The Case For Physician Entrepreneurship – Or How To Prevent Burnout

People believe physician burnout is the result of exhaustion.

As physicians, we are conditioned from premed and well after residency to “never show weakness” and”the patient comes first”. Although well-intentioned, these traits become our Achille’s Heel, allowing non-clinical administrators and executives to exploit us, knowing full well that we will just keep working.

In the last 2 years physicians put up with:

• Not having safety equipment for COVID cases.
• Having their salaries cut or hours extended arbitrarily.
• Many were simply laid off and replaced with less experienced “advanced” practice providers (APPs).

All of this while insurance companies and hospital groups posted record profits.

Entrepreneurship solves physician burnout

When you are in charge of your own business, you get to practice medicine on your terms.

For decades doctors were business owners. We used our training, expertise, and clinical experience to diagnose and treat patients, and nobody had the right –or the guts!– to tell us how to practice. It was better for patients and better for doctors. We must get back to that.

The first step is to take control of our own financial future.

Recognize the value of your expertise and learn how to monetize it.

Begin by building in public, but on the side.

You do not need to quit your job to become an entrepreneur. The goal at first is not to replace your income. The goal is to make $1 dollar.

Because the moment you realize you can make money online, on your terms, everything changes.

Burnout is a consequence of emotional and mental exhaustion. Not physical.

We’re not burned out because our hours are long, or our shifts intense.

We are burned out because our freedom to practice to the best of our abilities has been taken away from us. Because we allowed third parties to get in between our patients and us. Because despite our years of education, learning, and sacrifice we are reduced to expendable commodities.

Physician entrepreneurship fixes this.