The emails and letters about my upcoming 20th year reunion at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons (P+S) have been arriving for the last several months. The P+S event is now only a month away, so I am starting to get nostalgic, reminiscing about a mix of experiences from medical school and residency, and boring my kids with stories about people they don’t know.
Not until today did it occurred to me that I have now spent just as much time in the non-clinical phase of my career as I had in the clinical phase. The 6 years of training and 4 years of practice felt like a millenium as they were happening, but the last decade in medical communications has flown by.
My perspective has changed along the way, starting with feeling defeated 12 years ago over “making a mistake” by going into medicine, to my exhiliration 10 years ago at finding a new career path where I could combine my passions for medical education and writing, to the antipation of starting my own company 6 years ago. I have written about this transition in several articles, including one at the time of my career change and another 3 years ago reflecting back on that decision.
During the next month, I will be primarily be writing about my observations about non-clinical vs clinical careers. A decade in each has given me a unique perspective. I have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly in each type of career and am happy to share my experiences with Physician Renaissance Network readers. Whether you are a physician already in a non-clinical career, considering a career change, or pursuing consulting or entrepreneurial opportunities, I hope this information will provide some beneficial insight.
