5 reasons to maintain a part-time clinical practice after you get a non-clinical job

These days, many physicians are eager to leave clinical practice for a variety of reasons. Some may find a great non-clinical job that pays well and doesn't demand too much of their time and they will jump on the opportunity to leave clinical medicine. There are a few critical questions to work through before you make a complete exit from clinical medicine:

• Should you maintain a part-time clinical practice if you leave the bedside?
• Should you maintain an active medical license, even if you don't intend to practice medicine?

Here are 3 reasons why you should maintain a part-time clinical practice, even after you land a non-clinical job:

1. Job insecurity. Let's face it: these days, job security simply doesn't exist in the corporate or business world. You may have a great job today, but your position may get eliminated or your company may go out of business.
2. Boredom. If you left clinical medicine because you were getting bored, you're at risk of getting bored in the non-clinical world as well. It may help you avoid boredom if you maintain a part-time clinical practice.
3. Barriers to re-entry back to clinical medicine. Someday, if you choose to re-enter clinical medicine, you're likely going to face a number of obstacles and hurdles to return to the bedside. If you maintain a part-time clinical practice, then re-entry becomes much easier.
4. To help during disasters. Natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes often call for medical assistance. You may want to volunteer your clinical skills during these situations.
5. To prepare for retirement. Do you have a plan for retirement? You may find it quite fulfilling to work or volunteer in a clinical capacity once you've reached retirement mode. Plus, you may find a nice way to earn some extra income. Part-time clinical jobs will be easier to find compared to non-clinical jobs if you're an older adult (dare I say "geriatric?")

So, there you have it. I can think of several more reasons to maintain a part-time clinical practice, but I'll wait until another day.

Part-time medical writing opportunities

I'm currently in the process of recruiting and hiring contributors for several different medical websites. If you'd like to explore some part-time writing opportunities, take a look at this:  Medical Writing Jobs

Part-Time (and Flex-Time) Physician Practice on the Rise

There's a great article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) titled, "Part-Time Physician Practice on the Rise." More physicians are recognizing the importance of balancing work and family life. As a result, there's a growing phenomenon of physicians choosing to work part-time. Given that many full-time physicians are working over 40 hrs/week (more like 60+ hrs), those working part-time are working 35 hrs/week and taking regular call.

I know many physicians who have established a blended career model where they spend very little time in clinical practice and they spend a greater amount of time in some type of non-clinical career.

Are you looking for ways to spend more time with your family? Perhaps you're getting burned out and you don't want to work 60+ hours in the clinical setting. Pursuing a part-time practice could be a great option if you're able to find a hospital or group practice that is open to the idea of employing you as a part-time physician. Then again, maybe it's time to significantly reduce your clinical responsibilities and find non-clinical sources of income generation. There's also the idea of job sharing. This is also seen in the corporate setting where two women who are raising a family may share a single job and divide the roles/responsibilities during the week. If you want to share a clinical job, you'll need to find a "partner" who's willing to share the workload with you.

Click here to read the article in the NEJM.

Generate Supplemental Income by Teaching for Kaplan Medical

Here’s a great non-clinical opportunity where you can generate supplemental income by teaching part-time.

Kaplan Medical is searching for qualified, energetic physicians to join as expert part-time instructors. If you have a passion for teaching and enjoy helping others reach their goals, teaching USMLE review might be right for you! With over 40 years of experience in health sciences education, Kaplan Medical is the leader in USMLE and COMLEX preparation.  This is a very rewarding opportunity and you can have the opportunity to shape the next generation of doctors. 

Ideal candidates will have completed medical school, obtained licensure, finished residency and should have some teaching experience at a medical school and/or hospital. A dynamic, creative personality and a love for teaching are a huge plus. Click here for a full list of qualifications

5 Great Reasons to teach for Kaplan Medical:

1.    Make a difference in students' lives by helping them excel on their licensing exams
2.    Earn excellent pay
3.    Enjoy flexible, part-time hours
4.    Work with well-respected peers in a stimulating environment
5.    Travel

Blogging jobs

Many people have asked me, "How much money can you make blogging?" The answer really depends on multiple factors such as website traffic, advertisement arrangements, sponsorship, etc.

Professional bloggers make a very wide range of salaries. Part-time bloggers make anywhere from $50/week to over $1,000/week. So, if you're thinking about getting started with blogging, you should be familiar with the market rate for blog posts. Many publishers and organizations will pay freelance bloggers up to $20 per article/blog post or $20/hr. Blogs that focus on health care may pay more ($30/article), but once you get experienced and established, you can find some publishers that are willing to pay over $100/article.

I know several people who currently have full-time blogging careers. Most people start out as a freelance blogger and then as they find more opportunities, they may slowly transition into a full-time blogger.

If you're looking for some part-time work and if you enjoy writing, then maybe you'll want to get involved with blogging. You should be warned because blogging can consume quite a bit of time. Once you get established, the income potential can go up significantly if you create your own blog, publish innovative content, and generate a high volume of traffic each month. Your income will be based primarily from selling advertisements on your site and Google makes this very easy (and automated) through Google AdSense.

Curious about the blogging world? You can find some blogging jobs here  http://jobs.problogger.net/

Featured Job: Physicians - Full or Part-time-Various Specialities

Physicians - Full or Part-time-Various Specialities
Tri State Occupational Medicine - Jackson, Corinth, Oxford, Clarksdale, MS

I am looking for a physician to join a group performing Consultative Exams for Social Security Disability in Mississippi. We have opportunities for full or part time work. My group provides all administrative needs including scheduling, transcription, assisting, and billing. Pay for the day's work is guaranteed regardless of turnout and is paid promptly regardless of time of collection. There is no call and no weekend work. Most full time physicians see patients 2 to 4 days a week. Physicians working for us have various background and training including IM, FP, pain mgt., surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiology, and general practice.

bgube@aol.com

Ten practical part-time jobs for medical students

When I was a medical student, I didn't work too many part-time jobs. How do you find to work if you're studying all the time? Plus, once you begin your clinical rotations, you lose complete control of your schedule.

Some medical students need to work to survive. What type of jobs should they find? Here are a ten practical suggestions:

1. Food services. Work in a restaurant. You'd be surprised how much you can make in tips if you work in a high-end restaurant. Of course, it can be difficult to get a job working in a high end restaurant if you don't have any restaurant experience, so it helps to start somewhere. You can even work for a coffee shop like a Starbucks.
2. Private tutoring. You'd be surprised at how much you can earn by tutoring college and high school students. Whether it's SAT test prep or science tutoring, you can set up a nice little private tutoring business for yourself. Alternatively, you may choose to work for a tutoring agency (but you won't make as much money). 
3. Test prep. Similar to tutoring, but consider working for a Kaplan or other type of test prep company. You'll be working with groups of students and giving lectures instead of working one-on-one with an individual student.
4. Medical or scientific research. If you're a medical student, you may find an opportunity to get involved in some basic science or clinical research. You're killing two birds with one stone by gaining valuable research experience and generating income on the side.
5. Blogging. Yes, if you're a good writer and you're persistent, then you can make money by blogging.  There are two major models of revenue generation: paid blogging and advertising. Some blog publishing networks will pay you $10-25 (or more) per blog post. 
6. Medical transcription. You're familiar with those medical terms, right?
7. Medical assistant. Some private physician offices or urgent care centers may be willing to hire you as a medical assistant. Its a great way to gain additional clinical experience.
8. Library assistant. Every medical school has a library, so you may want to look for some jobs in the library.
9. Technical support. You've seen those Geek Squad vehicles. If you're a technology expert, maybe you can help people with their computers. 
10. Retail. If you mainly want a weekend job, consider a retail job. Stores in the mall often have "help wanted" signs. I'd love to work in a bookstore. If you live near a medical supply store or a book store, then you may have more luck. 

Good luck!

Going back to school to pursue a non-clinical career

It's rather ironic, but there are non-clinical people going back to school to find clinical jobs (such as nursing, nursing assistant, pharmacy, pharmacy technician, radiology technician, etc.) and there are clinical people going back to school to find non-clinical jobs (such as consulting, health care business, administration, medical management, etc.). Wow, that was quite a full sentence, wasn't it?

Let's try it again: I know clinical people who are going back to school to pursue non-clinical jobs, and I also know many non-clinicians who are going back to school to pursue health care careers.

Maybe you've thought about going back to school. Maybe you're thinking about it right now. Are you looking at full-time programs? Part-time? Online? I know business executives who are applying to part-time nursing schools. I also know other executives interested in various part-time and full-time health care programs. Are you willing to work full-time and take courses part-time? That's one way of going back to school while maintaining your income.

However, maybe the big question to ask is: do you really need to go back to school? Are you a health care professional? Maybe you're thinking about business school to get an MBA. I've also recently spoken with physicians interested in public health and medical informatics and they are exploring graduate programs in those fields (MPH and MS in medical or biomedical informatics). So, how about you? Do you plan to go back to school to pursue a different career?

Work part-time or switch to a non-clinical career?

One question that I often get asked is: "I'd like to have more flexibility in my life. Is it better to work part-time in a clinical setting or to transition to a non-clinical career?"

The answer obviously depends on your level of clinical responsibilities and duties. If you're a trauma surgeon, I don't know how many part-time positions you'll find where you'll gain more flexibility in your life. If you're a pediatrician, then I'm sure you can find other partners who'd be willing to split schedules with you.

The transition into the non-clinical world isn't for everyone. The corporate life probably isn't suitable for most physicians. A flexible small business may be a better environment where certain people may thrive while others need the pressure-driven corporate environment that's often surrounded by rigid policies and clearly-defined structure. Some people like to "wear many hats" while others like to have a single, focused role.

At the end of the day, it's probably going to be easier to find a part-time clinical position compared to making the jump into the non-clinical (or business side) of medicine. However, as you assess your long-term career goals, here are a few things to consider:

• Do you want to have the flexibility to work from home at your own schedule?
• Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur?
• Do you actually enjoy clinical medicine? Will you really miss it if you leave?
• What types of family responsibilities do you have?
• How do you prioritize in your life?
  
• How do you define success?
• What motivates you?

Always consider your long-term goals as you set short-term and medium-term goals. You won't achieve your long-term goals overnight, but you need to have a structured plan if you'd like to get there.

Paid physician surveys

Doctors are in a unique position to earn some supplemental income by filling out surveys. Consider this one form of non-clinical moonlighting. You sit in front of your computer and spend 15-45 minutes filling out surveys. Then, you close your computer and wait for the check in the mail. Some of these surveys pay several hundred dollars per survey. Most of these are market research surveys, but you may also see some that are focused on educational research. Some surveys give you Amazon gift credit instead of cash. Would you prefer cash or Amazon gift credit? Want to start earning some extra cash through paid surveys? An easy place to get started is Sermo (but this site is only for U.S. physicians).

Jobs during medical school

What types of jobs do medical students have? It's hard to believe that medical students actually time for a part-time, let alone a full-time job. However, I know several students who went through the first two years of medical school holding part-time jobs. I also know that some students have various types of Internet-based businesses. This can be anywhere from blogging to selling antiques on eBay. Remember, there are many non-traditional medical students who have extensive experience in law, business, consulting, and other industries. They may have some part-time non-clinical jobs that keep them busy on the side.

So, what happens when you ask medical students about their part-time jobs? Here's what you get:

• Working at a country/golf club on the weekends
  
• Tutoring (I have experience with this)
  
• Working in a restaurant
• Blogging or medical writing
  
• Donating to a sperm or egg bank
• Research (let me clarify - being a human research subject)
• Working in the school library
• Pizza delivery
• Online business
  
• Ice cream store (now that would be my first choice)
  
• And of course, working as an exotic dancer (wasn't that on a TV show? Yes, on Grey's Anatomy, but don't start getting any ideas.)

This list isn't meant to be exhaustive. Keep in mind that many students simply live off their school loans and they don't bother getting part-time jobs. Who has the time when you're trying to memorize all those body parts and drugs?

Working part-time

I know many clinicians who keep a part-time schedule and fill their other time with non-clinical projects. Do you have an interest in doing some part-time writing or consulting? Perhaps even blogging? Well, the opportunities are out there and you need to search and find them.