulty getting over this hurdle.  The feelings of guilt or the perception of wasted years training and practicing are difficult at first to overcome, but is another 10, 20 or 30 years of unhappiness a rational choice?

Getting to where you are took decades of diligence and painful effort.That same drive and determination applied in a new direction canaccomplish anything.  You mastered organic chem, med school, sufferedthrough residency likely without the luxury of work hour restrictions currentresidents enjoy, burned through the boards and hit the ground running.

Many of the skills, experiences and talents you have acquired during clinical practice provide a depth of expertise easily translatable to other arenas.

Don't let the negative opinions of others serve to limit yoursuccess.  

I suspect that 99% of your unhappy colleagues have made noeffort to improve their circumstances.  They will be the first tooffer criticism of any idea or plan you formulate to leave medicine.After all, misery loves company.  

It's time to identify with a different group and leave the naysayers where they lie. Look ahead to your new life and awake each day with happiness instead of dread.

You are more than a physician and will accomplish whatever you set outto do.  Your track record speaks for itself.  

Find your WHY, pick your target and get moving.

Planning

I am not calling this a phase because planning is an ongoing process and evolves as you progress on this journey of transformation.  Planning for a 10K race involves running, as does a 50K.  The difference in training should be obvious. The same concept applies to your strategy and will change and evolve as you make progress towards your goals.

Physicians in general tend to set realistic goals.  We are required topresent reasonable treatment goals to patients and help them map out a plan on how to get there.  We set department goals and attend various wastefulmeetings to plan goals that most often fail to manifest in reality. We are then penalized for failing to meet these goals. I don't want to get into the growing mountain of regulations imposed on physicians, but you know where I'm going with this thought.

It's beyond time to scrap this mentality.  

I will concede that I have attended a handful of meetings in the last 15 years that had true purpose, but only a handful.  

Several years ago, I worked for a large health care group and a senior physician executive asked why I failed to attend the required number of meetings.  

My response was that the entire meeting is summarized in an email I can read in less than 3 minutes and I felt making it home for supper or to watch a bit of my kids soccer practice was a better use of my time.  

The look on his face was priceless, but I could see a flicker of recognition in his eyes.  He just shrugged and walked away. I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in his head after our chat and noted his own departure less 16 months later from the arena of medicine.

Where I am going with this?  

Learn to plan differently to achieve greatness.  I read a fascinating book by Grant Cardone titled The 10X Rule. The premise is that we are all guilty of picking goals that are less than our true capabilities.  

Everyone likes to feel a sense of accomplishment and meeting preset goals makes us feel good.  The end result is never achieving our true potential.  

His advice and personal modus operandi demands setting goals that are 10X greater.  By stretching farther you will reach higher ground and accomplish what you are truly capable.  

You are here reading this now.  Set your goal tonight and start living your plan out of the servitude that clinical medicine has become.

Some of you, myself included, still enjoy certain small facets ofmedicine.  Perhaps a total departure is not what you are seeking, butrather the freedom to practice on a different scale and morereasonable pace.  

How would your life be different if you could practice only 1 or 2 days a week and still live your life as you desire?  What would you do with the extra time?  How much of your life did you give up to achieve your current station?  Any trips, hobbies or family functions you would rather attend than trudge through another night or weekend of call?  

Clarity of your ultimate goal will help you determine what is needed to get there.  Write it down. Share it with your significant other or best friend. Give it life and directed effort.

Many physicians continue to practice on a significantly reduced basis to maintain their license and board certification with the sole purpose to provide medical care when and how they desire.  The reward of volunteeringphysician services at a local free clinic or on an internationalmission trip provides satisfaction on so many levels.  

Keeping your license and board certification active is a wise decision as youembark on this new journey.  You will never be sorry you did and manydoors will remain open as you travel down the runway.

Set goals that you actually want to attain. Do you want to have the ability to opt out of the call schedule, work only 3 days a week in the clinic or hospital, or do you want to spent fulltime working on your passion. I know many a physician who has left clinical medicine to write books or plays, become a financial planner, open a bar or restaurant or take on a number of non-medicine related entrepreneurial activities.

Find a Partner

Partner up for success. Don't go it alone.  

I made this mistake several years ago when I started my journey and had little guidance on where to go, what to do or how to get there.  

My Why is to share everything that I have learned on the way-successes and failures. I've had plenty of both.

The majority of physicians I confided in initially were friends. But I also discovered many were among the group of negative pessimistic souls suffering without any initiative to make a change.  

I was fortunate enough to meet a few passionate physicians whosaw the proverbial writing on the way years before I did and sharedthe HOW.  

I already knew the WHY, but was struggling to find mypassion and a way out.

Those chance meetings reshaped my future. Find a mentor or anotherphysician who understands what you are going through, knows yourdoubts and concerns and can steer you towards your true goals.

Get Help

Looking for a fresh perspective, want someone to help you on thisjourney or just to bounce ideas off?  Let's have a conversation.  

Fill out the contact form on the blog or track me down on Twitter, FB or in person and we can talk about your unique situation and determine if working together is the right fit.

Life is short to life anything but your true passion.

Mitchel Schwindt, M.D., FAAEM

PhysicianFreedom.net