By Heidi Moawad, MD
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Nonclinical jobs have become popular in recent years and could almost be classified as a new physician subspecialty. There has been a proliferation of conferences, recruiters, social media pages, and courses specializing in non-clinical physician job opportunities over the past decade. Nevertheless, many doctors still struggle when it comes to figuring out where to find these jobs.
As a physician, you can find a non-clinical job at any stage in your career, but first you need to know where to look. Fortunately, there are several avenues you can use.
Conferences
Non-clinical career conferences and live group seminars or courses can be a great way to learn more about physician jobs that don’t involve patient care. While attending a conference, you can network with others, get some concrete direction, and maybe even apply for a position through on-site recruiters.
Most doctors hesitate to openly express interest in non-clinical physician jobs due to a well justified concern that it could have an impact on their current position. One of the biggest advantages of participating in a non-clinical career conference is that you can be seen without concern about anonymity. Of course, there’s always a chance that you could run into someone from work – and that could be awkward. Even if you run into another doctor from your workplace, it’s unlikely that either of you would share that information with other people at work.
When considering nonclinical healthcare career seminars, there are some important considerations to keep in mind. These conferences and courses may have costly registration fees, and you will likely need to rearrange your schedule so you can attend either virtually or in person. Additionally, the specific timing might not work for you, and there’s no guarantee that you will find a job.
When attending these physician non-clinical career conferences, you need to go with an open mind and balanced expectations. Even after leaving a multi-day in-person conference, you may need to work on finding a job for months or longer before being offered a non-clinical position that suits you.
A conference might be right for you if you’re serious about changing your career direction and willing to put in the time, money, and dedication to make it happen.
Networking
One of the common ways that physicians find the most relevant non-clinical jobs is through personal networking. Often, a trusted colleague or former coworker will reach out when a position that suits you becomes available. These jobs tend to be centered on industry or hospital leadership.
The disadvantage of relying solely on networking through colleagues and acquaintances is that the opportunities are few and far between. Additionally, openings that become available through networking tend to be offered to physicians who have excelled and who have already had a long career establishing themselves as experts in the field, which makes them valuable to companies or in leadership positions.
Networking can be a good fit for you if you are satisfied in your current clinical position, don’t have a rigid timeline, and are only willing to accept a nonclinical position that’s perfect.
Industry specific/Company specific openings
Directly applying for a job opening can be a highly effective way to find a non-clinical job. The way to find specific job openings is to identify the type of company that you want to work for – such as a pharmaceutical company or a consulting company – and to go to their website looking for job openings.
You would then organize your résumé to make sure that you are highlighting your skills and experiences that make you a good fit for the job. Usually, you also need to take the time to write a cover letter specific for that job. Applying directly requires time, persistence, and building your qualifications in a way that can help showcase your suitability for the job.
This approach can work if you are focused on a specific industry and have already taken steps to ensure that you are qualified.
Physician social media sites
One common way to start looking for a non-clinical job is to visit and participate in physician social media sites. There are numerous physician social media sites devoted to non-clinical physician careers.
When using these sites, you can scroll and search to find answers to your questions about non-clinical careers, and you can also post your own questions if you can’t find the answers on the site. Since you might not want colleagues to stumble on your comment, you can rest assured that it’s not uncommon for physicians to post anonymously by reaching out to the page admin and requesting an anonymous post.
Occasionally, job openings are listed on these sites, and you may even be able to get some guidance to know if you would be a good candidate, and how to present yourself for the job.
Sermo is once such space to explore non-clinical career paths. Within the community, you can talk with peers who are also seeking to make the transition or have experience in a non-clinical career, ask your questions anonymously, learn from real-world experiences, and discover opportunities that may not be advertised elsewhere.
Navigating your way through physician social media sites can be good fit for you if you’re just starting in the process and if you’re curious about what other doctors have to say.
Get advice before you get started
There are several steps you need to take to become qualified for a non-clinical position, but being qualified is often not enough to land the job.
If you’re considering pivoting your career outside of patient care as a physician, knowing where to find those non-clinical jobs is key. Seeking out peer advice is a good first step.
This article reflects the personal experiences and perspectives of the author. The views and opinions expressed are their own and do not necessarily represent the views, positions or policies of Sermo.
