LEAVING MAINSTREAM MEDICINE… 55,000 PAGE VIEWS LATER

During the Summer of 2012 I did something that you might call, incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. I was halfway through finishing my residency in pediatrics and public health when I decided I was leaving mainstream medicine. I did this without a backup plan or any idea of how I was going to make a living.

I knew something had to change. I was miserable. I didn’t like the person I was becoming. I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

I found Quora thread asking what it’s like to quit your job as a medical student or resident. I answered it with my typical brutally honest style. In truth, I was devastated and torn apart. My dream job had become a nightmare. But, I knew in my heart I would find a way to live my purpose outside of the confines of hospital walls.

To this day, this single post has brought me innumerable emails from medical students and residents asking me how I managed to make a career for myself outside of the system that boxes doctors in and keeps us in golden handcuffs till we retire. I tell them the same thing: I asked for help from my network and community of inspiring, drive, ambitious and successful entrepreneurs who had quit their jobs or their PhD programs to pursue their dreams.

My parents called me a fool. They told me I had made the biggest mistake of my life. A friend told me, “If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will.” He gave me a deck of tarot cards and told me to look up the meaning of the Fool.

After tendering my resignation, I went to Burning Man and connected with some of the brightest and most talented people in the world. I found a job too which allowed me to double my income, half my work hours, and interact with physicians who would become my mentors.

Through these relationships I created my medical practice offering performing personalized medical research and health optimization to investors, executives and entrepreneurs in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. To fund this endeavor I advised and consulted for a large number of early stage health technology startups and big consumer brands. I became an entrepreneur, public speaker, global traveler, and established myself as a leader in digital health and scientific wellness.

But, most importantly, I never stopped believing in my own potential. And, the reason why I am telling you this story is so you know that behind the image of success you may see, was years of hard work and persistence that got me here. I created this website so I should show you what I have learned so you will be able to reach whichever goals you aim to achieve, no matter how foolish they may seem.

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https://forum.facmedicine.com/threads/whats-it-like-to-quit-medical-school-or-quit-being-a-doctor-and-pursue-another-career-path.26241/