Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why a business education is essential for financial stability and cutting-edge medical care

Curtis G. Graham, MD
Finance
May 18, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

Physicians today are being flooded with information about finding the best ways to increase their practice incomes. Secondary employment may be appropriate for desperate physicians in financial distress, but the usual short-term nature of such employment is shrouded with low income, covering unexpected hours outside agreements, weekends working, management issues, and being labeled as the “fill-in” doctor.

I say that because I worked at the local Planned Parenthood clinic for a few months, at a local community hospital ER coverage nights and weekends, at a small satellite hospital for a year when needed, and worked locum tenens at local hospitals on occasion out of my own desperation for more income.

My adaptation to quick medical decisions, working often with unfamiliar medical staff, discovering shortages of instruments, and delays with obtaining diagnostic technology exams at odd hours, skyrocketed my ability to make do with what I had. I discovered how valuable that was during my combat experience in Vietnam.

Secondary employment for physicians of a more profitable nature arise when physicians quit practice early or in retirement, lose their medical practice for lack of enough income to pay the overhead, divorce factors, are fired from employed medical positions, and sudden unexpected disability where their medical practice is suspended short- term or long-term.

Most of the outside employment for physicians under such circumstances are often associated with a physician’s medical knowledge and experience. An associate physician quit medical practice for legal reasons and became a salesman for surgical instruments in Europe. Medical magazines and websites frequently paint wonderful pictures of jobs for physicians outside of medical practice. Of course, that leaves physicians with a “put-down” attitude that lowers their self-esteem and effectiveness in that job.

Putting all of the above discussion into focus leaves all of those physicians thinking about what alternatives they missed, didn’t think of, or weren’t smart enough or diligent enough to discover early enough to actually stay in medical practice and avoid all the miserable consequences of a job they hated, or had to take, regardless.

Face it. When you’ve got everything to lose, and little to gain in any job outside of the medical career you were trained for, your life becomes more complicated.

There always has been an alternative available that slipped past you and that still exists today for all physicians who prefer to stay in medical practice, rather than quit practice or become employed…

You have known all along, in your educational process up through medical school, that somewhere mixed in with learning, medical training, and resident training, there is always a business machine making the world of medical practice work. The machine’s foundation enables you to not only succeed in your medical career but also provides you with the tools to use to reach your ultimate potential.

It’s very simple when you think deeply about your career destiny.

1. All income/money is derived from some kind of business.

2. All businesses require essential knowledge of business management and marketing strategies to survive, let alone succeed financially.

3. A business education provides all the tools and resources for all businesses to succeed through growth, efficiency, productivity, and persistence. The level of success of any business owner depends entirely on how effectively the owner implements and refines business tools to achieve desired outcomes and persistently provides continuous financial stability necessary for any owner to easily reach their personal comfort level of income. Meaning, an income level that enables any physician to afford a personal lifestyle, family financial obligations, and allows physicians to maintain state-of-the-art medical care throughout their medical practice careers.

4. There are over 150,000 books on Amazon about business success criteria that provide proof of their universality, as well as being taught by the most recognized business experts around the world.

What has been so persistently disruptive of the business side of medical practice and has left most physicians struggling through their medical practice careers are the factors that I truly believe contribute to physician attrition, which is rapidly increasing. These factors include burnout, overwork, increased record-keeping, dropping incomes, and government-increasing practice mandates and fee restrictions. However, when medical students and physicians have had a business education, most of these destructive factors lose their power. When those hundreds, maybe thousands, of physicians who have lost their medical practices over the decades, must all recognize there had to be a way around these problems.

It isn’t the wealthy physicians that share these abusive struggles. Have you noticed that? Why do most physicians not trust marketing results? That’s why most business experts and consultants stay far away from physicians today. This is true. Although medical schools should provide business education to all medical students, many fail to do so.

The most egregious factors that blow my mind are those that I believe evolve from physicians lacking backup knowledge and a solid financial system that they all need, to not only prevent financial disaster in their practices but also enable them to get out of financial problems once they recognize those problems starting.

Putting all of this together, it’s clear that a business education is essential for physicians who want to succeed in their medical careers. With the right knowledge and tools, physicians can not only avoid financial disaster but also achieve the income and personal lifestyle they desire. It’s time for medical schools to recognize the importance of business education and provide their students with the resources they need to succeed in both medicine and business. If you were offered a business education while in medical school, would you have taken the curriculum? I’d like to know.

Curtis G. Graham is a physician.

Prev

How I overcame a heart attack and health challenges with the help of faith, family, and skilled doctors

May 18, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

The ABCs of parenting an LGBTQ+ child

May 18, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How I overcame a heart attack and health challenges with the help of faith, family, and skilled doctors
Next Post >
The ABCs of parenting an LGBTQ+ child

More by Curtis G. Graham, MD

  • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • Arrogance and lack of business education in medicine

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • Business education’s role in preventing physician practice decline

    Curtis G. Graham, MD

Related Posts

  • It’s time to learn the basics of financial management in medical school

    Aashish Shah
  • The financial barriers of applying to medical school

    Shin Mei Chan and Jamieson O’Marr
  • Why medical writing is essential to medicine

    Steven Zhang, MD
  • Why medical students should be taught the business side of medicine

    Martinus Megalla
  • Why are medical students non-essential?

    David Chen
  • America’s inadequate LGBTQ medical education

    Haidn Foster

More in Finance

  • Doctors and disability insurance: Protecting your income

    Amarish Dave, DO
  • 1 in 5 doctors will become disabled. Are you prepared?

    Amarish Dave, DO
  • The pros and cons of whole life insurance for high-income earners

    Shane Tenny, CFP
  • Applying the differential diagnosis method to investing

    Amarish Dave, DO
  • Unlocking your full earning potential: a physician’s journey to a $70,000 salary boost

    Contract Diagnostics
  • For newer doctors, avoid lifestyle inflation

    Amarish Dave, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Assertiveness in health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

      Frank Chen, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Assertiveness in health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Epigenetics and our inheritance to future generations

      Vishruth Nagam | Conditions
    • Practicing medicine with conviction

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • The power of memory in shaping human identity

      Emily F. Peters and Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD | Physician
    • How Tratak yoga reshaped my USMLE Step 2 prep

      Dr. Nikita Mehdiratta | Education
    • Transforming primary care for physician well-being [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • FDA Relents, Approves Novel Antidepressant After Many Rejections
  • OSHA Comes in for Both Praise and Harsh Criticism at House Hearing
  • New Insight Into Hyperglycemia Risk With PI3K Inhibitor for Breast Cancer
  • Oktoberfest Doctor: Not the Wurst Job You Could Have
  • Blue Shield of California Has Fix for MA Enrollees Worried About Co-Pays

Meeting Coverage

  • New Schizophrenia Treatments Are Coming: Don't Panic
  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Assertiveness in health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

      Frank Chen, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Assertiveness in health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Epigenetics and our inheritance to future generations

      Vishruth Nagam | Conditions
    • Practicing medicine with conviction

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • The power of memory in shaping human identity

      Emily F. Peters and Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD | Physician
    • How Tratak yoga reshaped my USMLE Step 2 prep

      Dr. Nikita Mehdiratta | Education
    • Transforming primary care for physician well-being [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...