What I am enslaved by is what everyone else expects…
Help Create Medicine’s First Musical | Michael Ehrenreich, MD, FAAD
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6215786/height/90/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/” height=”90″ width=”450″]
We are a profession that comes out with a lot of skills, but are very unsure of how the world works. You have to educate yourself.
Creativity in medicine takes a giant leap forward with this next guest: Michael Ehrenreich, MD, FAAD. Dr. Ehrenreich, Dermatologist and medical director of SOMA Skin & Laser, guides us through his process of starting his private practice and developing “Medicine: The Musical“.
Initially, Dr. Ehrenreich started his professional work in the world of Finance and investing in biotechnology and medical devices. Looking for a more fulfilled career path, he turned to medicine, starting his Dermatology practice directly after finishing residency.
We begin this conversation with a discussion of Dr. Michael’s practice, his tips for building a successful practice, and the need to fight for physician autonomy. We move on to how Dr. Michael started to write “Medicine: The Musical” and the process he took to create it. We finish with a discussion of how physicians can find more fulfillment in their lives.
Click here, to take a look at the musical’s on-stage recording, and please click here to help contribute to the production!
A glimpse into the Conversation:
Why Dermatology?:
Medicine for me is a second career. I was drawn to medicine as a place to find fulfillment. I was an investment professional; I worked in finance for many years. I did biotechnology, healthcare, and medical device investing. When I was 32, I had the opportunity to get out of that business and I went to medical school. As I went through school, dermatology presented itself as a possibility. I find it a very fulfilling specialty because it has a lot of different elements, from medical to procedural.
Tips on Starting a Practice and staying in control.
You have to be able to lose money: it took 9 months for me to break even, let alone the investment I had to start the practice. You have to be prepared to sustain losses for a while. You also have to take advantage of technology, billing, reimbursements, and EMR (Electronic Medical Record). They really make the workflow a lot easier and it goes with the practice.
I think it is important that physicians continue to try to be solo practitioners or group-practitioners and keep the reigns of medicine in the hands of the physician, and out of the hands of investors and administrators.
On Physician Fulfillment
You can’t define yourself by your profession. I have learned this is a very American way to view the world…Here in America, we define ourselves by what we do, I think that’s not a great idea. I think that people are a collection of roles that we play. We put on the white coat and we play a role. The patients want you to play that role too. You are the doctor, you are the expert, but when you take off the coat you are a person, and you should have a life that doesn’t involve you wearing the coat. I don’t think you can be fulfilled completely if your entire fulfillment is coming only from your professional life.
A Tip For Our Listeners: “The Time Between The Time”
The tremendous power of a little bit every day. How do you accomplish anything? Every task seems insurmountable until you start it, including medical school. For me, it was gross anatomy, and I thought “how am I going to learn all of this?” It’s a little bit each time. There is importance to discipline to the process. Write every day for 5-10 minutes… 10 minutes a day for a year. I’m using that time. I call that, “the time between the time”. In 8 hours of work a day, you have a lot of free time. Use those moments…there’s always 10 minutes.
Please Help Medicine: The Musical on Kick Starter
“Medicine the Musical is a unique musical that brings the world of medicine and medical school to the public in an accessible and entertaining way. It appeals to anyone who has ever worked hard for a dream.”
Please click here to help make this project come to life. At the level of $25, you can actually purchase a ticket and see the show! I have already purchased a ticket, I hope you grab yours!
***
Join The Happy Doc Family! Link to our social media (@happydocpodcast), subscribe to the podcast, and join the e-mail list group!
Love what we had to say? Please leave a 5-star review on iTunes and let us know what you think! This will help us gain a lot more coverage and exposure! Thank you!
***
Related Posts
This Post Has One Comment
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
[…] Check out the Medicine the Musical podcast interview on HappyDoc […]