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Physician Career Resources Blog
View all postsChoosing a Specialty in Medical School
By James L West, MD - December 6, 2019
Deciding upon a specialty can be one of the most difficult tasks faced by medical students during their training. As if the stress of studying for cardiology was not enough, now you’re being asked to select rotations and to make some of your elective choices based on what your chosen specialty will be. For many students, this added layer of anxiety comes without a clear idea of how to choose a specialty. While we have guides that tell us how to examine patients, how to take tests, even how to grade a patient’s stool, the medical school curriculum doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of a systematic approach to selecting the specialty you will dedicate your life to. What follows are some simple first steps to aid you in this process, and to hopefully help you find your dream specialty.
Intern Year Reflections: A Roller Coaster of Emotions
By Audrey Rutherford, MD - November 25, 2019
Intern year is a year of mountains and valleys, full of failure, forgetting, and dreariness followed quickly by success, learning, and elation. Wallow in its instability and allow it to let you grow into a wonderfully dynamic physician. I promise you’ll get to the other side glad you tackled the ride.
Financial Planning for Resident Physicians
By Laura Gilroy, MD - November 18, 2019
For most hard-working residents, paying rent and bills on time each month can feel like a minor miracle. Financial planning might consist of little more than turning student loan payments on auto-pay. While resident salaries do not leave much room for investing and saving, the years young doctors spend in residency represent an important time during which a few simple moves can help to set the groundwork for a more sound financial future.
Opportunities for Retired Physicians
By Faith A. Coleman, MD - November 11, 2019
Many physicians spend early retirement in a state of shock. Are there really that many hours in the day? Restlessness and boredom set in quickly. You haven’t spent so much time with your significant other since…. ever. That may be an awakening. Income may not stretch as far as expected, or unforeseen obligations arise. There may be a yearning, still, to make a difference.
Five Ways Medical Culture Harms the Doctor-Patient Relationship
By David Beran, DO - November 4, 2019
Current medical culture has evolved over thousands of years. It dictates how we treat each other and ourselves. It's an insidious culture of self-neglect, unspoken hierarchies, jousting, and undervalued humanity. As physicians, we are expected to establish rapport and trust with our patients while enmeshed in medical culture. Our "values, norms, and practices" are to care for patients as we would our own family members. The success we're striving for is to have best possible outcome for all of our patients. But our goals and culture are antagonistic; good patient outcomes will occur despite medical culture, not because of it. The following are just five ways medical culture undermines the efforts to establish a successful doctor-patient relationship.
Important, but Less-Often-Considered Aspects of a Physician Job Search
By Mitchel Schwindt, MD - October 28, 2019
A veteran emergency physician shares his insights into some lesser explored aspects of choosing a great physician job. Topics covered include job shadowing, evaluating physician density, advantages smaller job markets, contract review, and revealing questions to ask during interviews.
The Importance of Effective Communication in Healthcare
By Kyndall Brown, RN - October 25, 2019
By using tools and techniques such as SBAR and making changes to hospital communication culture providers can improve communication skills to deliver safer and better patient care.
Vacation Planning For Healthcare Professionals: Yes, It’s Possible
By Riia O'Donnell - October 23, 2019
When it comes to downtime, healthcare practitioners typically worry more about their patients than themselves. Suggesting a patient take some time to recover and recharge may be standard; but healthcare workers rarely take their own advice.
Key Takeaways from Medscape's 2019 Physician Compensation Report
By Anne Carrie - October 21, 2019
According to Medscape’s annual Physician Compensation Report, overall physician compensation has been increasing despite the changing political and economic healthcare environment.
How to Prevent and Resolve Difficult Patient Encounters
By MaryAnn DePietro - October 18, 2019
Having difficult patient encounters is often part of the job when you work in healthcare. Whether it’s helping a grieving family member or defusing an angry patient, your finesse in dealing with these challenging encounters makes a difference in the lives of the people you care for.
