– Whether to continue working clinically while exploring jobs for doctors outside of medicine, there are a handful of solid reasons why it doesn’t make sense for some physicians to keep working clinically. – There are also several reasons that many doctors should continue clinical work.
– It can be tough to reenter clinical medicine if you’ve gone a long time without practicing. But it is not. – Even a half-day shift each week helps to keep your skills sharp, prompts you to stay up to date in your field, and looks good to potential employers.
– There’s a good chance you’ll be interacting with other physicians in your nonclinical role. – Some of them are likely to be practicing clinicians. It will be easier to gain their respect and connect with them if you do clinical work.
– It may not matter if your most recent non-clinical job was in the same field as the new job you’re applying for. – Employers tend to value recent, uninterrupted clinical experience.
Depending on your specialty board, clinical work can: – Make it easier to prepare for the board exam – Help you earn maintenance of certifications “points” or meet requirements – Prevent scrutiny of your application by the board
– Clinical employers – even for part-time and moonlighting work – often cover the costs of medical licenses, certifications, and CME. – While your non-clinical job might not require these, it’s good to keep current if there’s any chance you might need them in the future.
– Clinical work often pays better than jobs for doctors outside of medicine. – Sometimes much better, depending on the field and the type of nonclinical work you’re comparing it to.
– When you can mention that you see patients (even if it’s part-time or intermittently) people are less likely to get skeptical or make you feel unnecessarily guilty about leaving medicine.