alternative medical careers

[JD]

Hi,
I’m a mom to two kids: a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I’m presently working part-time (which I like) but for job security reasons will probably be soon forced to work full-time, which I really don’t want to do. I live in a very competetive area and part-time jobs are hard to come by – everyone wants a full-time (and then some) commitment.

I am seriously considering not practicing anymore (I actually could live without it financially and emotionally) but I really don’t want to quit work altogether. I know physicians can work for pharmaceutical companies but I don’t even know how to start looking into something like that. I really can’t think of any other careers available to MDs. Can anyone give me some suggestions?

Thanks.
JD

[maggie52]

review charts for ins comp….
call the 1800 # for the drug co you are interested in- look on thier website…
fill in for docs who are going on vacation for a week or two in your specialty

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I am in a similar situation. It seems most people want full time commitments and it is hard to find a part time position. How do you go about reviewing charts for insurance companies?

[maggie52]

I know of RNs who review charts….I would probably call the company themselves (whoever is local for you, or even long distance if you could do it by computer) I’ll try to find out for you…

[sisriver]

Just wanted to offer that I work fulltime because of job-security reasons. I sure hope for a time in the future when parttime opportunities are more available and secure.

[njbmd]

How about the malpractice insurance? As some know, I just walked away from my practice 2 months ago to stay home full time w/ the kids. I would have stayed part time, but believe it or not I could not afford it! They offered me a 20% break on my premium, but I had to document I only worked 20 hours a week. By the time I ceovered my overhead there would be almost nothing left! And God forbid there would be weeks when those 20 hours are not filled- ( a real possibility as a specialist once you go to part time and your referral base starts looking elsewhere). Those weeks I would acutally be paying to go to work! Get this- in our state the major carrier has a moratorium on new policies unless you are a new grad. So if I cancel my malpractice while I am deciding what to do, they would not take me back. So I have to pay 25% of my premium every year for a ‘suspended’ policy. They really have us over a barrel.

[sisriver]

Wow! 😮 From a philosophical perspective, how do we create a world where we can slow down if we want/need to? (for the sake of our children or for other reasons?)

[JD]

Another question(though it may sound crazy): Has anyone ever considered going through even more schooling to achieve a more flexible career? My husband (a physician)keeps telling me to consider going to law school, at least part-time. He seems to think having an MD JD would enable you to write your own ticket – excellent salary, flexible hours. I actually never minded school, tests, etc. but with two small children it would be a nightmare unless I quit my medical career altogether.

Anyone know an MD-JD or what the employment prospects are for one?

[GracieThree]

I knew of a JD who went through med school and now practices family medicine, but don’t know of someone who combines both. I have considered going for a JD (complete geek – like school) but have not for the same reason – what would one do with all that training? I want to eventually work fewer hours. It seems to me adding a law degree would not be a step in that direction!

Any one else’s thoughts?

[EM mom]

I do know several people with MD-JDs but like GracieThree, I don’t know anyone that uses them both at the same time. One woman I know is a urologist and is never going to use her JD. One man is a EM doc who is currently in law school and doesn’t plan on practicing medicine anymore when he is done. Although I too love the idea of going to law school (we must all be nuts!), I don’t think I would invest the time and energy away from my daughter unless I had a really good plan of what to do with it. Just my :twocents: !

[njbmd]

I’m not sure that more education is necessarily the answer. We are all so good at it that it doesn’t seem like a big deal to just get another degree, but the cost and time effectiveness just isn’t there. There are probably other careers available to us without wasting more money and energy.

[tim]

Hi folks–
I made a recent post (Teaching CAM…)
before I saw your posts.

I was pretty disgusted with mainstream medicine and was thinking about getting out when I lucked upon (though I refer to it as ‘the hand of God’–and I’m not particularily religious) a doc who trained me in totally new ways to practice medicine and run a clinic.

Check out my post and/or my web page at
altdoc.250x.com/drspage.html

Drop me a line if you’d like–
etim@mail.com

Tim

[UMMD]

Hi all,
I could lament with many of you. I am a general internist in academics. I work part-time, and am quite alone in doing so at my institution. No real policies. Works for me but with no benefits, no official academic title.
This is not true elsewhere. There are many institutions/universities who welcome part-time tracks. But each is unique, need to soul search and prioritize. Many challenges along the way in trying to be “successful” in academia. There are many added pressures and lots of extra work that has to be done after hours, which infringes on family time too.
For those of you in dual-physician households, i sometimes wonder how we do it. seems like the moms are the ones to scale back. I love the flexibility and time I have with my kids, but also find it tough to see my husband advancing more. We toyed with the idea of being in practice together at one point, too, but I think that is just a dream. Financially, it would likely be a disaster, especially with the way malpractice is in our state.
I am eager to hear more from the couples in medicine. Not sure how to post a new topic. I will look into it now.
Bye 🙂

[JK]

:wave: Wow! Reading the other posts is almost like reading my diary (if I had time to keep one)!I was working part-time and LOVED it. I am in academics so my malpractice was covered by the university. BUT I ‘ve had to go full-time for now for job security and it’s hard. I’m a pediatrician and just found out that the nurse anesthetists in my hospital make a lot more than I do. On the otherhand, I am thankful to have the education and the means to support myself and my daughter if I needed to…most of my friends at-home moms and I wonder what would happen to them if their husband left.

[JK]

:wave: Wow! Reading the other posts is almost like reading my diary (if I had time to keep one)!I was working part-time and LOVED it. I am in academics so my malpractice was covered by the university. BUT I ‘ve had to go full-time for now for job security and it’s hard. I’m a pediatrician and just found out that the nurse anesthetists in my hospital make a lot more than I do. On the otherhand, I am thankful to have the education and the means to support myself and my daughter if I needed to…most of my friends at-home moms and I wonder what would happen to them if their husband left.

[Author]

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