50 Nonclinical Careers for Physicians: Fulfilling, Meaningful, and Lucrative Alternatives to Direct Patient Care

Book excerpt: How Physicians Can Leverage Their Clinical Skills to Transition to Another Career. By the time they realize their career in clinical medicine isn't everything they thought it would be, many physicians believe they're too invested in their trade to turn back now. Feeling burned out, disengaged, unfulfilled or burdened by high student debt or compensation incommensurate with the demands of their job, they may feel trapped, without options and with nowhere to turn. In her book, 50 NONCLINICAL CAREERS FOR PHYSICIANS: FULFILLING, MEANINGFUL, and LUCRATIVE ALTERNATIVES TO DIRECT PATIENT CARE, preventive medicine physician Sylvie Stacy offers physicians an escape from that bleak "trap" by identifying numerous nonclinical career options that could align with their skillsets and individual financial situation. While providing an escape from the stressors of clinical medicine, the book also allays much of the potential guilt associated with "selling out" their chosen profession or abandoning patients by explaining how each physician's training and talents directly translate to patient care outside of clinical medicine. The value of 50 NONCLINICAL CAREERS FOR PHYSICIANS is in its actionable advice, including how to market yourself in job applications and interviews, and the abundance of detail it provides - including responsibilities, range of compensation and stress levels - to help readers decide which alternative career is the best fit for them. And while other authors encourage physicians to start their own business, Stacy focuses on full-time positions that don't require the reader to begin their own consulting business or find their own clients.