Branching Out As An M.D.
By Jim Rudman, CEO, Ashton Tweed
Have you ever considered branching out from practicing as an M.D. or felt that you were stuck practicing medicine due to your medical degree? As the CEO of a life sciences recruiting firm, I have faced this dilemma with many qualified candidates looking to change up their careers. While being a doctor means you have a specific skillset, you may have additional skills that are not be being put to use, such as leadership, writing, speaking, teaching, or entrepreneurial skills. Fortunately, there isn’t only one way to be a doctor – your degree and experience can be put to use in different fields:
WRITE
If you enjoy writing, there are many avenues to put your skills to use. You have an authority that not everyone has! Whether you are interested specifically in medical writing, grant writing, or even freelance, people require a doctor’s expertise to write all different types of pieces.
TEACH
Teaching is an obvious alternative path to pursue. Opportunities in teaching are expanding beyond the traditional schoolteacher, university professor, or public speaker. You now have online options to host webinars, video training programs, or continuing medical education classes. The possibilities continue to grow, so explore what’s out there!
CONSULT OR ADVISE
After garnering significant experience as a medical doctor, your advice can be useful as a consultant, physician advisor, or career coach. These careers can be very rewarding if you are attracted to working one-on-one with people or businesses to solve difficult problems. If so, this is a good direction to consider.
BRANCH INTO ANOTHER SECTOR
Pack up your experience and bring it over to another innovative field in the life sciences. Pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic, and biotech companies all need medical expertise to research and develop their products and services. Digital and mobile technology companies also require a physician’s input for their devices because doctors better understand the needs of their users.
VENTURE CAPITALISM
Do you have financial skills that aren’t being used as an M.D.? If you are interested in helping emerging companies, your medical experience can help you make informed venture capital decisions in the healthcare and healthtech industries. This offers a chance to put your entrepreneurial skills to use in an exciting way!
HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATION
After gaining experience in a hospital, you may see room for improvement. Why leave the hospital at all if you know your experience in that environment is valuable? You could put your leadership skills to use in hospital administration or as a physician recruiter to make the improvements you deem necessary.
PRACTICE MEDICINE DIFFERENTLY
There are also several opportunities to practice medicine differently. Consider telemedicine, global health, public health, or alternative medicine. Depending on your skills and interests, you can create your own path within health and medicine.
There are many possibilities to use your medical experience in unique ways, so take your career into your own hands. An M.D. is a prized possession, not a ball and chain. If you are looking to branch away from practicing, consider the wide variety of options that are available to someone with your level of skill and expertise. But as I often tell the talented physicians that come to me for career advice, only you can ultimately decide what’s right for you.
Looking to hire experience MDs for your company? Contact Ashton Tweed CEO Jim Rudman today.
Looking to branch out? Upload your résumé today to hear about open opportunities.
Share your insights! Contact jamesrudman@ashtontweed.com to contribute your life sciences article as a guest writer.
