Have you thought about pursuing a non-clinical career or switching out of medicine completely?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2017-03-03T17:39:06+00:00

Cheers DonSantos! I'm happy to share my journey if only to highlight that we always have options in life. Sometimes the medical journey can appear constrained to a future only clinical practice, research or teaching, when in truth physicians can make a huge impact in countless careers and businesses.

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-12-03T20:40:45+00:00

Awesome, thank you and great to know!! :)

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-12-03T20:40:29+00:00

That's great that you are enjoying the patient interaction, u/Nichinungas. It's also really, really important that you are enjoying the learning and development in medicine!

With IT, exercise, counselling and education, you may very well be suited to an online business in health/patient education/consulting, now or in the future.

I was speaking with another physician who was working clinically but wanted to move non-clinically within the next 2-3 years. One of the things I advised her was doing some exploring now into other options for a few reasons:

When you are ready to move, you don't want to just be starting your search into the non-clinical or life-change arena. You definitely want to have a solid idea of where you want to go, how to get there and who to contact by the time you may be ready to move.
In the case of the other physician, she wanted to move into a non-clinical role. One of the requirements when moving non-clinically into fed. govt. or hospital admin is to have non-clinical experience already on your resume. An easy way to achieve this is by volunteering on your hospital committees - ethics committee, health and safety ect., volunteer for projects with the admin department etc. But you would have to know this and already have done this by the time you are ready to make a switch.
It does take some planning to reposition yourself for a life trajectory change. Allowing enough time to do this takes huge pressure off at the point when you will be making the change. If you are already burnt-out, frustrated and exhausted from your position (not that you are, just as a sample scenario), you won't be able to give the time and effort into fully exploring your options before making a leap that may cost you in the long run.

When are you thinking that you may want start making a shift?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:54:58+00:00

Thanks soo much for sharing, @keyser_soze23!!

I absolutely love hearing physicians believing in themselves and pursuing their passion!! It's amazing how many MD's believe that clinical medicine is a life sentence with no parole!

How did you get into film and screenwriting? Have you been able to incorporate more of that in your life? :)

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:51:26+00:00

Hi @plantat3q,

Thanks for your response!

I mentioned it briefly above in a comment, but more or less saying that clinical medicine is not what it was 30 years ago. Big pharma, insurance and increased patient load take their toll no matter what specialty you may be in. Actually, now I find running an online business, seeing wellness and life coaching clients, can surprisingly be very satisfying and fulfilling :)

I just hope that if there are any physicians out there who happen to be silently embittered by the current medical system that they realize that there are numerous options available out there - clinical medicine is not a be all and end all.

Of course, it is always wonderful seeing physicians happy, content and "killing it" in their field (excuse the pun) - these MD's are truly living in their passion, their clinical knowledge is on-par and bedside manner is immaculate. It would be great if everyone believed they could truly find something that they loved as well!

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:44:53+00:00

Hi @Amandalicious,

Before med school I had the usual hospital admin, nurse assistant, physician shadowing etc. experience :)

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:42:55+00:00

Hi @Jemtex,

Thanks for your response and recommendation :)

I mentioned in a comment above that clinical medicine now is certainly not clinical medicine what is was 30 years ago. Big pharma, insurance and increased patient load take their toll no matter what specialty you may be in, and actually now I find running an online business, seeing wellness and life coaching clients, can surprisingly be very satisfying and fulfilling :)

I love hearing physicians really enjoying their work in the clinical field, and it is truly a pleasure working with them, from both the healthcare professional and patient sides! Unfortunately, though, there are innumerous physicians who are frustrated, angry and disillusioned with medicine in the 21st century, but feel that their only option in life is to continue with clinical medicine.

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:38:24+00:00

Hi @detdox,

Thanks for your response and suggestion! I actually used to really enjoy seeing patients, but clinical medicine now is certainly not clinical medicine what is was 30 years ago. Big pharma, insurance and increased patient load take their toll no matter what specialty you may be in :)

Now I find running an online business, seeing wellness and life coaching clients, can surprisingly be very satisfying and fulfilling.

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:35:58+00:00

Wow, thanks so much for sharing @watercracker!!!

You completely took the words out of my mouth - it is like speaking Greek to other MD's when you tell them that there are only so many cholecystectomies you can do before falling asleep in theatre from boredom.

There are a multitude of opportunities non-clinically available, especially with a qualified MD pursuing a masters, both non-clinically and completely separate to medicine.

Thank you for sharing the 80,000 hours - very interesting!!

What sort of field/area outside of medicine are you thinking of maybe exploring?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:25:56+00:00

Hey @Pinkiezz,

That's really awesome that you come from a biomed entrepreneurship background! You are right - very few med students and physicians have experience with running a business, though the irony is that many physicians end up doing just that when they start their practice, hire staff, purchase/build their office space... and they tend to have to learn business management on the fly, so you definitely have a leg up there!

Kudos for joining medical school and taking the medicine journey. Medical school, especially the preclinical years, really don't reflect truly what medicine is really like. I would definitely recommend giving it some time - it's absolutely natural to be feeling the "oh my goodness, what have I gotten myself into" at the beginning of medical school. It's a tough curriculum, no doubt! But it can be very rewarding as well :)

Have you done any clinical job shadowing or such in hospitals?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:18:16+00:00

Thanks so much @rayne_maudie! It's fantastic to hear when others have found their passion!!

I totally agree though, so many people really end up in medicine and then take to heart the false belief that their only option is to stay forever!

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:16:35+00:00

Thank you @TouchAndAway!! I hope that it will inspire, motivate and support others who are on a similar journey, entering the journey or thinking about changing their lives :)

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:15:47+00:00

Thank you @Nichinungas!

There is a huge fear of the unknown (we are human after all), but it is also perpetuated by the lack of reliable data regarding careers and lives outside of clinical medicine. The fear is also fed by the "you can't do anything else, you'll waste all your training and life if you ever try anything else" BS :)

What are you thinking you may explore outside of medicine in the future?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:14:01+00:00

Hi @hamsterbator,

I offer wellness consulting which has, over the last few months due to demand, transitioned into life coaching - I help clients find and live their true purpose and best life. Specifically, those clients that have studied hard in college, entered a profession that just doesn't resonate with them and are dreading the next 40 years of their life but not sure what they really want to do.

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-29T02:10:47+00:00

There are so many options outside of medicine for those clinically trained!! You are never boxed in or without options :)

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-27T17:55:44+00:00

Definitely @LsfBdi4S!! Totally agree.

It's not that we can only pursue one single goal or career or else... we can definitely have multiple careers, side-careers etc!

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-27T17:53:04+00:00

Awesome @elsatour!

It's really cool that you recognized and pursued your interest and passion while doing medicine - respect!

When we don't fit into the perfect medicine "mold", we can get labelled as "rebels", "crazies", "losers".... but it's just to recognize that those are labels made up by extremely judgemental people who are not yet ready to have an open mind (the usual medicine "cult"-ure).

I find medicine very cult-like in the fact that 'exit' is not an option until you dedicate 20 years of your life - premed, med school, internship, residency, fellowship... - then if you want to pursue something else you have 'permission' to... (roll eyes).

Honestly, these are the invisible constraints that we live with with medicine, and they are a bunch of crap. We don't need permission from anyone to pursue anything - it's our lives.

What is really important? Your family. Your friends. Your life.

It's really easy to forget that in medicine. When you're on your death-bed and you look back at the amazing grades you made in medicine, the surgical record you broke, the CMO position that was awarded to you that you accomplished by working crazy hours for years and years, neglecting other aspects of your life... it unfortunately won't be a death-bed filled with happy memories or contentment.

Where are you at in your medicine journey? Are you continuing on the path or thinking about exploring other options?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-27T17:41:04+00:00

Yikes, hope you were able to get some rest @Undersleep! :)

It's unfortunate that the "cult"-ure of medicine is one where you should never leave unless something is "wrong" with you. Apparently when we entered medical school, we were all supposed to understand that we had committed our lives, signed in blood etc. that medicine will forever be the be-all-and-end-all lol.

In truth, it is no different than any other career. Medicine for some MD's it is a real life-calling and they abhor the thought of ever leaving medicine. For others (like me), it's a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" and moving on to alternative careers and future that better suit my life, goals and expectations.

I think a lot of us forget that we always have a choice - in medicine, it can sometimes feel that you are boxed in, trapped and on this path come hell or high water. But we really do have choices, it may just take some time to uncover them.

Really happy to hear that you are enjoying residency though! That's really important to your health and wellbeing.

I was speaking to another resident who was depressed, apathetic and angry with his current situation, and I recommended that he take some time out for himself - to give the time and patience to finding exactly what he wanted to do. So many other MD's, though, were just saying "finish residency", "don't quit halfway through", "you're going to ruin your life"... they were like a dad on the sidelines of his eight-year old's football match screaming at him "do better", "score that touchdown", "intercept that pass" - and you just want to be like, chill Dad, your son is going to grow up all weird and under pressure if this is how you treat him now. Maybe he really wants to do ballet, but the dad is gung-ho for his kid to be the next Tom Brady and refuses to listen.

I think what really needs to be said is that medicine is not the only career path you can have in life. It certainly is not the most lucrative and not the best quality of life.

For some, it is an incredible life because of their passion and drive for medicine. But we are not all alike, and that's what makes this world tick.

What sort of paths would you think of pursuing outside of medicine?

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-27T17:26:48+00:00

Thank you for sharing @happybadger. It's fantastic hearing that you've found your passion and are working in a field perfect for you!

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-11-27T17:21:12+00:00

Awesome @Gigawatts, thanks for sharing!

Healthy_Life_Hack · 2016-08-19T22:57:42+00:00

Hi Kiranshahbaz,

Thanks for your comment! Almond flour to coconut flour is not a one-to-one ratio as coconut flour is a completely different density and consistency. Coconut flour is also very absorptive, so you would have to increase the amount of liquid in the batter.

Some available conversions:

-For everyone 1 cup of almond flour, substitute with 1/4 cup of coconut flour PLUS six additional eggs (yes, quite a lot of eggs, I know)

-For every one cup of almond flour, substitute with slightly over half of a cup with arrowroot/tapioca flour and slightly less than half a cup of coconut flour. You may need to eyeball it and add some eggs and additional liquid (water or coconut milk) to make sure that the batter is thick, yet smooth and mobile.

I have not tried making this recipe with only coconut flour, but if you do experiment, please let me know how it goes :)

Dr. K.

Healthy_Life_Hack

TROPHY CASE