New Book Offers Hands-On Advice for Physicians at Every Stage of Career
Title: The Three Stages of a Physician’s Career: Navigating from Training to Beyond Retirement
Authors:
Neil H. Baum, MD
Joel M. Blau, CFP
Peter S. Moskowitz, MD
Ronald J. Paprocki, JD, CFP
A physician’s career is divided into three stages: Early, Mid-Career, and Late-Career or 
Retirement. Unfortunately, most physicians have little or no guidance on navigating these
three stages of career. Luckily, there’s a new book dedicated to each of these three stages – career and transition planning, practice management, asset growth and protection, and staying healthy from medical school through retirement.
This brand new book, featuring insight from physician experts, is an invaluable treasure trove of practical, hands-on advice from an author team gathering their expertise in one place! Jam packed with easy-to-implement suggestions, you’ll hear sage advice from a career coach for physicians, two certified financial planners, a healthcare attorney, a medical school dean for student advising, two experts who launch, and merge, and sell physician practices, and a surgeon who literally, “wrote the book,” on the business aspects of running a medical practice. All are recognized authorities in their field, and the authors are joined by a distinguished group of contributors, Randy Bauman, Keith Borglum, and Dr. Neil Gesundheit. Between them they have decades of experience writing about the issues, and advising physicians and physicians-in-training.
The Early-Career section provides in-depth descriptions of career planning and practical guidelines to navigate the many challenges of early careers in medicine.
The Mid-Career section offers the broadest and most detailed information available regarding practice organization and management, building assets and retirement planning, estate planning and common legal issues.
The Late-Career section covers deciding what to do after practice, closing the doors or selling a practice, and evolving estate and practice priorities so there is joy in a well-planned retirement filled with fun, meaning, and contribution
The Three Stages of a Physician’s Career: Navigating from Training to Beyond Retirement will become your “go to” resource for critical topics such as these:
- How to dissect and interpret employment agreements
- How to select a financial advisor and professional support team
- Learn the essentials to master: Insurance policies, profit sharing plans, 401K and 403b, debt reduction
- Understanding retirement plans and creating an investment plan
- Gain confidence in knowing when and how to initiate a practice transition or retirement plan
- Relief from fear of the unknown when experiencing or surviving a malpractice lawsuit
- Recognizing and knowing how to deal with an impairment in a colleague or self
- Practical advice on marketing and practice promotion
- Knowing how to wind down or sell a practice or partnership
Bonus! Additional topics devoted to sustaining health (work-life balance) and practical advice on marketing and branding yourself and your practice, and a discussion for physicians who may transition to other healthcare professions such as consulting or pharma or industry.
From the day you graduate from medical school, until you take off the white coat, this book will guide you to be career-resilient, sustain practice success, and enter retirement without financial worries.
Medical Practice Divorce: Successfully Managing a Medical Business Break-up
Chapter 1
PSYCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION FOR CHANGE
Peter S Moskowitz, MD
(Short text sample)
The past twenty years brought profound changes to American medicine that continue to impact physicians professionally and personally like never before. As a direct result, the practice 
milieu, the emotional profile, and the coping strategies of physicians are undergoing change. Career dissatisfaction is growing and widespread. Increasing stress and burnout, substance abuse, medical disability claims, premature retirement, and alternative career planning by physicians are secondary signs of the growing crisis in American medicine.
For many physicians, the current climate will spur a decision to leave or relocate their medical practices. The focus of this chapter is to assess the factors that contribute to a decision to leave or relocate a medical practice. The ideas presented here emanate from experience with several hundred physicians who have attended physician renewal workshops or who have sought career and life coaching assistance.
IN SUMMARY
Major changes in the milieu of medical practice occurring in the past decade have had a major negative impact on the mood and attitude of practicing physicians. Managed care has led to a loss of autonomy and control of patient care, increased work pace, and falling reimbursement. Growing dissatisfaction, frustration, stress, and burnout have resulted in increasing physician disability claims, rising malpractice litigation, early retirement, transitions away from patient care, and medical practice divorces. The emotional profile of physicians often interferes with their ability to manage these stresses effectively. Doctors’ training and work habits typically do not provide adequate coping skills or an appreciation of or ability to achieve life balance. Other practice factors that may contribute to dissatisfaction, transitions, and practice divorce include physical and behavioral disabilities, medical malpractice stress, skill/reward mismatches, mismatches of expected and actual workloads, personality conflicts between physician associates, gender conflicts, turf battles, and work style conflicts. Factors external to the practice that may drive a desire for transition include failed marriages and other personal relationships; changing physician skill sets and interests; academic career cycle issues; and conventional retirement.
An understanding of modern career cycle theory permits physicians to escape outdated mental and to acquire the skills needed to move away from feelings of victimization, fear, and helplessness in response to their career dissatisfaction.
