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6 ABOUT THE AUTHOR aren Childress specializes in writing about healthcare and personal development. KHer articles have appeared in Physicians Practice, Physicians Money Digest, and Humana s Your Practice. Prior to becoming a full-time freelance writer, she worked as a practice management consultant in clinics, hospitals, and as a certified life coach for healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs. She lives just outside Cortez, Colorado. When she's not writing about healthcare and personal development, she dabbles in fiction writing and raises llamas. ADVISORY BOARD Allan Markus, MD, MS, MBA, FACP, Director, Campus Health Services, Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz. Peter Moskowitz, MD, Executive Director, Center for Professional & Personal Renewal and Clinical Professor of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine and Staff Radiologist at Lucille Packard Children s Hospital at Stanford, Palo Alto, Cal. Stacia Dearmin, MD, Emergency Physician, Cleveland Heights, Oh. Rich Charlebois, DO, Family Physician, China Village, Me. Timothy McNichols, MD, Internist, Ferrell Duncan Clinic, Inc., Springfield, Mo. EDITOR Emily Paulsen SENIOR EDITOR Frank Murphy ASSISTANT EDITOR Erin Loomis CODING EDITOR Patricia A. Hubbard, CPC CREATIVE DIRECTOR Gary DeFazio ART/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Jane Pickering PUBLISHER Jeannette Brandofino MARKETING DIRECTOR Linda Zani Thomas The content of Doctor s Digest: Personal & Professional Growth, including such material as text, graphics, images, and other material contained in the digest, is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. Always seek the advice of professionals with any question you may have. Reliance is at your own risk. The content of Doctor s Digest: Personal & Professional Growth is protected by copyright under both United States and foreign laws and under United States trademark laws. Title to the content remains with Brandofino Communications Inc. Any use of the content not expressly authorized by Brandofino Communications Inc. is a breach of copyright and trademark law. All rights not expressly granted are reserved to Brandofino Communications Inc. Doctor s Digest (ISSN ), September/October 2007, Volume 3, Number 5. Published bimonthly by Brandofino Communications, Inc., 12 Spruce Park, Syosset, NY For general subscription information & paid subscriptions circulation@doctorsdigest.net. Doctor s Digest is available on a paid subscription basis at the following annual rate: $54 (Foreign $108). Single copy price: $12. To order send check or money order payment to: Doctor s Digest, 12 Spruce Park, Syosset, NY 11791, Attn: Circulation Department (be sure to indicate title of issue, shipping address and phone number). Visit our Website at For Advertising Sales & Editorial call or write sales@doctorsdigest.net or editorial@doctorsdigest.net. Postage paid at Mechanicsburg, PA Copyright 2007 and published by Brandofino Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information-retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher. DOCTOR S DIGEST and the split diagonal, two toned publication cover are trademarks of Brandofino Communications, Inc. B R A N D O F I N O C O M M U N I C A T I O N S I N C.

7 Dear Let s do the math. Assuming a Doctor: doctor travels the traditional educational path college, medical school, residency, fellowship he or she is about 30 years old at the completion of training. If retirement comes at the customary age of 65, that s a career spanning 35 years a marathon. Is this a career that s challenging, engaging, and rewarding? Definitely. Is it easy, relaxing, and stress free? Not exactly. Wherever you are in that trajectory starting out, midcareer, or rounding the bend it pays to step back a bit and consider your direction. Is your career turning out the way you expected? Are you happy with the choice of medicine as a career? Are you able to find a balance between work and the rest of your life? Knowing what you know now, would you do things differently? Should you do things differently in the future? This issue of Doctor s Digest is designed to start and chart this kind of exploration. We ll look at projections for the future of the profession and medicine in general, so that you can see where you might fit in. We ll look at various practice possibilities that have helped other physicians build fulfilling careers. And we ll explore the link between lifelong learning and quality care. When it comes to CME and other learning opportunities, doctors are turning to the Internet in greater and greater numbers. Like everyone else, they re looking for faster, better ways to get information. That s why Doctor s Digest has entered a cooperative relationship with The Doctor s Channel ( hailed by CNBC as the YouTube for Doctors. It features short one- to two-minute streaming video clips that get to the point quickly with insights and opinions from experts and colleagues in 35 different specialties. It s bite-sized and nutrition-dense brain food for doctors. How have you changed your practice to deal with new developments in the business and practice of medicine? We d love to hear your challenges and solutions. Please feel free to contact me by at jbrandofino@doctorsdigest.net or by fax at Jeannette Brandofino Publisher jbrandofino@doctorsdigest.net

8 Personal and Professional Growth Medicine is an all-encompassing profession. It involves science, business, communications, and so much more. It s also a continually evolving field, with a constant barrage of clinical discoveries, technological developments, and business challenges that affect day-to-day practice. With so much going on, it s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Sometimes it pays for physicians to take a step back and make sure their professional and personal lives are on the right track. This issue of Doctor s Digest gives physicians a framework for evaluating career directions and customizing practices to fit professional and personal goals. The Future of Medicine 8 Debates about medical business models, reimbursement, universal health coverage, medical ethics, and malpractice reform continue to swirl in medical circles all over the country. To thrive in this environment, physicians must keep these complexities in perspective. The aging of the population is hitting medicine from two sides. The patient population is getting older, needing ongoing care for the chronic conditions that often accompany the aging process. But the physician population is also aging. This combination of events could set the stage for a physician shortage. Advances in technology have the potential to radically change the practice of medicine both positively and negatively. New evidence and new technology points to new ways to treat patients. Physicians need to be involved with implementing these changes effectively. Personal Growth Feeds Professional Development 30 Personal development is important for physicians who want to have a fulfilling career that is also part of a satisfying and meaningful life. It helps to maintain perspective, creates a well-rounded human being, and prevents burnout or boredom. It also helps to establish a sense of purpose. Physicians know all too well that there is more to practicing medicine than simply practicing medicine. The decisions made day to day, month to month, and year to year can significantly impact how the practice works for you or against you. At almost any stage in a physician s career, time management is an issue. Becoming highly effective at tending to the activities of daily living chores, errands, meetings, phone calls, s is a key component in mastering work-life balance.

9 New Practice Options 48 Physicians who are satisfied in medicine seem to be those who have found a practice setting or style that fits their personality, temperament, lifestyle, risk tolerance, and unique approach to patient care. Physicians may find that simply changing the way they deliver services or structure their businesses can make a huge difference in professional satisfaction. Part of making a practice work is making sure that its location works for you and your family. Rural practice, for instance, is the right choice for many physicians. Those just starting out may choose to pursue locum tenens work in order to try out different settings before putting down roots. Flextime Arrangements 70 There are a variety of motivations for physicians to work part-time: caring for young children, easing into retirement, pursuing additional education, and making time for entrepreneurial ventures top the list. Once a physician makes the decision to scale back to part-time, the question becomes how to do it. Physicians may have to get creative to come up with their own plan. Working part-time will most likely mean a reduction in income. Factoring in the financial aspect of the decision is important. Lifelong Learning 90 Medical school is just one stage in the ongoing education of a physician. The processes of board certification, continuing medical education, and maintenance of certification help ensure that physicians stay up-todate with clinical, safety, and regulatory developments. The term recertification has been replaced with maintenance of certification. This process is intended to help physicians learn, stay current in their field, and improve patient care and outcomes. Preliminary research indicates that physicians who value lifelong learning are more likely to engage in activities such as research and patient education. For More Information 107 To learn more about the topics in this issue, consult our list of articles, reports, and other resources.