A doctor decides to swap his medical practice for a corporate office. Many report that the practice of private medicine has just become too boring and routine. He claims that his job had turned into a ‘question and answer’ job.
He had enjoyed more complex aspects of the medical profession, such as obstetrics and surgery, but his group had to stop such treatments because of expensive malpractice insurance. He was no longer a physician, but merely a conduit between the patient and a specialist.
That same physician is now working for a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in New Jersey as assistant medical development director. Many bored physicians have found their desired challenge in the corporate world and more are following this example. They all have something in common – they’ve grown weary of the same old stresses of private practice, like struggling for grants to pay for research and insurance and government interference in medical practices.
Some cities, are eager to improve the physician’s role and provide improved product safety and employee care. Although they remain in the medical area of the corporate world, the jobs offered in drug research or occupational health are just too enticing.
Doctors can make salaries that exceed what is possible in a private practice. Some of the perks to being a corporate doctor include a 9 to 5 work schedule, travel, malpractice insurance paid by the company, time off given for studies or teaching, and a complete benefit package that’s quite competitive with private practice income.
Still, corporate physicians make up less than two percent of the entire physician population in the United States. You will find there is also a huge amount of occupational physicians, these doctors will cover anything from employee health to the safety of a workplace and product.
You will find no shortage of doctors in these jobs, as there are over 10,000 reported. Other doctors are working in pharmaceuticals, while many thousands choose to work as underwriters and claims consultants for insurance companies.
One of the most common positions sought out by doctors looking for a change is the role of chief medical director for insurance companies. Once established in private practice, it is not uncommon for doctors to take other positions to bring in more money. One doctor opted for a position working part time for a restaurant chain.
He worked at an incredibly demanding pace as he would, each hour, examine up to 60 food handlers. Although he was reluctant to give up his practice, he would later become the medical director of two movie studios. This position offered him greater opportunities; the patient wasn’t responsible for paying so he could treat them without limit and he could practice preventative medicine.
Many private physicians see themselves as automatons faced with ever-increasing obstacles in their quest for a viable business. The perception was that of a physician who handed out pills, wrapped bandages and provided care to those who were not really in need of medical attention.
The corporate physician has new influence and respectability, as attitudes, as well as laws, have changed regarding occupational and product safety. According to the medical director of a large telecommunications company based in New York, this changing view is great.
Younger doctors will find corporation work giving them as well, if not better, than any place else. The reason older doctors would take the corporate road is because they had made enough money to take the pay cut. These corporate physicians stand behind their decision because the benefits that come along with the job are so much better than in private practice.
In the past private practice doctors looked down on occupational medicine. It is the opinion of some of those in corporate practice to believe that private practice physicians envy them.
It seems that the corporate doctors who decided against practicing medicine altogether are the ones who made the most money. One example of this is of a doctor who never once practiced medicine, and is a multimillionaire at the age of 78. He earned his first million by revamping his father’s pharmaceutical company while he was still in medical school.
Upon graduation, this doctor purchased a surplus army field hospital and administered to the Ural Mountain region of the former Soviet Union where the populace was afflicted by famine. It was there that he discovered it was food, instead of medicine, that was most needed so he began importing grain and making new trade contacts that turned out to be steps into his new career.