The kinds of sick care professionals looking for a non-clinical side gig or career has gone from a few disenchanted clinicians to medical students who intend to graduate, medical students who are looking for an exit ramp during school, residents who intend to graduate, residents looking for an exit ramp and clinicians in every stage of their clinical careers, be they the young and the restless, desperados or the old and the grumpy.
The doctor 2025 persona is driving change. They want the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies to do just that, rather than just pushing the rock up the hill.
As a result, the non-clinical career ecosystem and industry has exploded to fill the market opportunity that medical school and residency training program administrators are unwilling or unable to fill.
If you are a member of the sick care workforce seeking an entrepreneurial opportunity, here are the 6Rs of career transitioning.
Whether you can get a sicktech side gig or career depends on many factors, most of which fall into three categories: 1) the industry demand for sick care worker talent, 2) the sick care workforce supply interested in entrepreneurship and, 3) the state of the talent matching infrastructure and ecosystem to identify and match the members of the two-sided market.
In other words, the law of supply and demand.
Supply side factors are:
- The economy
- Investment trends
- Startup, scaleup, grown up trends
- Jobs to be done
- Labor markets
- New market entrants
- Competition
- Technology. Will generative AI reduce the need for clinical experts, advisors and consultants?
- Sources of innovation
Demand side factors are:
- Burnout and disengagement
- Student debt
- Student and resident personas
- Post COVID drop out doc rates
- Immigration regulations
- Resident match trends
- Education and training
- Have to (disability, disciplinary action, divorce, unmatched) or want to drivers
- Labor participation rates
Your job seeking research should include an analysis of the sicktech job market, whether it be drugs, devices, digital health, care delivery, medical education technologies, fintech or some other segment. Pick your E-spot.
Doing so will focus your search, increase your success, and determine your value and your price.
Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs