Jobs for doctors without residency

I continue to encounter countless physicians who are looking for jobs even though they have not completed a residency here in the United States. Some are US medical school grads who wish to drop out of residency. Others are foreign-trained physicians who have faced difficulty finding a residency position here in the United States.

I wrote an article back in 2008 titled, "Jobs for Physicians with No Residency Experience." This article continues to draw traffic from search engine users who are searching for "jobs for doctors without residency."

If you're a doctor looking for a non-clinical job, I encourage you to visit the NonClinicalJobs Job Board to find a variety of job opportunities for physicians who don't have residency experience. You can find a number of different employment opportunities in small and large companies where you won't need an active medical license, board certification, or post-graduate training.

Non-Medical Jobs and Careers for Physicians

When I think about the phrase "non-clinical jobs," I often think about jobs that involve some element of medical science. Physicians who work as medical writers or health care consultants may not be treating patients, but they are effectively applying their scientific expertise in their work. Physicians who work in medical management or other types of administrative positions need to have a clinical background in order to work effectively. Physicians who work in the biopharma industry may not be treating individual patients, but they are still involved in scientific drug discovery or pharmaceutical marketing.

What about those jobs that are completely non-medical?

I know some physicians who have a real estate business. Others have ventured into the world of finance and they are now wealth management consultants. One former nephrologist is running a website for Apple computer fans. Another physician is selling products on eBay. Some are becoming technology writers or bloggers, but they're not writing about medical technology. Others are starting companies focused on helping moms be better moms. There are a growing number of physician entrepreneurs who are venturing into many non-medical industries.

6 Non-Clinical Medical Jobs for Recent College Graduates

This is a guest post by Kyle Simpson. If you'd like to submit a guest post, please contact me.

6 Non-Clinical Medical Jobs for Recent College Graduates

So you've got your degree, and you know you want to work in the healthcare industry, but you're not ready -- maybe never will be -- to get into a clinical role. That's probably a good thing; the industry is getting top-heavy and there's a massive market for non-clinical medical personnel. Here are six places that you might have an easy time envisioning yourself:

Medical Transcriptionist
This is for all you grads with 80+ word per minute typing skills. If you can listen to doctors -- bonus pay if they're ESL -- and type out what they say using headphones and a special foot pedal to control the audio, you can set yourself up to make a good forty thousand dollars per year. The sheer volume of work that needs to be transcribed makes this a very high-demand job -- and salaries are increasing every year to prove it. The downside? Listening to doctors with strong Hindi and Mandarin accents all day can make it harder to understand your family when you finally take the headphones off.

Medical Secretary
Medical secretaries are one of the top ten highest-demand jobs in America. Experts anticipate a growth rate between 10% and 20% for years to come. If you've got a Bachelors degree, you can clear forty grand per year easily -- and if you keep up with your continued education requirements, that number will only grow.

MRHIT -- Medical Records and Health Information Technician
Another of the fastest-growing careers in America, MRHITs are a vital element of every hospital, nursing home, and clinic in the nation. Their job is to process and maintain patients' records. As electronic health records adapt to new technology, MRHITs must learn, adapt, and adopt new practices while remaining organized and quick. A MRHIT working for a larger organization can clear forty-five thousand dollars per year.

Entry-level non-clinical physician job salaries

Let me clarify what I mean by "entry-level" here: I'm referring to non-clinical jobs that physicians may find if they leave clinical medicine to pursue a non-clinical job in a company (such as a medical communications company, a health IT company, pharma/biotech, a consulting company, etc.).

So, let's look at several examples:

• A primary care physician who's making $120k/year leaves clinical medicine and begins to work in a a medical education company. How much could he/she make?
• A medical school graduate chooses not to pursue residency. He/she chooses to work in a consumer health company. How much could he/she make?
• An MD/MBA grad completes residency (earning around $50k/year as a senior resident) and finds a corporate consulting job. How much will he/she make?
• An oncologist who has been practicing medicine for 10 years leaves the practice of medicine to work in pharma. How much could he/she make?

Is there an "average" figure for the examples above? Suppose the range is roughly $80k to $250k/year, so the average is $165k/year. Is that accurate? Not quite. Should we be looking at mean, median, or mode?

The reality is that many entry-level jobs will not pay above $150k/year unless you're a medical specialist. If you lack corporate experience, then you're in a different category compared to physicians who have extensive corporate work experience.  Some sources will tell you that entry-level job salaries for an "average" physician ranges roughly between $90-130k/year.  How do you make an argument that you deserve $130k/yr if a company offers you $90k/yr?  Several key factors impact this salary range. They include:

• Geography. Living costs will greatly influence your salary.
• Budgets. Some companies have much more negotiating "flexibility" around budgets. Others have very rigid budgets.
• Risk. Some managers have a "high risk/high reward" mentality and they may be willing to take a big risk by paying a high salary to acquire the best talent. 
• Gender. Even today, men tend to earn higher salaries compared to women. It's not fair, but it's what frequently happens.
• Type of industry. Salaries for a "medical director" in industry #1 could vary tremendously compared to industry #2. Some companies simply have deeper pockets and bigger budgets. 
• Your negotiation skills. 

To ensure that you receive a competitive salary, you need to have very strong negotiating skills. I've found that most physicians lack such salary negotiating skills because they haven't had much experience in this area. If you're considering a new job, make sure you don't undersell yourself.

"Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" a free monthly telephone discussion (group conferece call)

Update: Registration for May 12 is now closed. The next "Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" will be on Tuesday, June 1st, at 9 pm eastern. You may register for that event here.

I'm starting something new and it's called: "Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs." This will be a free telephone group discussion where we will discuss different types of non-clinical jobs for physicians. The conference call will last approximately 45 minutes and I'll be facilitating an interactive discussion about non-clinical career options. I'll also be available to answer some questions.

If you're considering  alternative physician careers but you're not sure how to proceed, you won't want to miss this call. If you're a medical student and you hope to learn more about non-clinical career options, I hope you'll join me for this call.

The first "Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" will be on Wednesday evening, 9 PM Eastern, May 12, 2010. To register for this "Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" conference call, please click here (sorry, but registration is now closed for the May 12 call).

The next "Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" is scheduled for Tues, June 1st at 9 pm eastern. You may register for that call here.

"Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" will be a monthly event. To view the "Let's Talk NonClinicalJobs" schedule, make sure to join the NonClinicalJobs.com membership network  (http://members.nonclinicaljobs.com/) and click on the Events tab to view the monthly schedule.

5 frequently asked questions from physicians considering non-clinical career transitions

I speak with many physicians who are interested in leaving clinical medicine to pursue an alternative career (non-clinical job) and they always seem to ask the same types of questions. Let's dig into some of those "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)" by exploring some common questions that are rooted in myths and misconceptions.

Here are some questions that I get all the time from physicians who are considering a career transition:

1. How do I "break in" to the industry (such as pharma) when I don't have any pharma experience? All the jobs seem to require industry experience.
2. What type of salary ranges can I expect?
3. Do I need to complete a residency? 
4. How much travel is generally involved with these types of jobs?
5. Do I need to get an advanced degree like an MBA, an MPH, (or an MS in informatics for a health IT job)?

The answers to some of these questions can be rather complex, but let me address a few issues:

First, you don't need to complete a residency or get an advanced degree to be successful in the non-clinical world. Board certification is helpful (and is necessary for certain types of positions in medical management, managed care, etc.). An MBA, MPH, or MS offers no guarantee that you'll succeed. It may provide you with additional resources,

Where you can find alternative non-clinical physician jobs

Are you looking for an alternative career? A full-time job? Part-time? Maybe you're looking for some alternative sources of supplemental income?

If you're looking for non-clinical job opportunities, make sure you're looking on the Internet. You'd be surprised how many physicians forget to search on the web to find these types of job opportunities.

There are thousands of non-clinical jobs listed on this job search page:  Search for Jobs  

It's also critical to expand your social network and to leverage your connections if you're planning on making a career transition.

How many doctors will leave medicine this year?

Several sources of information have suggested that doctors may be more likely to leave clinical medicine by 2014.  Groups (including us here at NonClinicalJobs.com) have conducted surveys, some have published their results, others are probably afraid to publish them.  On Investors.com, we see one story titled, "45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul." This was published back in September 2009. I wonder how these numbers will change now that we're in April 2010.  Then, the Medicus Firm published a survey on the NEJM  and suggested that "Health Reform May Lead to Significant Reduction in Physician Workforce." This survey was conducted before the reform bill was passed. How have physician attitudes been affected?

Here on NonClinicalJobs.com, we surveyed our members last month and here's what we found when over 100 physicians responded to our survey:

Demographics:

• 31% primary care/general medicine, 60% specialists

When asked, "Do you support the new health care reform bill?"

• 28% say yes, 52% say no, 20% say "I'm not sure yet." 

When asked, "now that the health care reform bill has passed, are you more motivated to leave clinical medicine?

• 33% say yes, 23% say no, 23% say they've already left clinical medicine, 1% say they're retired, and 20% selected "other"

When asked, "Are you more motivated to switch to either a cash practice or a concierge/boutique practice?"

• 28% say yes, 19% say no, 25% say they're not in clinical practice, 14% say these practice models are not relevant to me, 5% say they're already in a cash practice

When asked, "What percentage of your physician colleagues are thinking about leaving clinical medicine?"

• 12% say "less than 5%," 11% say "5 to 10%," 19% say "10 to 30%," 18% say "30 to 50%," 7% say "more than 50%," and 33% say "not sure."

When asked, "How do you think your medical career will change over the next 5 years?"

• 24% say "I will stay in my current practice," 9% say "I will move to a salaried position," 12% say "I will change my practice model (cash or concierge), 52% say "I will leave clinical medicine," and 3% say "I will retire."

When asked, "How many years have you been in practice?"

• 7% say "never practiced medicine," 16% say "less than 5 years," 23% say "5 to 10 years," 30% say "10 to 20 years," and 24% say "more than 20 years"

So, how many physicians will leave clinical medicine in the near future? How many doctors will look for alternative careers? How many will be searching for non-clinical jobs?

Search for non-clinical physician jobs

I'm developing a job board here on NonClinicalJobs.com and I'm approaching this project in several stages.

To view the current job board (currently in phase 1), visit: Search for Jobs
 
Stage 1 is an experimental stage where I'll be testing several different methods of posting jobs. Jobs will be pulled from multiple different sources. I plan to feature certain jobs and also make it possible for you (my readers) to earn referral fees for successfully referring candidates for certain job openings, so stay tuned for details. The referral bonus program will only be available to registered members on: http://members.nonclinicaljobs.com/

I'll keep you updated as changes are made to the job board and as we prepare for phase 2.

Going from 80 hrs a week to 2 full-time jobs

Residency work limits now restrict residents from working more than 80 hours per week. That's two full time jobs! So should it be easy for a resident to transition to two full-time jobs?

Given that many of us trained before the 80 hours laws went into effect, we often worked over 120 hours some weeks. When you're on call Q3 (every 3rd night) and you're getting zero sleep, you become a zombie. Are you working 80 hours a week? Do you find yourself working enough hours to fill two full-time jobs?

Maybe it's time to make a career transition so that you can have more time for your family. Perhaps it's time to work only 40 hours each week so that you can enjoy the rest of your life. This way, if you need to make some supplemental income, you can find a part-time job and still stay under 80 hours each week!

Alternative physician careers on Sermo

If you're a U.S. physician, you may like to know that Sermo has a "jobs" section where you can find some alternative physician career options. Last month, I saw a few involving medical writing/editing, health information technology, sales, telemedicine, consulting, and more. Plus, I also see that some physicians are looking for non-clinical jobs on Sermo.

It's free to join Sermo if you're a U.S. physician, so what are you waiting for?

The health care reform bill will boost traffic to this website

In the wake of major health care reform in this country, we will see more physicians considering non-clinical career options. Those who use Google to find information about non-clinical jobs will probably end up here. Others may find this site through word-of-mouth referrals. I'm collecting data to see how traffic to this site evolves now that the health care reform bill has passed.

Over the past few months, I've been very busy coaching physicians who wish to transition into non-clinical careers. This week, I received a handful of e-mails from physicians who are interested in finding non-clinical jobs. Is this just the beginning? How many more physicians will seriously consider a career transition out of clinical medicine? How many will make active plans to leave medicine?

Are You a Shutterbug? Consider a Career in Medical Photography

This is a guest post by Kitty Holman. If you're interested in submitting a guest post, please contact me.

As mentioned in a previous NonClinicalJobs blog post, medical professionals often indulge their creative side. Writing is one way to do so, but exploring the art of photography can easily become a fascinating and rewarding career option, too. If you’d like to fuse your medical expertise with your passion for photography, then consider getting involved with medical photography.

Surely you’ve read dozens of medical textbooks, manuals, and other medicine-related literature. Perhaps you’ve noticed that all these texts contain very detailed photography. Unlike, for example, wedding or news photographers, medical photographers require specialized knowledge that stretches beyond mere competence in the techniques of good photography. According to a very informative Encyclopedia article about medical photography, “…the medical photographer must have a good general knowledge of anatomy and an elementary knowledge of physiology and histology and be familiar with the common everyday terms used in pathology, bacteriology, radiology, and surgical procedures…”

Over 300 fans on our Facebook fan page!

We now have over 300 fans on Facebook on our "Non-Clinical Medical Jobs, Careers, and Opportunities for Physicians" fan page. We launched this fan page back in October 2009. Who knew there were that many physicians on Facebook!

Thanks for spreading the word! Let's see how many fans we can get on the Facebook fan page by October when we will celebrate a one-year anniversary for the fan page.

Social networking websites like Facebook can be very instrumental in helping you make some contacts in the non-clinical medical industry.  If you haven't become a fan yet, I hope you'll join the others to show your support of this website. Click here to become a fan on Facebook.

Soji's List of non-clinical physician jobs

There's a list out there called Soji's list. Who's Soji? If you visit the website, it says: "Chief Soji, MD is not a real person, don't bother looking us up. We are US-trained industry physicians giving just a little back."

What began in April 2008 has grown to a really nice list of non-clinical jobs for physicians. They used to post PDFs of the jobs, but now the website has changed and you have to subscribe to their e-mails to receive the most current list of jobs.

According to the website, 100% of all ad posting fees should be sent directly to Doctors Without Borders, American Red Cross, or a 501c3 medical charity.

Visit: http://www.sojislist.com/

Post and find jobs on Sermo

If you're a U.S. physician, you can join Sermo and post and find jobs in the "jobs" section of Sermo. Most of the jobs that are posted are for clinical positions, but occasionally you'll find a non-clinical job posted as well. I don't think that most of the Sermo physicians search that job board to look for non-clinical opportunities, but I could be wrong.

41% of visitors to NonClinicalJobs.com are from Internet search engines

This month, 41% of visitors were from Internet search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Over the past several months, this number has consistently grown and I'm eager to see how this trend will change in 2010. The top keywords that people are typing to find this site are:

• non clinical jobs for physicians
• non clinical physician jobs
• non-clinical careers for physicians
• non-clinical physician jobs
• non clinical careers for physicians 

We're observing a national phenomenon of physicians looking for alternative career options. More and more physicians are becoming interest in non-clinical opportunities so they can leave their clinical practice. 

If you're not already a member, I encourage you to join our social network of Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals (http://members.nonclinicaljobs.com). We have over 1,100 members and the majority are physicians, but non-physicians are also welcome to join and participate in our discussions about non-clinical job opportunities. 

Why do I blog about non-clinical jobs and careers for physicians?

You may be wondering why I blog about non-clinical jobs and offer career counseling services for physicians. Like many of you, I went to a well-respected college and a US medical school. I studied engineering at MIT and went straight into medical school upon graduating from college. When I was a medical student, I began to meet a variety of physicians who were leaving clinical practice and pursuing other ambitions. After recognizing that clinical medicine was not the “right fit,” I went on to explore my options in different non-clinical health care industries. By that time, I had gotten to know many physicians who had left clinical medicine to pursue jobs in industries such as: pharma, biotech, medical communications, consulting, medical writing, medical devices, market research, etc. Therefore, I was able to find non-clinical job opportunities relatively quickly because I knew what types of options I had and I also knew how to find these jobs. I leveraged my growing social network and landed my first full-time non-clinical job in a consumer health company.

Over the years, I’ve worked for several different companies that have allowed me to blend my clinical background with my passion for education and technology. I’ve had experience working with small companies, medium-sized companies, and large companies. I've been a salaried full-time employee and I've also consulted for several medical start-up companies. I’ve also had the opportunity to create my own company and learn about entrepreneurship. I am currently employed full-time in a medical education company and I spend my nights and weekends blogging and working with physicians who wish to transition into non-clinical careers.

I realize that many physicians do not personally know other physicians who work in non-clinical industries. Therefore, it may be difficult to know what’s feasible. Where do you get started? What kind of income could you make? Are you even qualified for certain jobs if you don’t have additional formal education or training beyond medicine? If you’re struggling with these types of questions, I believe I may be able to help you because I’ve had the opportunity to personally work with many physicians who have transitioned from clinical practice into full-time and part-time non-clinical positions. As they have encountered various questions and barriers along the way, we’ve navigated through all types of obstacles and challenge that you may also face as you look for non-clinical jobs.

Please note that I do not claim to be an expert about all the different non-clinical industries that are available. I routinely refer physicians to “subject matter experts” within specific industry domains. For instance, if you have very specific questions about the medical consulting industry, I would introduce you to a medical consultant who is willing to work with you and answer your questions about careers in that particular industry. I’ve personally had a significant amount of experience working in the following industries: medical communications, medical writing, health education, disease management, blogging, health IT, and medical consulting. I also frequently discuss topics related to social media and technology since I find that it improves your ability to get hired if you demonstrate that you’re familiar with these topics.

I also currently serve on the MIT Institute Career Advisor Network (ICAN) and also on the MIT Educational Council. I frequently speak with prospective MIT students, current MIT students and MIT alumni about career issues in the health care industry and I hope to have the opportunity to help you make a successful transition into the non-clinical sector.

Reflecting back on 2009

2009 really has been an amazing year. So much has happened specifically on this site, including the following:

• Discussions about major health care reform, which then led to...
  
• A significant growth in non-clinical job/career interest among physicians, so...
• We've seen an increased uptake in social media because...
• Physicians want to connect with others who have successfully transitioned into non-clinical careers.

That's the major story of 2009. Many physicians who are eager to make a career transition have connected personally with other physicians who can mentor and guide them through the process. Others have received valuable career counseling services to learn how to make the transition and find the right opportunities.

As the economy continues to go through some major changes, I think we can anticipate that at some point we will see the economy improve and many corporate jobs will begin to re-appear. Will you be ready to take advantage of that opportunity to enter a non-clinical career? What if that recovery occurs in 2010? Will you be prepared with a stunning resume? Or will you have a resume that quickly gets moved into the "discard" pile?

Salary negotiation tips

Are you a strong salary negotiator? Many physicians are not in the practice of negotiating salary. After all, what percentage of physicians are salaried? If you're in private practice, then you may feel like you're pulling some teeth from insurance companies to get paid, but that doesn't automatically make you a good negotiator.

So how should you negotiate salary when you're transitioning into the non-clinical sector? TheLadders.com has an article titled, "5 Ways to Negotiate Salary Requirements." This article has some solid tips that can be applied across any industry. However, the first point (Know what you’re worth in your geography) can be very difficult for physicians who are entering non-clinical industries. After all, do you know many physicians working for different types of companies? If you do, are you comfortable asking them about their salaries?

Websites like Salary.com, Payscale.com, Jobstar.org and Indeed.com provide good statistics on salary ranges for normal types of jobs, but physicians who work in companies are often filling atypical positions. Therefore, it can be a bit more challenging to evaluate your "worth" in the non-clinical industry.

• How much does a "medical director" make in a pharmaceutical company?
• What types of salaries can you expect if you work in public health?
  
• How much does a physician "medical writer" make in a communications company?
• What are the salary ranges for physicians working in government jobs?
  
• How much does a physician consultant make in a large consulting firm?

Do you know where to look for this type of information? Don't risk being underpaid. Work with someone who can help you negotiate a fair salary based on industry-specific market value rates.