Non Clinical Doctors
  • Non-clinical jobs for doctors
    • How to Find a Non-Clinical Job
    • Medical career strategies
    • Transition Toolkit
    • Physician Success Stories
    • Wound Care Physician
  • Where to find non clinical jobs
    • Job Openings
    • Medical Writing and Strategy Agencies
    • Medical Review Companies
    • Medical Writing Job
    • Clinical Research Training
  • Useful Links
  • Careers for Physicians Without Residency
    • Licensing and Programs for International Physicians
  • Resources For Physicians With Disability
  • Re-Entry Into Medicine
  • Tips from your doctor
  • How to Become a Licensed Physician in the USA

Transition Toolkit

The instruction Manual For Doctors Considering Career Change

Read this before you drop out of medical residency

7/1/2022

 
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Physicians need to complete at least one year of training in a certified residency program and must pass all three parts of the USMLE to become qualified to apply for a medical license. Residency entails a 3-7 year minimum commitment of training to attain clinical skills and board eligibility. Residency is highly sought after, and there are hundreds of candidates who do not match each year.

I want to drop out
But what if, after finishing medical school, matching, and starting your training, you decide that you hate residency and want to leave before finishing? What if you decide that you want to pursue another avenue? You will most likely receive a number of different messages from various people.
I have received this question over a hundred times, and I have heard over one hundred different stories of why residents want to drop out, including:
  • Bullying
  • Hostility
  • Burnout
  • Anxiety
  • Disenchantment
  • A sense of missing out on your true calling
  • Concern about the future of medicine
  • Finding out that peers who are not doctors are earning a good income
  • Landed another good opportunity

The answer of whether or not you should leave residency depends on how you visualize your future.

You can decide by asking yourself the following questions.
  • Do you want to practice medicine the same way that senior level physicians in your specialty practice medicine?
  • Do you want to become a leader in your specialty?
  • Do you want to work in your specialty, but not as a leader?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you need to stay in your residency to become qualified.
Your discouragement is understandable, but dropping out will not help you get where you want to go.
  • If bullying, intimidation or harassment are driving you out of your program, seek the assistance of a mentor (preferably a senior faculty in your specialty) who can advocate for you. There is a strong chance that the person or people who are behaving unprofessionally with you are also behaving unprofessionally with others, and your complaint is likely to be one of several complaints.

If you answered no to all of the above questions, then move on to the following questions.
  • Do you want to practice medicine the same way senior physicians in another specialty practice medicine?
  • Have you discovered that another specialty that you were not previously exposed to is appealing?

If you answered yes to either of those questions, then you need to develop good relationships with your program directors and transfer into a different residency.
You deserve to practice the specialty you want to- and even if you waste a few years of training to get the specialty you want- you will find the extra training well worth it.

If you answered no to all of the questions so far, then move on to the next question.
  • Would you like to be a leader in the health care field?
  • Do you want to work in a non-clinical job in medicine?
If you would like to be a leader in health care or work in a non-clinical job in medicine, the honest truth is that you will have a very hard time if you do not complete residency. It is true that leaders in health care can be nurses, PhDs, pharm Ds and MBAs. But the vast majority of non-physician healthcare professionals did not leave their own training and are certified and usually experienced in their own fields.
I am sure you don't want to hear this, but, completing your residency actually puts you on par with non-physicians who are qualified in their own areas.


If you have still answered no to every question so far, then move on to the next question.
  • Would you prefer to work as a businessperson, a lawyer, an investor, a journalist, a professional consultant, an entrepreneur or in any other field with little to no emphasis on medicine?

If you answered yes, then leaving residency is probably in your best interest. Residency, board eligibility and board certification will not help you attain these types of positions any more than just having a graduate degree. In fact, this is the only instance in which you will waste time professionally by remaining in your residency. But, be aware that your medical school and your residency will not be helpful in getting you the job you are looking for, and that you will have to start at the bottom and work your way up.

For more information on how to find a non-clinical job,  see Careers Beyond Clinical Medicine. Find out more about your specific career options without residency here.
You can also see a resource dedicated to quitting residency here.

Should doctors who do not want to practice patient care take the USMLE?

6/24/2022

57 Comments

 
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In medicine, the top 3 measures of a physician's value lie in certification, certification and certification. 

This is especially true in the United States.
I have heard from doctors throughout the country who want to know if the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a necessary pre-requisite for non-clinical positions.

The answer to this frequent question is - sometimes the USMLE helps and sometimes it doesn't.

What is the USMLE?
You are required to pass parts 1 and 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) in order to get your MD degree from a US medical school. Most DOs trained in the United States also take it. And you cannot receive a medical license without passing parts 1, 2 and 3 of the USMLE.

The tricky part is that it is recommended to take part 3 of the USMLE after your internship- and it has been getting harder and harder for foreign medical graduates, international medical graduates, and some US medical graduates to match into residency programs in recent years. More doctors can't match into an internship than ever before, and thus they cannot get a medical license.

And some doctors-in-training already know that they want to get out of clinical medicine early in the medical training process. This is where the question of how to succeed without taking the USMLE comes up.
To find out more about 'dropping out' of residency, see here.


Success without USMLE?
There are numerous success stories of non-clinical doctors who have reached high salaries and attained prestigious professional appointments in jobs that are outside of patient care. And some did not rely on licensure or certification.

But, your choices without a medical license are limited, so if you have an opportunity to take licensing exams- don't walk away from the opportunity just so that you can more quickly apply for an entry level non-clinical job. If you are a doctor, you know how to pass exams and you know how to score well. Just do it.

If you have a solid non-clinical offer on the table that you don't want to pass up, then it is understandable that you would want to jump at the chance to build your non-clinical experience if your long-term goal is to become a leader or an executive in the non-clinical arena of healthcare. When you have a solid contract in front of you, if you want to take a break from tests and prove your worth in the non-clinical world, by all means go with your gut. Nevertheless, if you have time to study for your board exams while working that non-clinical job, it is best to do both. (I know, this is not what you wanted to hear.)

You can only achieve success without the USMLE if you become distinguished enough that companies want to recruit you. However, it takes some time to build such a stellar resume to be recruitable - and sometimes the entry-level and mid-level work that builds your resume does require medical licensure.

Why take the USMLE?
Whether you are an entrepreneurial minded foreign graduate with years of clinical experience overseas under your belt or whether you are a recent graduate from a medical school in an exotic tropical location or whether you are a U.S. graduate who didn't match- the unpleasant truth is that state licensure and specialty certification opens some doors that your MD or DO does not, even if your goal is in non-clinical work.

So the short answer is- if you don't have a non-clinical offer in place, continue to make yourself the most qualified candidate that you can possibly be. And the USMLE is the most recognized way to do that, even for non-clinical jobs. A medical license is required for most non-clinical positions that require chart review or litigation review. If you have your foot in the door to a non-clinical opportunity, follow the path that best matches your long term goals, but keep in mind that most non-clinical positions are not known for being secure.

What if I can't take the USMLE?
If you absolutely cannot take the USMLE, but still want to work, you have to really decide whether you want to stay in the medical field or not. There are other ways to work in the medical field, and becoming an expert in regulatory matters is one of the most powerful steps you can take.

Fortunately, even without the USMLE, there are a number of non-clinical entry level positions which require some form of official specialty certification. For example, a clinical research associate can earn about $75/hr without residency, and must take a specialized training course.

Learn more about jobs for doctors without residency or licensing here.

57 Comments

Burning Bridges

10/5/2018

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Q: I am about to finish my Internal Medicine training and I want to try to find a non-clinical job. I am not sure that will work out, so I am concerned that if I ask for recommendations from my attendings, they will see me as less dedicated to clinical medicine, and I will lose my chances at good recommendations for clinical jobs if I need them.

A: You don’t need to worry about your attendings seeing you as less dedicated if you ask for letters of recommendations for more than one job or for more than one type of job.
It is typical and in your best interest to evaluate several options before you accept your first job offer. Unless you have specifically heard your attending criticizing a particular work environment, you should not worry.
However, sometimes it can be best to ask an attending who may have observed you in one setting (as a senior resident on the wards for example) recommend you for one type of position while another attending who has observed you in another setting (presenting grand rounds) recommend you for another type of position. For example, if you are applying for a job at a medical consulting company, you may want to ask for a recommendation from a faculty member who saw your work when you volunteered on a hospital committee. If you are applying for a job in a substance abuse treatment setting, you might want to ask for a recommendation from a faculty member who supervised your interaction with difficult patients.
An important factor to keep in mind is that regardless or whom you list as a reference, future employers are more likely to call their acquaintances in the department where you are doing your training- even those who you have not listed as references.

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I Finished my Pre-Med Undergraduate Degree and Now I Changed My Mind

10/4/2018

3 Comments

 
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If you are a biology, chemistry or health sciences major with a pre-med mindset in college and then changed your mind, you might feel a bit lost right now. Colleges report that between 45%-65% of entering pre-med freshman are no longer pre-med at the time of graduation.

Students who change their minds about a future in medicine might do so at a number of different stages in the pre-med process. Some students change their minds about a future in medicine right before medical school applications are due, some after acceptance into medical school, and some after starting medical school and realizing that it isn't a good fit.

I feel like a loser
This stage in life is tough if you have already spent years studying science - and you suddenly feel unqualified to do anything. If you are also worried about disappointing your parents who expected you to become a doctor, you might have the added stress of needing to select another path with a 'wow' factor. Another nagging feeling is the feeling that you might always be labeled as 'not being able to get into medical school.' In fact, there are a number of physicians I have interviewed over the years who attended medical school just to prove that they were smart enough to tackle the challenging program.

However, it is important to realize that if your heart is not in it, you are unlikely to be content with continuing in a medical career day in and day out for the next 50 years. There are several good approaches for you at this point. Spending a little time re-evaluating your goals is vital at this stage and can help you decide which, if any, aspects of your undergraduate science education you want to use in your future before you start on your next steps.

There are some key questions you might want to ask yourself at this point:
*Do I want to work with sick people?
*Do I want to study health and disease?
*Do I want to develop patience with people when they are scared?
*Do I want to learn to comfort emotional and agitated people?

If you answered yes to the questions above, you might still enjoy and succeed at a health services career that is not an MD.
Health services careers include:
  • Dentist - more specialized than an MD right from the beginning of graduate school
  • Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine - similar to MD, but more focus on wellness
  • Nurse - very hands-on with patients
  • Chiropractor - focus on joint and spine health through hands-on procedures
  • Podiatrist - more specialized than an MD right from the beginning of graduate school
  • Physical therapist - focus on exercise and rehabilitation
  • Physician assistant - can independently see patients and write prescriptions, some specialization
  • Dietitian - prescribes caloric and nutritional instructions
  • Science PhD - research in the sciences
  • Geneticist
Non-health job path
If you answered no to all of the questions above, then a student internship can be a great next step. Even an unpaid internship can help you immensely in deciding whether your 'dream job' - journalist? trader? financial analyst? business owner? designer? - is as great in real life as it sounds.

Whether or not you end up formally using your science degree, having had a STEM major in your undergraduate years will be of benefit to you because of the rigor and the different skills that you need to use to succeed while studying science during college. You still have a world of opportunities ahead of you, and reassessing your plan after 4-6 years as a pre-med will not be as big a setback to you in the long run as it may feel right now!
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    Categories

    All
    How To Find A Non Clinical Job
    Is A Non Clinical Job Right For Me?
    Medical Entrepreneurs
    Medical Writing
    Residents And Medical Students

    Contents

    • There is more than one way to be a doctor
    • Additional income sources for doctors
    • The path to a non-clinical physician job
    • Teaching jobs for physicians
    • Managing your finances as an independent contractor
    • Is a non-clinical job right for you?
    • Becoming qualified for a non-clinical job
    • Other options for healthcare providers
    • Regulations know-how
    • Job search mistakes to avoid
    • Creating a website
    • Physician career continuum
    • Feeling trapped in medicine
    • Read this before you drop out if residency
    • Should you take the USMLE if you don't want patient care?
    • A health writing career
    • Health article guidelines
    • How to self publish a book
    • Burning bridges
    • I don't want to be pre-med anymore
    • Writing a book​
    • What are your priorities?
    • Solutions to medical career frustration
    • Quiz-do you want to leave medicine?
    • Solutions for physician mothers
    • Top 10 signs that you need to find a non-clinical job
    • I Know a doctor who seems miserable
    • Career management for the modern physician
    • 7 tips for marketing your book

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Stay Connected

  • Non-clinical jobs for doctors
    • How to Find a Non-Clinical Job
    • Medical career strategies
    • Transition Toolkit
    • Physician Success Stories
    • Wound Care Physician
  • Where to find non clinical jobs
    • Job Openings
    • Medical Writing and Strategy Agencies
    • Medical Review Companies
    • Medical Writing Job
    • Clinical Research Training
  • Useful Links
  • Careers for Physicians Without Residency
    • Licensing and Programs for International Physicians
  • Resources For Physicians With Disability
  • Re-Entry Into Medicine
  • Tips from your doctor
  • How to Become a Licensed Physician in the USA