Don't change jobs just for sake of change

Practice Management. By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. March 3, 2003.

So, do you hate your job? Even with an unceasing desire to chase a dream and a dedication to patients strong enough to last through years of schooling, physicians can fall into a rut just like anybody else. What they do to pull themselves out, however, can dictate if their next job will be the one they enjoy until retirement.

Depending on a physician's personal situation, a move toward independence, like starting a solo practice, or selling the practice and going to work for a hospital or group practice, may be the perfect move. Both have specific advantages: A solo practice offers autonomy and rewards for hard work, while employed situations offer a steady paycheck and more help with night and weekend calls.

Changing practices, however, is not like switching retail jobs or moving to the car dealership across town. With patients to worry about and complex contracts to deal with, a doctor can't afford to take the emotional "take this job and shove it" approach.

"If a doctor called me and said, 'I can't take this job anymore. I want to quit,' I'd tell him to take a week off, take a breather," said Dick Hansen, vice president of the Medical Group Management Assn. Health Care Consulting Group. "You don't want to be whimsical like that."

Instead, consultants suggest taking a methodical approach to making the job transition, allowing time to evaluate the new opportunity objectively and to make sure you're taking the proper steps to sever your current ties legally.