#017 - Your Competition: The Future is Bright
Most of us who have only worked in big, academic centers don’t know much about how medicine is practiced at the community hospital/practice level.
Furthermore, most of you reading this are already cut from a different cloth!
Seeing as how you go above and beyond to educate yourself and to find your optimal career path.
But a very common concern that I get from clinicians who read this newsletter - those who consider taking the leap to independent contract practice - is that they aren’t “good enough” to work in a different setting.
Don’t sell yourself so short!
Fortunately for all of us - at least for those of us with great training, solid experience, and a plus attitude (again, readers of this newsletter likely qualify) - our peers working elsewhere can’t compete with what we can offer.
What does the competition look like?
The average nurse in this country is 44 years old (NCSBN). The average physician is 54 (Beckers).
The majority of all clinicians in this country did not train at a top 50 academic training program.
The average clinician did the minimum training for their chosen field - ie, no fellowships, advanced certifications, or graduate degrees.
Just like the majority of Americans, the vast majority of clinicians just want to have a steady job to be able to live the life they imagine for themselves and buy some things along the way.
You know, the usual American Dream stuff.
That is to say that the majority of clinicians are lazy.
They don’t go the extra mile. They don’t try to find ways to optimize their patient care or go beyond their own education - they just do things the way they were taught.
No more. No less.
They want to do just enough to avoid getting hassled.
Say hello to your competition.
An example of who the competition is
Every anesthesiology department of some size has at least 1 faculty member who fits the following description:
older anesthesiologist (meaning 2nd half of their career)
unable to perform any procedure (intubation, arterial line, peripheral IV, ultrasound-guided anything - you name it) anywhere near the level of a senior resident or junior nurse anesthetist
calls out sick when they have bad assignments posted the day before
incapable of AND unwilling to cover cases that everyone else in the group covers
100% not competent or capable of covering a case solo (I’ve even met some who cannot even give breaks themselves because they are not “comfortable” managing the room alone themselves!)
Do you know anyone like the above description?
I’d bet that you do - in fact, I’ve seen someone like this in every group I’ve ever been a part of.
And just in case you are wondering: “but how do they go on working as a physician anesthesiologist at such-and-such a place without anyone noticing?”
The answer is EVERYONE KNOWS.
All their peers know.
All the nurse anesthetists know.
All the anesthesia techs know.
All the operating room nurses know.
Even the surgeons know.
You don’t have to do much to set yourself apart, but you will
Medicine is not (unfortunately!) a meritocracy.
There will always be incompetent clinicians who, for various reasons, are coddled through decades providing patient care all while earning very cush compensation and under-performing.
The above example might seem extreme, but it is most definitely not rare.
This should serve to illustrate that you are more than capable of performing when and where we are needed to.
Have no fear of inadequacy because the standards are much lower than you think!
So those of us who perform exceptional, patient-first care, will only astound everyone we come in contact with.
There’s a reason why every friend of mine (over a dozen) who has worked at least 1 assignment as a locum physician has a story of being offered a job at the site within the first 2 weeks of staffing that location!
It’s because quality people are harder and harder to come by.
Be one of them