In a unique episode of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, sat down with a resident, although not your typical resident! Dr. Wendell Cole, an orthopedic surgery resident at the time, is also a fellow podcaster, author, and entrepreneur. Despite being in the early stages of his medical career, Dr. Cole had already built a track record of innovation and initiative. His story …
Introduction
In a recent episode of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, welcomed Dr. Michael Ast, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult reconstruction and joint replacement surgery. Beyond being an accomplished clinician at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York, Dr. Ast also lectures often on business and career issues, and is especially passionate about teaching younger physicians how to build their practices …
Doctors, I like to think, are fairly intelligent people. We worked hard in school, extremely hard in residency, and continue to refine our skills decades into practice. In addition to being intellectual, we are often experts in our fields. We enjoy more respect and higher salaries than most professions. Our work can be humbling and challenging, and it exposes us to the flawed nature of humans. Despite deeply understanding that …
I have been representing physicians for over 30 years, and I am still amazed by the attitude of most young physicians going into their first attending position. These are smart, accomplished, fully qualified physicians who have received some of the best clinical training in the world. And yet, many of these highly trained individuals in a field with massive shortages seem reluctant to acknowledge even the slightest modicum of self-worth.
Bear …
As a physician, you are no stranger to complexity. From the first days of medical school to the years of long shifts in residency, you make high-stakes decisions every day. Yet many doctors tell us they feel too busy, or under-resourced, to give their money the same level of care.
That is where a Personal CFO helps. Just as a hospital relies on a chief financial officer to align budgets, risks, …
An excerpt from The Savvy Physician: A Financial Wellness Handbook for Physicians and Professionals.
As a physician, helping people in need is among the greatest honors and privileges in the world. In the complex world of medicine, physicians and health care professionals have the opportunity and privilege to enormously contribute to patient well-being at a time of significant personal and/or family health crisis.
In addition, many physicians and health care professionals …
In Season 1 of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, sat down with Dr. Desmond “Desi” McGuire, a respected ophthalmologist and founder of Retina Associates of Orange County. Their conversation traced Dr. McGuire’s path from childhood influences and early career choices to building a thriving practice and navigating the financial ups and downs of medical entrepreneurship. For physicians seeking guidance on balancing clinical …
After seventeen years of marriage, I found myself divorced, co-parenting, and facing two of life’s most daunting transitions at once: reentering the dating world and buying a new home. The reasons were many: parenting stressors, mid-life transitions, childhood wounds, and outside influences. There was no doubt that my career as a full-time, call-taking anesthesiologist also played a role. While the brutal 24-hour calls and 80-hour weeks were mostly behind me, …
Physicians who are also business owners have two jobs: treating patients and running their business. Hiring and keeping employees is one of the job descriptions of the latter. It is no surprise that choosing and maintaining employee benefits is not at the top of an exciting to-do list. Even if hospital systems are not your direct competition, they are often competing for …
Physicians dedicate years of training to caring for patients, often at the expense of their own financial well-being. While most doctors are well-versed in diagnosing illness, far fewer have the tools to diagnose the emotional and behavioral challenges that affect their relationship with money. In a recent episode of my podcast, I sat down with orthopedic surgeon Greg Gilot, MD, and financial therapist Erika Wasserman to explore the emerging field …
An excerpt from Taking Care of Your Future: Your Simple System for a Big Retirement.
Whose plan? Is it yours or someone else’s?
Your financial plan is too important to be someone else’s. It must be yours. This book will help make it so.
It all starts with your vision.
Ever notice that when you get a new car, you suddenly see the same model all over the road and in about every …
You spent years learning how to save lives, diagnose complex cases, and manage high-pressure situations. But nowhere in medical school did they teach you how to create a retirement plan, minimize taxes, or structure an investment portfolio.
Yet many doctors try to manage their own finances, thinking, “I am smart and disciplined; I can figure this out.” The truth? Being your own certified financial planner (CFP) often ends up costing more …
A physician’s financial journey isn’t always linear, and the journey can’t always be predicted in a how-to book. While the hospital-employed physician normally gravitates toward a path filled with benefits and retirement plans, the equity owner physician, or physician practice owner—both terms used interchangeably—has a much different pathway. Let’s dive into the equity owner physician a bit further.
Why choose ownership?
Like the term “business owner,” equity ownership physician is a generic …
ADVERTISEMENT
Don’t let a lawsuit undo decades of hard work. Here’s how to keep your wealth safe!
According to the American Medical Association, approximately one-third of all physicians will face a malpractice lawsuit, and just under 2 percent of physicians will face a lawsuit each year. While the volume of lawsuits seems high, roughly half of these lawsuits are considered frivolous. These statistics should prompt any physician to add asset protection measures …
Like many of my fellow physicians, I suspect I’m two things: a child of immigrants and a child of a physician. That combination gave me a unique window into two fundamental systems, health care and global economics, long before I studied either formally. I saw the sacrifices and hard choices required to navigate both, often simultaneously, with no geographic boundary ever limiting our responsibilities.
Many vivid memories from childhood have stayed …
Lately, I have seen a few instances where physicians have been tricked by a term in their physician employment agreement that clearly does not mean what the physician thinks it means.
The most recent example came when I was negotiating a physician employment agreement, and the physician suggested verbiage concerning her scheduling. The physician suggested that we ask for language that the employer would develop a clinical schedule “after consultation with …
Hospital employment was once billed as the solution to the headaches of private practice — a way to gain stability, reduce administrative burden, and focus on patient care. But for many physicians, that promise has come undone.
According to the Physicians Foundation’s 2024 report, 60 percent of physicians report frequent feelings of burnout — the highest level on record. Instead of feeling supported, many employed physicians feel …
Most people don’t read their medical bills—they panic over them. After all, receiving a multi-page statement full of confusing codes, unexplained charges, and unclear payment instructions isn’t just frustrating—it’s intimidating. I’ve worked with countless individuals who feel helpless in the face of these documents, unsure of what they owe, why they owe it, or whether the charges are even correct.
This confusion isn’t just common—it’s systemic. As a patient advocate and …
Many of the physicians we work with are highly disciplined, generous with their time, and deeply committed to their profession. They spend years in training, work demanding hours, and carry an enormous sense of responsibility. Yet even with strong incomes and responsible habits, many still feel uncertain about their long-term financial picture.
The problem is not how much they earn. It is that income alone is not a strategy.
Physicians face unique …
As an early career physician, transitioning from residency or fellowship into attendinghood, or even just contemplating a job change, can feel both exciting and overwhelming. There’s the thrill of stepping into your first “real” job, finally earning a salary that reflects the years you’ve invested. But alongside that excitement often comes anxiety: About finding the right fit, navigating unfamiliar systems, and negotiating a contract you may not fully understand.
Amid all …
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
