More on medical doctors seeking change

By John Seraichyk - Browning Associates "In the preceding five years, we have assisted more than two times the number of medical doctors seeking change than we had in the prior decade." John H. Seraichyk, circa 2004 Founder Browning Associates Yes, the medical profession is ever-changing and more and more physicians are seeking change. How do we know? Because since 1990 we have spoken with countless physicians, medical school leaders, business leaders, political leaders, and like you, we watch the news. It’s no secret that the future for physicians has changed even though the extreme sacrifices of hard work and high educational costs remain. The majority of physicians we speak with protest their profession due to: ever decreasing reimbursements, tighter regulations, increasing costs, lack of security, less respect, and more and more work! From the list above, tighter regulation and threatened security are the latest frontrunners. With regard to regulation, we tell our clients not to worry about the government, but do worry about payers, accountability measures, best practices, and clinical pathways. Medicine has become a business focused on profit, and you and your patients are the casualties. Add to that the “off the record” regulation of patients arriving with reams of Internet reports regarding their conditions and the defensive medicine you feel forced to practice to alleviate their demand. Then include malpractice companies that don’t just raise your rates over a claim, they discontinue your coverage and in one to six months, you’re out of practice. Threatened security is of course the result of all of the above. More than one physician has told us that they are one malpractice claim away from losing their practice. Interestingly, these same practitioners had never had a claim filed against them. However, they all agree it only takes one to close you down. Payers and insurers are constantly looking for oversight or a simple discrepancy about care to terminate you from a panel, restrict your privilege or put you on the platform for a lawsuit. Furthermore, many of your wonderful patients see you as a “lottery ticket“. These are people who say, “I don’t really have any opposition to your practice doc, I know you have insurance for this type of thing”. Can you relate to any of this? You've followed a roadmap your entire career: undergrad, medical school, residency… maybe fellowship, and then practice. But now there's no roadmap. You know it’s time for a new career direction, but how do you start? We'll design a roadmap for your new career. More importantly, we'll "ride-bedside” with you as we help you navigate your way to career fulfillment. Is it possible to make a rewarding change after all these years? Absolutely. Medicine is a wonderful education and we know how to transform your education, your training, and your practice into a non-clinical competence. As our client, you will “treated” the way you might treat a new patient. First, a formal diagnosis of your career situation is prepared. Next, we develop a career search treatment plan, and finally, we work closely with you to implement your plan. Diagnosis sounds easy, but you know all too well both the challenge and the importance of the right diagnosis. It's equally essential and as challenging for your career change/search. Treatment Developing your career search “treatment plan” is crucial to the success of your career wellness. is We will utilize our healthcare, business, entrepreneurial, coaching, and leadership backgrounds to develop a real-world action plan in an effort to engage your search campaign. Implementation Implementing your search/change campaign is where all of our intensive preliminary work joins together. We will act as your career/search agents in an effort to identify new opportunities. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 20% of all jobs are advertised. The implementation phase of your search is where we begin to confidentially introduce your credentials to key decision-makers in your new field of interest as identified through the diagnosis assessment. Our objective is to look beyond the career positions that are advertised in newspapers, trade journals, or the Internet. Once your search is underway, we will work closely with you throughout the entire search campaign; this will ensure our commitment to you and steadfast client compliance. Imagine how your patient compliance would improve if you met with your patients at least once a week to converse about their plan and their success? That's exactly what we will do for you. Many of our prospective clients often ask us what they could possibly do other than practice. Our clients have recently interviewed for these positions: Medical Director, Vice President of Clinical Services, Healthcare Consultant, Medical Educator, Entrepreneur, Health Writer, Hospital CEO, just to name a few. According to The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 14 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will occur because of the continued expansion of health care-related industries. The growing and aging population will drive overall growth in the demand for physician services, as consumers continue to demand high levels of care using the latest technologies, diagnostic tests, and therapies. Demand for physicians’ services is highly sensitive to changes in consumer preferences, health care reimbursement policies, and legislation. For example, if changes to health coverage result in consumers facing higher out-of-pocket costs, they may demand fewer physician services. Patients relying more on other health care providers—such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, optometrists, and nurse anesthetists—also may temper demand for physician services. In addition, new technologies will increase physician productivity. These technologies include electronic medical records, test and prescription orders, billing, and scheduling. Job prospects. Opportunities for individuals interested in becoming physicians and surgeons are expected to be very good. In addition to job openings from employment growth, numerous openings will result from the need to replace physicians and surgeons who retire over the 2006-16 decade. Unlike their predecessors, newly trained physicians face radically different choices of where and how to practice. New physicians are much less likely to enter solo practice and more likely to take salaried jobs in group medical practices, clinics, and health networks. Reports of shortages in some specialties, such as general or family practice, internal medicine, and OB/GYN, or in rural or low-income areas should attract new entrants, encouraging schools to expand programs and hospitals to increase available residency slots. However, because physician training is so lengthy, employment change happens gradually. In the short term, to meet increased demand, experienced physicians may work longer hours, delay retirement, or take measures to increase productivity, such as using more support staff to provide services. Opportunities should be particularly good in rural and low-income areas, as some physicians find these areas unattractive because of less control over work hours, isolation from medical colleagues, or other reasons. Your future can be changed, but you have to take control to achieve permanent transformation. Contact Us today; our specialization is your key to success. 401-825-7717