Clinical to Corporate. Four lessons I've learnt.

I've always held the belief that doctors are not particularly good at handling tasks outside of the clinical sphere. Often, you'll find an exceptional specialist - top of their field - who has a poorly organised life outside of medicine. One could speculate and say it's medicine that demands too much from those practicing the craft, but if we're honest - it's a decision not to prioritise proficiency at anything outside of the 'clinical excellence' bubble.

Recently, I've made the career jump to something 'less safe' and moved from the familiarity of clinical medicine to something which is almost entirely corporate-flavoured. It's a stark contrast and there are significant adjustments to find a rhythm. This piece is entirely from a medical doctor's perspective - some conversational bits on the common misconceptions, and what corporate turned out to be.

There will always be overtime.

Doctors often - incorrectly - assume that once they leave the hospital, they leave overtime behind too. If your goal is to find a position that has rigidly defined working hours, with no variation in your expected output, you shouldn't look to corporate. You will do overtime. It is exhausting, and I have often been as tired working my 'desk' job as I have been after an exceedingly busy call.

Overtime is neither good nor bad. It's a product of your workload, how efficient you are during your working hours and how many of your after-hours slots you allocate to work. My take on it is simple - there will be high-intensity periods when your org needs more inputs to meet whatever they're delivering. Conversely, there will be periods when you can catch your breath. Life is dynamic; there's never going to be a scenario where your workload remains perfectly predictable and conveniently fits the 9-5.

You are not good at things by virtue of being a doctor.

Without delving too deeply into the dynamics of medical school, there are fundamental issues with how doctors are trained. One issue is the false narrative that we are exceptional performers solely because we were accepted into medical school. This dialogue is propagated by lecturers and specialists at a time when student identities are still quite malleable. Now, while I'll accept a pat on the back for working hard to get into the course, it's silly to suggest that being a doctor equates to a high degree of competence across the board.

Corporate is a needed dose of humility. There are a myriad of soft skills - things that people are generally just good at without thinking - which we (as doctors) are poor at and need to assimilate. A personal process around checking and managing emails, diligent calendar scheduling, office etiquette, online meeting etiquette, being gracious with colleagues, being a line manager that adds value - these are items I've had to learn and continue to refine daily. You're never really there - it's not a destination you reach. It's day in and day out making the small improvements and celebrating the small victories (and there's joy in that).

There is job satisfaction beyond patient contact.

One of the more contested ideas I put out is that you can find meaning outside of the hospital. It's the first question I'm asked, and the answer is straightforward - if you value people, and contact with others, you can find job satisfaction in business. Where there are people, there are potential mentors, meaningful work relationships, and the ability to make a difference.

We do need to let go of the idea that someone has to be ill for us to positively impact their lives. Think about it; a relatively small percentage of the population has health issues at any given time, and if your difference-making is tied to this, I'd say you're limiting yourself.

Challenges and learning abound.

"Medicine offers me a challenge that I won't find anywhere else." I concede that you won't have adrenaline fuelled resuscitations and split-second decision-making outside of the clinical realm, but it's a fallacy to equate only high-stress events with being challenged. Doctors inevitably develop a 'functional baseline' which includes these high-pressure medical cases, and then upon moving into another field, label it boring.

Something to consider - high pressure does not necessarily mean you are being challenged - or growing. A high-pressure resuscitation in the context of a senior guiding you and conducting a theory debrief afterwards would constitute professional development, but in the South African context, that often isn't the case.

I'm stretching this analogy a bit far, so pulling it back - corporate offers you the challenge you demand from it. There are meaningful opportunities to learn and try new things, meet new people, run projects - it's a growth and development buffet if you can get yourself beyond the notion that you always need to feel adrenaline to be developing.

Is this a universal acclamation that each doctor could find their home in corporate? Definitely not. It's demanding, sometimes unexciting and often stressful. There is, however, no shortage of incredible people and challenges to be tackled - which is why many of us went into medicine in the first place.

So it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?