Physician Issues Archives - Physician on FIRE

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Why are Doctors Burning Out? Three Ways FIRE Can Save Us

Physician_Burnout

Burnout is a hot topic among medical professionals. Some call it moral injury; others refer to it as a lack of resilience. Personally, I probably had some mild symptoms, but knowing that I had a clear pathway to a different life kept burnout at bay. It helps to know you can walk away. It’s the opposite of feeling trapped. Physician burnout is being addressed from many angles, but there’s only so much the individual can do. Yoga, meditation, and happy […]

The Lucrative Side Hustles of a 7-Figure Urologist

side hustle urologist

Early in 2019, we heard the origin story of a 7-figure urologist. In that post, he focused on his upbringing, his education, and the way he has structured his practice. He returns with a detailed description of how he has benefited from a number of lucrative “side hustles” that have resulted from both his position as a physician and his ingenuity and willingness to take risks. All combined, his side gig money adds up to more than the annual salary […]

The Pros and Cons of a Doctor Going Part-Time

Relax

Today’s Saturday Selection focuses on what has become the dream of more and more physicians. That is, to cut back to part-time work. For many doctors, it would be a dream to cut back to full-time work, as 60 to 80 hour workweeks are not uncommon in the profession. Can you imagine how much more time you’d have if you “only” worked 40 hours a week? For the better part of the final two years of my anesthesia career, I […]

Landing a Doctor Job: How to Compare Positions for Physicians

anesthesiologist

Are you actively looking for a job as a physician? The fall is a good time to be looking, as final-year residents and fellows are actively interviewing for their first attending positions, just as medical students are beginning to interview for residency slots. When evaluating different jobs, there are so many factors to consider. It’s not just the job and the contract, but also the place and the circumstances. If you’re not single, you’ve also got one or several more […]

How To Ask For What You Want At Work… And Get It

family of three in spain

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” -My Dad Sometimes, it’s just that simple. If you have a desire, you need to make it known. Usually, the worst response you can get is “no,” and you’re right where you were if you hadn’t asked at all. You might be surprised when the answer isn’t “no,” but instead it’s a “maybe” or even a “yes.” As my friend Dr. Dawn Baker tells us in today’s guest post, there are tactics that […]

The 2019 Student Loan Resource Page

student loan bonus

Welcome to the newly updated 2019 Student Loan Resource Page! For several years, I’ve been reading and compiling articles from around the web on all things related to student loans. It can be overwhelming, and there’s a reason a small industry has been spawned to help debtors best deal with their student loan balances. Most of the time, you will be best off doing one of two things: pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness while making the lowest monthly payment possible […]

9 Reasons to Go On a Medical Mission and 1 Reason to Not Go

Last spring, my family and I enjoyed a meaningful trip volunteering on a surgical mission in Honduras. After I returned, I wrote a lengthy recap, describing what each of us did in our week there. I also asked my readers to join me on a followup trip a year later, and several of them did. Among them was the Doc of All Tradez, an anesthesiologist from the midwest who turned out to be an absolute pleasure to work with and […]

Maximize your Practice’s Profits: Payer Rate Negotiation vs. Concierge Practice vs. Direct Care

business-world

Employed physicians may not have a lot of autonomy, but they don’t have to think much about the billing side of medicine, either. It’s a jumbled mess of ICD-10 codes, relative value units, and if you work in anesthesia like I once did, ASA units and CPT codes. Every payer offers different rates for the various charges, and your ability to negotiate fair rates to cover expenses and pay yourself appropriately can be the difference between a thriving practice and […]

Is it Wrong for Doctors to Retire Early?

Cheboygan River

Is it wrong for doctors to retire early? That’s the question posed by Dr. James Turner in today’s Saturday Selection. It could be that people have always had strong opinions on this topic (and virtually any topic under the sun), but in this age of social media and comments sections, people can more easily share their opinions with the whole world with the click of a mouse or the tap of a phone screen. I know there are plenty of […]

You Are the Average of the Five Physicians You Spend the Most Time With

Average_of_5

If I’m the average of the five people I spend the most time with, I’m about to get a lot shorter and sassier. Note that the sass comes from my kids and the short stature comes from all three. I would never publicly accuse my wife of being sassy even if she… nevermind. Dr. Peter Kim is saying that, as a physician, you’re the average of the five physicians you spend the most time with. In that case, I should […]

Is Medical School Worth the Cost?

Northrop Auditorium

The decision to attend medical school, assuming you have the grades, scores, and experiences to gain entry, is not one to be taken lightly. The costs in terms of time, youth, and opportunity cost are enormous. Jake Tabbot of Med School Tips reached out after running some numbers to try to determine whether or not it might be worthwhile from a strictly financial perspective. Obviously, there are many other non-monetary reasons to pursue the profession, but the question posed is […]

How to Find Your Side Hustle

Find a Side Hustle

When you get tired of doing the same thing day in and day out and are ready to do something different, a side hustle can give you the outlet you need, while creating some income on the side, as well. Sometimes you have to seek out that side hustle. Other times, it finds you. I thought I might enjoy writing on a blog of my own, and within a year, I had a legitimate side gig. My friend Travis Hornsby […]

How to Choose a Medical Specialty

Choosing_a_Medical_Specialty

Choosing a medical specialty is no easy task. You’re faced with this task as a third year medical student trying to look good on every clerkship while working long hours and often with only the view of what the specialty looks like from an academic perspective. At one time, I thought I might enjoy pediatrics, but then I did a 180 and considered radiology. Somehow, I landed on anesthesiology, which I think was actually a great choice for me. Today, […]

Online Term Life Insurance Quotes: PolicyGenius Versus Term4Sale

PG_Featured

We recently covered disability insurance and the mistakes that doctors make. Today, I’d like to look at another insurance product that is important for many high-income professionals: term life insurance. This is the good kind of life insurance that exists for one reason. It ensures that anyone relying on your income will be financially secure if you suffer an untimely and early death. There is no investment component. Like home, auto, and umbrella insurance, it’s important coverage to have, and […]

Top 5 Mistakes Doctors Make With Disability Insurance

Pattern Life

Before we start to talk about what we get wrong with disability insurance, I should tell you that I personally do not carry disability insurance. It’s true. If I were no longer able to perform my duties as an anesthesiologist, I would no longer earn a paycheck. And yet, reviewing the list below, I don’t believe I’ve made a single mistake regarding disability insurance. You see, I did once buy a true own-occ disability insurance policy from a reputable company […]

Physician, Know Thyself: A Self-Identity Crisis

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Dr. James Turner has an important question to ask you today. Who are you? It’s a simple and seemingly harmless question, but it’s important to know the answer. And that answer needs be more than “I’m a doctor,” or “I’m a lawyer,” “I’m an important cog in the big machine.” As you’ll learn in today’s tale, putting too many identity eggs into one ego basket can be very problematic if that basket is taken away. For much of my adult […]

Your Personal Brand: Why Building Authority is Key to Your Success

Vitals_Branding

I spent eight years living in Minneapolis in the 1990s and early 2000s. There were billboards all over town advertising major retailers, auto dealers, amusement parks, and confident-looking lawyers. I don’t remember seeing larger-than-life physicians overlooking the freeway exits back then, but when I visit the city now, they’re everywhere! By the time I get downtown, I’m trying to decide between a facelift with local anesthesia, a vasectomy reversal, or a same-day joint replacement. I’m still undecided, but I do […]

5 Tips For Beating Physician Burnout

mud run

Some call it physician burnout. Others focus on prevention, citing physician resilience as an important preventive quality. Some reject those terms in favor of more accurate depictions. Dr. Zubin Damania, a.k.a. ZDogg MD recently produced a video describing the epidemic as the result of moral injury. However you want to frame the issue, it’s a real problem. Disillusioned physicians become overwhelmed, disempowered, and disengaged. I’ve suggested monetary solutions — there are situations that can be helped by both saving and […]

5 Traits Doctors Share with Successful Entrepreneurs and Investors

Child Chess

In The Millionaire Next Door, physicians are not painted in the most positivite light, At least, not when it comes to money management. In fact, Drs. Stanley and Danko discovered that physicians were twice as likely to be in the lowly UAW (under accumulator of wealth) group than the prestigious PAW (prodigious accumulator of wealth) cohort. Dr. Peter Kim thinks we’ve got what it takes to turn that around, and he makes some insightful observations on the things doctors have […]

Aligning Careers With Your Physician Spouse

group of doctors

My wife will be the first to tell you being married to a physician isn’t always easy. There’s the toll stress can take on the doctor. The missed dinners and lost weekends. Single parenting and the frequent chirp of the pager at all hours of the night on a regular basis. When I’m on call, we both suffer. One thing we don’t have to worry about is the impact on her career. Although she’s got a few degrees hanging on […]

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