Question: I work with a doctor who seems so unhappy. It is awkward for me to bring it up, but I think he would be better off doing something else.

Answer: Medical professionals in every area of medicine- nurses, pharmaceutical representatives, therapists, hospital administrators, and doctors- often write to me, "I know a doctor who really could use some information about alternative physician jobs." The doctor may be a colleague, student, friend, spouse or even one of your supervising doctors. You may be hesitant to broach this precarious subject. You might be worried that if you bring up the idea of non-clinical physician opportunities, you could unwittingly add to the physician's unhappiness by inadvertently sending the message, "you aren't a good doctor, you should find something else to do."

Tread Gently
Your colleague or friend is fortunate to have you as a sympathetic ally. If the physician has expressed dissatisfaction, it would help to reassure the doctor that he or she is doing a good job taking care of patients, but might enjoy learning about the wider array of professional opportunities available to physicians.
A gentle nudge affirming that the doctor has viable options will almost certainly be well received when paired with reassurance of professional competence. It also helps for you to approach your friend with the concept that a physician career is a continuum, and that some doctors do not continue to practice patient care for their whole careers. Find out more about the physician career continuumhere.
Remedial Training?
If, on the other hand, you are actually concerned about the doctor's ability to do a good job as a physician, then you have a responsibly to direct your friend towards remedial training to improve clinical performance. If this suggestion is combined with assurance that there is reliable information about respected and well paying non-clinical physician jobs, the doctor will be well equipped to evaluate which direction to pursue to make the changes necessary- whether remedial training or non-clinical work.
If you have noticed a doctor's shortcomings, there is a chance that others have noticed as well- or will notice in the near future. You will be doing a great service if you help direct the doctor to a path to become either a better clinical physician, or a physician who can work to attain professional satisfaction in the non-clinical arena.

There are a number of resources you can discuss with your colleague, including nonclinicaldoctors.com and Careers Beyond Clinical Medicine.

As all doctors know, maintaining up-to-date proficiency in patient care skills and medical scientific developments is essential. Medical science typically advances in a forward direction, utilizing new diagnostic tools and treatment measures that improve patient outcomes and ameliorate shortcomings in disease care. Everyone agrees that better patient outcomes is a good thing. But when it comes to healthcare policy and healthcare delivery changes, not everyone agrees about what 'a good outcome' means. This is one of the greatest challenges for modern physicians. The challenge of staying up to date with healthcare policies and regulations, while maintaining a high quality clinical practice.

Staying up to date on healthcare delivery
Healthcare system and organizational changes develop quite differently than scientific advancements, without the advantage of double blind controlled studies and prospective trials. Shifts in healthcare delivery systems and economic changes in healthcare occur without the same rigorous scientific standards that are required for validation of patient care techniques. These administrative modifications are generally applied to all patients in an often awkward 'one size fits all' method without the option of individual customization that is the cornerstone of clinical treatment.

Examples of a few relatively new healthcare delivery methods and organizational developments include the patient centered medical home, medical tourism, health insurance mandates, telemedicine, and concierge care. Doctors need to stay on top of medical innovation to deliver the best care. But they also must stay on top of these economic and logistic changes in order to survive professionally.

Are healthcare 'changes' just short-lived trends or are they here to stay?
How can a physician determine if a new administrative or health care delivery system development is a fleeting trend that will fizzle, or if it is really an emerging health system enhancement that is here to stay? How much time should a physician devote to adapting to proposed regulations that may lose favor?
What is the risk of underestimating the impact of impending rules and subsequently finding oneself behind the eight ball?

Young doctors are the barometer of healthcare
A good rule of thumb is to look at young physicians in training and to listen to what they say about how they view the new changes in health care delivery.
Young physicians and medical students of this generation have a general tendency to reject counterproductive circumstances as an immutable reality 'just because that is how it is done.'
Young physicians know they have professional options and will undeniably alter the supply and demand balance of the physician workforce in a manner that is transparent and fair. The response of young physicians to proposed developments in health care delivery serves as a good barometer of the survival of these developments. If young doctors will not put up with something an administrator wants to shove down their throats- then the 'something' (or the administrator) will not last.

Healthcare changes that are here to stay
Examples of relatively recent changes that overwhelmingly appear to have staying power include hospitalist inpatient coverage and electronic medical records documentation. Both suit the frame of mind of young modern physicians and both are quite different than traditional approaches. Future developments will likewise either enjoy widespread acceptance or will go away based on a thumbs up or thumbs down response from young physicians.

1.Tailor your marketing to the right audience.
No matter how great your book is, you know that it is a good fit for some audiences, but even you, as the author, realize that isn't right for everyone. Don't waste your time on low yield marketing by posting to social media audiences that are probably not interested in your topic. Find groups and websites with established interested in the topic that you have written about. And take the time to compose posts, articles or short videos that are consistent with your target audience's interests and style.

2. Use social media effectively.
Social media is the key to marketing, especially if you do not have a huge budget. But keep in mind that over-tweeting or over-posting can seem spammy and will drive prospective readers away from your book instead of towards it.

3. Be honest
When you promote your book- don't promise anything that your book doesn't deliver. This opens the door to disappointed readers- who will write bad reviews because they didn’t get what they were promised.

4. Network with peers in your field.
Don’t look at peers as competitors. You and your peers are all in the same professional community and you can learn from each other.

5. Be yourself
Don’t pretend to be someone more accomplished or more qualified or smarter or better than who you really are. Make sure that your bio and everything you post is authentic.

6. Promote others
Don't hesitate to promote or recommend others who have done strong work in your field. You will become more believable and you will be viewed as a better resource if you promote others and not only yourself.

7. Continue to improve
Self-publishing is still relatively new. Some of last year’s suggestions for marketing are already outdated. The most popular social media sites are constantly evolving, and some are even becoming obsolete. If you have self- published a book that you want to market, know that you are part of a relatively new industry that will continue to change very quickly.