How Physicians Can Transition Into Consulting (Upcoming Webinar)

Have you ever thought about being paid as a Physician Consultant?

There is a big demand for physicians to be high-end consultants, in which most of the work can be done in the comfort of their own home.

This Monday, we'll help you navigate through this in-demand fields, and how you can add this opportunity either as a part-time or full-time business.

Dr. Mike Woo-Ming, one of our physician career coaches at Non-Clinical Jobs, will share his experiences on how to "Set up Shop" via the internet, and discover how to have clients come to you on this complimentary webinar....

WEBINAR
How to Become an In Demand, High-Paying Physician Consultant (From Home!)
Monday April 7
6:30 Pacific / 9:30 Eastern

REGISTER HERE: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/961498050

McKinsey & Company: Announcing Insight and MD Contact programs

The following message is from McKinsey & Company:

Did you know that McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, has been hiring advanced professional degree (APD) candidates just like you for over 20 years? Over half of our 8000 consultants in our 100+ offices worldwide hold PhD, MD, JD and non-MBA Masters degrees.

We are offering several summer programs for medical students, interns, residents and fellows. To learn more about these, please feel free to attend our upcoming events on a campus/in a city near you. Please click on the following link and enter the name of a school near you to find out about events in your area:
http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/apply/university_recruiting

We are also offering online presentations specifically for MDs. To RSVP, please click on the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MDRecruitingPresentationSpring2013

Summer Programs

Insight Healthcare
A 3-day insider's look into management consulting and our healthcare practice, covering a range of topics important to those who are exploring alternative career possibilities. The agenda includes an overview of management consulting, an introduction to the type of work we do, a management consulting case study, and an opportunity to network with colleagues and participate in social activities.
To learn more about eligibility, the program options, and to apply, please click on the Insight link at: http://www.mckinsey.com/Careers/Your_background/Advanced_professional_degrees
Program dates/location: June 6 - 9, 2013, Philadelphia
Online Application Deadline: April 21, 2013

MD Contact
A 1-day seminar designed to familiarize MDs with management consulting. The agenda includes a brief overview of management consulting and an introduction to our healthcare consulting practice, a half-day consulting case study and the opportunity to network with focused group of peers and MD consultants
Program dates/location: 
June 8, San Francisco
June 15, Philadelphia
Online Application Deadline: April 21, 2013

Junior health IT consultants working in hospitals

Stoltenberg Consulting, a leading healthcare information technology consulting firm, has a junior health IT consultant program that has been placing a number of junior-level health IT professionals in hospitals. This approach has been helping to address some of the health IT worker shortage that hospitals have been facing. Stoltenberg officially launched their junior consulting program a few months ago and it's been gaining significant traction. In a previous press release, Sheri Stoltenberg, CEO of Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc. said: "With hospitals facing strict timelines for complying with government-mandated technology standards, the pressure is on to maximize resources effectively. We designed our Junior Consultant Program to directly address these challenges with a cost-effective solution that allows all types of facilities - small or large - to achieve these standards with a team of well-qualified, expertly trained consultants."

Hospitals have the option to permanently hire the Junior Consultant following the completion of their one-year contract.

If you're interested in learning more about the Junior Consultant Program, contact Stoltenberg Consulting. This could be a good way to break into the health IT industry, especially if you lack formal working experience.

National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants

Interested in working as a healthcare business consultant?

The NSCHBC is a national organization dedicated to serving the needs of consultants who provide ethical, confidential and professional advice to the healthcare industry.

The National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants was founded by the membership of the Institute of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants, the National Association of Healthcare Consultants and the Society of Medical Dental Management Consultants on July 1, 2006.

You may be wondering, "what does it mean to be a certified healthcare business consultant?"

Here's what they have to say:

A certification designation demonstrates to potential clients, vendors, and others that the holder has met certain standards of experience and knowledge.

Unlike other certifications, such as CPA (Certified Public Accountant), a CHBC (Certified Healthcare Business Consultant) has demonstrated an understanding of the total healthcare business environment — both practice and financial management.

You can learn more about the organization here: http://www.nschbc.org

McKinsey & Company hosting webinars on health care consulting

I received the following email from McKinsey about a series of free upcoming webinars on consulting in the health care industry. If you're interested in a consulting career, I'd encourage you to sign up and participate in these webinars:

McKinsey & Company is hosting a series of web-based presentations for medical students, interns, residents and fellows. The presentations provide an opportunity to learn more about our firm and the work we do. These events have been created specifically for healthcare professionals and feature discussions of topical issues in healthcare. They also allow you to hear from and ask questions of McKinsey consultants with backgrounds in healthcare. The next presentation topic is:

The Role of Health Care Exchanges in the Post-Reform Marketplace

One of the central components of the new health care law is the creation of health care exchanges, which are intended to provide transparency to consumers about individual insurance products while simultaneously serving as the mechanism through which low-income Americans will receive Federal subsidies. Each state has the flexibility to design these exchanges, and the structure chosen will have a significant impact on the types of choices consumers in that state will be able to make. Join us as we review the most common Exchange structures and how they are likely to impact the health care market across the country

Date: Monday, November 21st
Time: 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. ET

Healthcare Informatics Consultant

Interested in working as a Healthcare Informatics Consultant (or Clinical Informatics Consultant)? You'll find a variety of consulting opportunities on the NonClinicalJobs Job Board. This could be a good way to get started. Eventually, you may find yourself pursuing a Medical Director of Informatics or a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) position.

Right now, organizations are hiring a variety of clinicians (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other health care professionals) to focus on building up their health IT capabilities. If you have a strong interest in health informatics, make sure to browse the consulting jobs found on the NonClinicalJobs Job Board.

McKinsey & Company's Insight Healthcare Program

McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm with nearly 9,000 consultants in 90 offices across 50 countries, is hosting two exciting summer programs for students working towards advanced professional degrees: Insight Healthcare and Insight Engineering & Science. These programs will give non-MBA advanced degree students an insider's look into management consulting. Each of the comprehensive seminars will cover a range of topics important to those who are exploring alternative career possibilities. Program agendas include an overview of management consulting, an introduction to the type of work we do, a management consulting case study, and an opportunity to network with colleagues and participate in social activities.

Insight Healthcare
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 23 – 26, 2011

Qualified Applicants for Insight Healthcare should be:

• Completing an MD, a medical internship, residency or fellowship in 2012 or 2013
• Completing a PhD or post-doc in healthcare related disciplines including biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry or immunology in 2012
• Currently residing in the United States or Canada
• Available to attend the entire event starting at 5:30 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, June 23rd and ending at 1:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Sunday, June 26th

No business experience required. All expenses will be paid by McKinsey & Company.

Consulting opportunities for physicians

Author: Michelle Mudge-Riley, DO, MHA

Doctors who are making a career transition often think consulting is the way to go. It seems to be a fun and interesting job with no call, doesn’t usually require any certifications or more schooling/degrees and is rumored to pay a lot. Is this true? Well, it largely depends on the type of consulting and the subject matter, as well as the employment type. There are different varieties of consulting employment. Let’s consider each one separately.

Part-time
If you don’t want to transition into a non-clinical career all at once, part time consulting may be the best way to figure out if you like consulting and to get experience to build your resume. It’s a good way to get your feet wet with the smallest amount of risk.

Full-time
Many doctors end up as full time consultants for large companies (drug, device, medical supply, financial, etc.). You will use your clinical expertise and experience in your current specialty. Some specialties are more sought after than others when it comes to being hired by a large company as a full time consultant.

Independent
Working completely for yourself has its advantages. You don’t have to set an alarm and you can go to the gym in the middle of the afternoon. But you may not have enough time to do that. There’s a lot that goes into being an independent consultant. You have to market and sell your services before you get a paycheck. Then you have to do the work so you can get paid – but at the same time, continue to market and sell yourself so you can get that next job (and paycheck). With a physician’s skill set, you can command a high billing rate and your overhead is often low. You will need to form an LLC and liability insurance is a must.

Health care consultant jobs

There are a variety of jobs in the consulting industry. How do you find the right one? You can search the job boards or you can go straight to the company website and apply on their site.

Here are several different consulting companies that focus on the health care industry:

• Abt Associates
  
• Advisory Board
• Boston Consulting Group
• PriceWaterhouseCoopers
• Deloitte & Touche
• Ernst & Young
• Kurt Salmon Associates
• Tiber Group

Of course, there are many other consulting companies that focus on health care, but these are listed just to give you a sample of what's out there.

View a list of Health Care Consultant jobs listed on the NonClinicalJobs.com Job Board.  

Medical consultant jobs

There are a variety of consulting companies that will hire physicians and other health care professionals as medical consultants. In some companies, your title may be "consultant." In other companies, you're called an "analyst." Regardless of the title, we know that these jobs will probably entail some business analysis, problem-solving, domestic and international travel, long hours (and possibly weekends), and much more. Are you sure you want to work as a consultant?

Here are a list of some consulting companies that focus on medical and health care consulting:

• Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) Recruiting site at:
• http://careers3.accenture.com/
• Bain & Co. Recruiting at:
• http://www.bain.com/bainweb/join_bain/join_bain_overview.asp
• Boston Consulting Group Careers at:
• http://www.bcg.com/careers/careers_splash.html
• Deloitte & Touche Career page at:
• http://careers.deloitte.com
• Ernst & Young U.S. career center at:
• http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/International/Careers
• KPMG Recruiting site at:
• http://www.kpmg.com/careers
• PricewaterhouseCoopers Recruiting site at:
• http://www.pwc.com/

Of course, there are many other consulting companies that focus on health care, but these are listed just to give you a sample of what's out there.

View a list of Medical Consulting jobs listed on the NonClinicalJobs.com Job Board. 

Non-clinical physician jobs in California (consulting)

I recently came back from a trip to California. While I was there, I was speaking with a number of physicians who work in California (either in private practice, academia, or for Kaiser Permanente).  This year, I've personally worked with several physicians who live in California to help them establish a non-clinical career outside of traditional clinical practice. Interested in making a career transition?

The Medical Board of California (http://www.medbd.ca.gov) recently listed a few different non-clinical physician jobs. You can find them in the Medical Board of California Quarterly Newsletter. The July 2010 (Vol 115, July 2010) issue lists two physician  jobs:

1. Medical Consultant

There are consulting opportunities in the areas of: licensing, enforcement, and advisory. If you can give up 8 to 16 hours each week to work as a consultant for the state medical board, then perhaps you should look into this opportunity. 

2. Board certified expert reviewers

The Medical Board of California established the Expert Reviewer Program in July 1994 as an impartial and professional means by which to support the investigation and enforcement functions of the Board. Specifically, medical experts assist the Board by providing expert reviews and opinions on Board cases and conducting professional competency exams, physical exams and psychiatric exams.

Participating physicians are reimbursed $150 per hour for conducting case reviews and oral competency exams, $200 an hour for providing expert testimony, and usual and customary fees for physical or psychiatric exams.

You can learn about the expert reviewer opportunities by visiting this link.

Do you want to work for the Medical Board of California? You can learn about these jobs by going to page 6 on this issue of the Medical Board of California Quarterly Newsletter (PDF).

National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants

Have you heard of the NSCHBC? (how do you pronounce that?)  Here's some information about the organization:

The NSCHBC is a national organization dedicated to serving the needs of consultants who provide ethical, confidential and professional advice to the healthcare industry.

We do this by:

• Establishing a standard of conduct that assures those in the healthcare profession of the availability of ethical competent business managers.
  
• Encouraging our members to become certified members of the Society by providing education and training to assist members in fulfilling the requirements of certification.
  
• Providing valuable tools for your business, including our annual national statistics report.
  
• Continuously providing educational forums and meetings that include the best and the brightest speakers/instructors in our industry.
  
• Sharing information and networking among members, which serves to advance the profession of medical and dental management consulting. 

The National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants was founded by the membership of the Institute of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants, the National Association of Healthcare Consultants and the Society of Medical Dental Management Consultants on July 1, 2006.

PMSCO Healthcare Consulting

PMSCO Healthcare Consulting is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. PMSCO Healthcare Consulting consists of three specialized service groups, providing a suite of management, process, and clinical resources for clients throughout the healthcare industry.

If you're thinking about a career in medical consulting, perhaps you can get some ideas by looking at companies like PMSCO. Here's a brief description about PMSCO:

PMSCO Healthcare Consulting consists of three specialized service groups, providing a suite of management, process, and clinical resources for clients throughout the healthcare industry. Using our roster of highly experienced consultants, we help our clients improve the performance of their businesses and organizations, respond to immediate needs for outside expertise, and improve the healthcare outcomes of their patients.

Learn more here: http://www.consultpmsco.com/

McKinsey Insight Healthcare starts today in Philadelphia

McKinsey Insight Healthcare
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 17 - 20, 2010

Insight Healthcare is a three-day insider’s look into management consulting for MDs, medical interns, residents, fellows, PhDs, and post-docs in healthcare-related disciplines.

This comprehensive seminar will cover a range of topics important to those who are exploring alternative career possibilities.

The agenda will include:

• Overview of management consulting
• Introduction to our consultants and the work we do
• Two-day consulting case study
• Recreational and social activities

Click here to learn more. If you're graduating from medical school, internship, residency, or fellowship next year, then perhaps you'll want to consider this program for 2011.

Consulting workshops for physicians at BCG (Boston Consulting Group)

If you've been thinking about an alternative physician career in consulting, you may be interested in the upcoming Bridge to Consulting BCG Workshop. How many of you would like to work for BCG (Boston Consulting Group)?

These workshops are specifically for advanced degree candidates (PhDs, MDs, post-docs, and JDs) expecting to finish in 2011. If you are currently a practicing MD or in residency, or a post-doc, the 2011 graduation date requirement does not apply. For all Bridge applicants, we are looking for people interested in potentially starting a consulting career in 2011. This is a global program and open for full time candidates for our North America, Asia Pacific and European offices.

The workshops will occur over the summer. Here are the dates and locations:

• July 8-9 in Boston office
• July 22-23 in Chicago office
• July 22-23 in New York office
• July 29-30 in San Francisco office

Applications for Bridge to BCG will be accepted online until Friday, May 7, 2010. You can learn more here:
http://www.bcg.com/careers/adc.aspx

International medical consulting opportunities

I've been asked to get involved in a few international medical consulting projects recently. Specifically, one involved medical tourism in Asia. Cosmetic procedures are especially popular. The second project involves a government health agency in Europe.

Both projects are very different, however both involve several key elements of health information technology, web development, and health information exchange or HIE. Although I live in the United States, it's always interesting to hear about health projects in other countries. Let's see what happens over the next few months.

What's interesting is that both of these opportunities presented themselves because of my presence on the Internet. One guy found me by searching on Google. Another guy approached me because I was tweeting about health IT and smartphones. Then, when he saw my blogs, he realized that we had several things in common. By expanding your presence online, you could reach potential clients who might never find you otherwise.

Physician Consultant in Health IT (Job Post)

This job post is from the AMDIS website:

Physician Consultant
posted 1/13/2009

Dearborn Advisors, LLC is a healthcare professional services firm that partners with healthcare organizations to maximize return on advanced clinical information technology investments. Our mission is to add value to our clients by establishing a unique leadership position in clinical systems strategy, deployment and clinician adoption by providing advisory services that measurably enhance our clients’ performance.

Health IT Consultant

Here's a job description that may be of interest: Health IT Consultant

Of note: This is part of an "ARRA STIMULUS JOB ORDER" and I think we can expect to see many more of these types of jobs appearing in 2010.

Here are the details:

ARRA: This position will support the Health Information Technology Extension Program and will be funded by a REC Grant. The goal of the project is to provide technical assistance related to the selection, implementation, and use of electronic health records (EHRs).

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services provider, a nonprofit healthcare quality improvement organization (QIO) will be recruiting for a Health Information Technology Consultant in January of 2010, to provide service to partners in North Seattle.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Facilitate the selection, implementation, and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) within an assigned client base of health care providers. Assess clients workflows and protocols and then recommend best practice process improvement interventions and technical solutions. Monitor and report on the progress of assigned tasks.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:
~ Bachelors Degree in a related field.
~ Three (3) years of project management experience in Health Care.
~ Two (2) years of experience with the adoption and use of EHR.
~ Demonstrate extensive knowledge of healthcare information systems.
~ Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both written and oral).
~ Strong organizational skills; ability to establish priorities and work efficiently with minimum supervision.
~ Excellent problem-solving skills, strong detail orientation and ability to adeptly manage multiple priorities and timelines.
~ Ability to maintain high standards of accuracy, productivity, and confidentiality.
~ Ability to handle sensitive issues with confidentiality and diplomacy.
~ Willingness to shift priorities and implement multi-tasking skills in response to a rapidly-growing work load in response to project needs.
~ Willingness to work varied hours as needed to meet project deadlines and to accomplish work assignments on which others activities depend.

PREFERRED:
~ Background in primary care, external consulting, and/or demonstrated proficiency with at least one EHR application.
~ Demonstrated experience with written communications, including editing and crafting messages for a large audience.

SCHEDULE:
Hours: To be Determined
Days: To be Determined
Type of Employment:Full Time-Permanent

COMPENSATION:
Wage: All positions posted at Go2WorkSource.com, through the Assisted Recruitment Process, guarantee compliance with Washington State minimum wage laws.
Benefits:
~ Paid time off (PTO) bank: 16 days/year of personal time off, increasing to 21 days after four years, and to 26 days after eight years.
~ Extended illness bank: 7 additional days per year for approved extended medical absence.
~ Holidays: 9 designated holidays.
~ Medical Insurance: We offer a comprehensive Preferred Provider (PPO) Plan (and an HMO option where available).
~ Dental Insurance: Premier program with a wide choice of dentists.
Short and Long Term Disability: 100% of long-term disability coverage.
~ Basic Retirement: Employer contributes a percentage based on your income, with your choice of investments.
~ Employee assistance program (EAP): Free short-term counseling with up to 6 visits per family member.

Click here for more information.

Consulting opportunities for physicians

There's a company out there called Concentra and they have a list of "National Medical Consultants." Who are these people? What do they do? What does it mean to be a medical consultant?

Here's a short snippet from their website:

If you have medical oversight needs, Concentra’s physicians are available to help on a consulting basis. You’ll have access to a wealth of expertise and experience among the physicians who oversee our medical operations. The same physicians who have helped Concentra grow into one of the nation’s leading health care companies.

OK, I realize that doesn't provide enough information if you don't know anything about Concentra, so let's take a look at the company. Let's go to the "About Us" section. Here's what it says:

Concentra is a national health care company focused on improving America’s health, one patient at a time. We offer comprehensive services to injured/ill patients and their employers through our nationwide network of medical centers.

National Reach…

• We have more than 300 medical centers in 40 states that provide occupational medicine, urgent care, physical therapy, and wellness services in one location.
• We also operate more than 240 workplace health clinics that provide a range of health and wellness services such as athletic training programs, health screenings, vaccinations, medical advisory services, etc.

Personalized Care…

• We help employers encourage the health and wellness of their employees through a program called TotalCare, which blends primary, preventive, occupational, and environmental health.
• Our philosophy is that the best approach to addressing the American health care crisis is to balance the well-being of employees with the well-being of employers.

Focused on You…

• Concentra provides health care services to more than 30,000 patients each day. We intend to redefine the patient experience by treating individuals with welcoming, respectful, and skillful care.

Actually, there's probably no way I can summarize this company in a single blog post because they offer so many different types of services. However, the point I'm making is that there are consulting opportunities for physicians who have an interest in providing clinical expertise to a variety of clients ranging from patients to employers. Concentra is one example of a company that provides physicians with consulting opportunities. There are other companies out there. Some physician provide consulting services independently. To learn more about Concentra, visit http://www.concentra.com

International medical consulting opportunities

There are many international health consulting opportunities out there. Do you know where to find them? How well do you understand the health care issues that other countries face? Are you familiar with the needs of Honduras? Kenya? Italy? What about China? Thailand? Vietnam? In many countries around the world, we see models of universal health care coverage. Other countries have huge health care disparities due to a lack of access in rural areas. Here in the U.S., we often see gaps in care related to different cultural and ethnic factors that may influence patient behavior. As we try to tackle some of these public health issues that are culturally rooted, it often feels like an international health consulting project.

I've recently had the opportunity to work with a small group of physicians on an international health IT consulting project. Many countries are looking for ways to effectively leverage information technology to improve health care delivery. As computers become more affordable throughout the world, there are a growing number of consulting opportunities where we can help countries improve their health care delivery and educate consumers about disease prevention and self management.

So, back to the original question: do you know where to find these types of consulting projects? It has to start with your connections. One of my recent projects came about through a friend from my MIT college days in Boston. He was working on something with several business school classmates and had pulled together a group of physicians and IT consultants. This is a classic example where a team was formed through a series of professional and alumni social networks. If you're not expanding your social network and reconnecting with old friends, then you may be missing some great opportunities.