I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.
As physicians, we have a sense that our jobs and the work we do is secure. We assume that our expertise will always be in demand. This causes us to develop a false sense of security. In turn, this false sense of security leads to complacency. It prevents us from innovating and changing when necessary.
If our current state of being has taught physicians anything, it should be that anyone is replaceable. Within the past few months, the unthinkable has occurred. Physicians of all specialties and tenure have been furloughed or even fired as the pandemic has completely upended the healthcare system that was thought to be the best in the world.
Once thought to be ironclad, contracts have been broken, and guaranteed salaries have been cut without recourse. The entire system and its notion of stability have been forced to adjust at warp speed. The resulting changes have left physicians square in the path of its destruction. Our reliance on the lean philosophy of work has been exposed for its inherent risks and blind spots. The more waste we eliminate, the more exposed we become, and the less agile we are in the event, we need to change rapidly.
This breaks down the system and obliterates the illusion of job security we physicians hold near and dear to our hearts.
Everyone, including physicians, is replaceable. Coming to grips with the frailty of our job prospects should not scare us, however. It should motivate us and liberate us to take ownership of our careers. No longer should we allow others—hospital systems or corporations—to control our ability to generate revenue or practice our craft.
Our mindsets must shift. We must realize our job security is up to us to create. We have to control our destinies and understand that we, as physicians, are all individual small businesses. As such, we need to employ the same techniques and tenets of the likes of Google and Apple. This does not mean we compromise the care of our patients. It merely means we should prioritize the health of our business as much as that of our patients.
Recently, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a plan to boost the number of physician-owned hospitals. This proposition created a stir among for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals. This signals to me that they understand what our profession has yet to grasp:
We, as physicians, are the business.
—
Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Learn how to make the most of each encounter. Schedule a FREE 15-minute Strategy Session NOW to learn more: https://calendly.com/hassan-akinbiyi/15min
—
I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Follow me on social media @DrHassanRehab.
