From Doctor to Blogger?

Physician's who are choosing non-clinical careers are becoming increasingly common.

In doing background research for our Medical Fusion conference, I began looking around for examples of physicians who have branched out into other areas. Had I done my search even a few years ago, the examples would have been few and far between. In the not-so-distant past, it was very unusual-- almost unheard of-- for a competent physician to leave medicine. The training was too long, and the prestige factor was just too high. Doctors didn't leave medicine unless they were incompetent, corrupt, or very, very unique.

Now the examples are more plentiful, although it still is unusual for a physician to completely leave medicine behind.

All this brings me to the very interesting story of Dr. Arnold Kim. Dr. Kim might be the story of our times-- a Nephrologist from Virginia who gave up medicine to become...a blogger?

Dr. Kim runs a blog called Mac Rumors that he began in 2000. As the site grew, Dr. Kim saw an opportunity to focus on something that he was truly passionate about and that gave him more time to spend with his young daughter. He made the decision and has not looked back.

What makes Dr. Kim's story so interesting is not just that he left medicine, but that he left medicine for a "career" that was not even a possibility until recent years.  Of course, with the rise of the internet, technology has changed how people view work and opened the door to a variety of interesting opportunities.  In upcoming posts I'm hoping to review some of my favorite books on the subject including Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink and The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.

The point of all this is not that the typical physician-- or anyone else for that matter-- should begin looking into a career in the blogosphere.  The point is that interesting niches are available for those motivated individuals who are willing to take a little risk and step out of their comfort zones.  

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[Jeff, Freelance MD]

Here's a partial list of doctors who are blogging on a variety of medical topics, from Family Practice to Oncology.