Four reasons to become a physician coach right now!

Closing the Gap Blog – October 2020

For most physicians, COVID has brought into sharp focus who and what is important in our lives. Combine that with the 50% burnout rate that existed prior to COVID, and it is not surprising that many of us are asking the big questions, like “What do I really want from my life – professional and personally – moving forward?”

Many physicians are therefore seeking change. Some want to job-craft where they are at to have greater fulfillment and resilience in their day-to-day. Others are ready to learn the skills not taught in medical school – like leadership – that they know that they need to thrive at the next level. And still others are ready for a non-clinical transition. 

And as physicians try to navigate these choices, they are increasingly using physician coaches. In fact, there has never been a greater demand for physician coaches than right now! Coaches are dedicated professionals who use evidence-based techniques to help people identify their deepest aspirations, design a vision for moving forward, find the next actionable steps, and hold them accountable for the change that they seek. They are a critical resource for any professional who finds him or herself at a crossroads.

And of course, the best physician coaches are physicians themselves! So for some physicians, becoming a physician coach is the perfect way to augment or replace their clinical effort. It is a non-clinical opportunity that can re-invigorate one’s career in four distinct ways:

Increasing professional longevity – Full-time clinical medicine rapidly becomes rote once we finish our medical training. Especially with increasing sub-specialization, there are few opportunities to grow or be challenged, sowing the seeds for boredom and burnout.

The happiest physicians among us have found that the secret to career longevity is to have many interests and sources of income. This is known as a “portfolio” career – where seeing patients is just one way that you use your MD to do fulfilling and lucrative work. For some, physician coaching has been the perfect non-clinical opportunity for creating a portfolio career that works for them. For others, transitioning fully to physician coaching has given them the mental growth and psychological renewal that they need.

Giving back to your profession – The helpers need help! When 50% of our colleagues are burned out, and 40% are actively looking to reduce their full-time effort, you know that there is a problem. No one ever taught us the critical skills to navigate the many challenges we face as working physicians. Furthermore, once we finish our training, there is no one to give us feedback or provide direction as to how to continue growing.

Physician coaches fill this much-needed gap, providing a valuable service to our peers. One of the greatest challenges for physicians seeking new opportunities is to find work that feels as meaningful as seeing patients, and becoming a physician coach checks that box.

Achieving work-life balance – Full-time clinical medicine makes a lot of sense until we finish our training and become adults. Although we may work less than we did in our training, we tend to acquire other demands for our time and attention, which may include significant others, children, aging parents, and chronic medical conditions just to name a few.

As such, more and more physicians are realizing that full-time clinical medicine in most specialties is simply not compatible with work-life balance. Whether you do it full-time, or as part of a portfolio career, working as a physician coach can provide the much-needed flexibility that clinical medicine lacks.

Having more stability – Who would have thought that physicians would ever see their work hours reduced and their incomes abruptly drop? Nobody – until COVID came. What happens now that we cant see as many patents per hour because of all of the new precautions? What happens as we shift to telemedicine and other alternative models, which reimburse less?

This last year has revealed surprising weaknesses in our careers. Many physicians are working the same hours, but making 30% less than they did pre-Covid. Our jobs are not nearly as stable as we thought, and all indications are that reimbursement will continue to decline moving forward even post-COVID. Physician coaching can provide much-needed diversity in terms of income, and serve as a plan B should things get worse.

Physician coaching is an amazing opportunity for the right physician looking to grow and be challenged again. It is a lucrative non-clinical opportunity that can augment or replace your clinical work. Perhaps most importantly, it is fulfilling work where you give back to your peers.

For physicians who want to rapidly learn everything you need to know about becoming a physician coach, we have developed The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Physician Coach! This is the most comprehensive and objective overview available, compiled from the experiences of physicians who have successfully transitioned to professional coaching. It goes beyond what is available on the internet – containing key information such as:

• • How to find high-quality training and get the credentials needed to be taken seriously
  • What coaching niches exist and the various opportunities to apply your skill
  • The different employment structures coaches work in (consultant, in-house, etc)
  • How much you can make and what starting and maintaining a coaching business costs
  • The specific next steps to take

If you are considering becoming a physician coach, or are just curious about this non-clinical opportunity, The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Physician Coach is the best way to rapidly understand the intricacies of this non-clinical opportunity!