I found this article in Emergency Medical News. Dr. Edwin Leap writes Life in Emergistan pretty regularly. I highly recommend this piece for those thinking about changing jobs. Here are some highlights:
- I made some good career decisions and some very bad ones. Sometimes, however, my bad decisions came from forgetting the old maxim that perfect is the enemy of good. I didn’t always think things through. I had jobs where I could have powered through minor inconveniences, but instead, thinking there was always something better, I changed situations. Mostly it worked out. Occasionally not so much
- I urge you to be the opossum. Embrace your work as much as you can even if your dream job in emergency medicine doesn’t materialize. If there isn’t a full-time position nearby, offer to be credentialed to cover vacations or illnesses. Practice locums, domestic or international. If there isn’t an ED job, work in an urgent care. If there isn’t one of those, learn to do telemedicine. Consider direct primary care. Become a media personality. Read and keep your skills up as best as you can along the way.
DPC continues to get its tentacles out there. Even more and more ER docs are looking into it. Why? Because it breaks the insurance model and may even cure the physician burnout issue. Isn’t it time you thought about it?