Physician entrepreneur demographics: Take this white coat and shove it

Doctors are grumpy, unhappy and burned out.

At the same time that the country faces a predicted shortage of physicians, one in five surgeons plan to retire early because of the physical toll of their work, a new survey reveals.

Nearly 20% of surgeons in the U.S. think they may need to retire early due to the physical problems that result from performing laparoscopic surgery, a?survey?commissioned by CMR Surgical finds. CMR Surgical, a British medical device company, has developed a robotic system for laparoscopic or minimal access surgery.

If employed doctors are like most employees they are disengaged or actively disengaged and about a quarter of them are thinking about quitting in the next 12 months and 15% are actively looking for another job because they don't trust or respect their bosses.

According to a?Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, roughly 3 in 10 health-care workers have weighed leaving their profession. More than half are burned out. And about?6 in 10 say stress from the pandemic has harmed their mental health.

There are three main physician disenchanted demographics:

1. The young and the restless. These are newly minted residents who have been out of training for less than 5 years. Some , like oncologists ,general surgeons and primary care physicians, were discouraged the day they started clinical practice. Many have diverse personal and career stories before entering medical school and are pushing back against a system they see as dysfunctional and wrong.

2. The desperados. These doctors are in so deep they couldn't think of getting out. They are up to their elbows in debt, trying to balance work-like family issues, had unrealistice income expectations and are financially extended, are frequently part of a two-doctor family, or are recovering from a divorce from the person they married in medical school. They are juggling lots of balls, working part-time (40% of women doctors) and dealing with the financial realities of dropping incomes and rising costs.

3. The old and the grumpy. They are just too old for this. Fuggetaboutit. They grew up during the "golden age" and have enough in their pension plans and other assets to just take a hike. They are the ones you see in Viagra adds swimming across the English Channel and driving the revenues of adventure travel companies and educational trips as Roads Scholars. ICD-10 compliance mandates might be the final straw for many doctors on the retirement bubble.

Other ways to subsegment the market are:

1. specialty
2. employed v independent
3. psychographic
4. location
5. gender
6. income levels
7. non-clinical career experience or ambitions
8. specific non-medical competencies, e.g. data/computer science, finance, business or engineering
9. race
10. citizenship status

As the "Great Resignation" continues, how can you be sure it's the right time to quit your job? Anthony Klotz — a management professor at Texas A&M University who studies resignations —?tells The Wall Street Journal?that most of the workforce is currently experiencing "turnover shocks," as changes in our lives and jobs prompt us to reassess our careers. Before deciding to resign from your position, it's advised to:

• Act slowly and think carefully before making a move.
• Consider whether alternatives to quitting may be preferable, such as a change in responsibilities or a leave of absence.
• Think about how it may affect your ability to secure your next role.
• ?Five reasons not to quit are 1) Do you have a sponsor in place? If so,?it may be a worthy gamble to double down, work hard, and let them know how committed you are to the organization’s success. 2) Your company may have unforeseen opportunities. Your colleagues’ departures could mean opportunities for you to take on new responsibilities, build new relationships, and be seen with fresh eyes by management. 3) You’re crushing your goals.?If you’re overdelivering value to your team and organization, generating innovative solutions to seemingly intractable problems, and earning a standout reputation for your efforts — why leave now? 4) You’re not ready.?Change can be exhausting, and you need to make sure that this is the right time for you — and/or the people who depend on you at home?— before you shake things up. 5) It’s a great time to negotiate.?Employees have unprecedented leverage at this time to reasonably discuss pay, working conditions, growth opportunities, workplace flexibility, and career development.
• Your horrible boss might be retiring soon or get promoted.

And if you do decide to quit, how do you give your notice and leave gracefully? This article collects HBR’s best advice on the topic and covers everything from how to tell your boss to how much notice to give.

You might be tempted one day to just say, "Take this white coat and shove it". I some instances, quitting on the spot might be justified, but, in most cases it is better to take a deep breath and plan another exit strategy.?

• Air your problems with a trusted colleague or mentor and listen to his or her reactions and advice.
• Imagine yourself looking back one year in the future. Will you be proud of the way you quit?
• Set up a meeting with the boss to explain specifically what is wrong, in an honest, calm, diplomatic way.
• Check your employer’s handbook or any employment contract you signed, to be aware of any penalties for quitting without notice.
• Ask yourself whether you’ve accomplished anything on the job that you could put on your resume and if not, whether you’ve tried hard enough to justify leaving.
• Channel your emotional energy into looking for another job and planning to exit with your reputation and relationships intact.
• Will you be caught in the TRAPS? A typical stay-or-pay clause is called a training-repayment-agreement provision (TRAP), which stipulates that the employee will bear the cost of on-the-job training.

Don't quit your job (or career) before asking and answering these questions.

Here are some ways to test the physician entrepreneur waters without quitting your day job.

Of course, being an employed physician is a two way street and you might find your white coat getting the pink slip.

If you are thinking about jumping ship, you need to look at three sources of discontent: yourself, your organization or employer and the system. While you can have an impact changing all three, it won't be easy. I'd suggest you start with yourself and see how that goes.

Here are some non-clinical career options if you decide to flip the switch. Don't make these side gig gaffes.

Before You Decide to Leave Medicine, Here are Five Questions That You Should Ask Yourself

When things change in a major way, whether in your organization or on a larger scale, about 20% will jump ship. In addition, only about 15-20% of the rest will be engaged. The same is happening in medicine and it does not bode well for those who realize that having insurance does not mean access to care. The good news is that the thermostat of a very dysfunctional sick care system has been reset. It will take one or two generations, though, for us to get to a comfortable temperature.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs on Substack and Editor of Digital Health Entrepreneurship