Are you interested in pursuing entrepreneurship in medicine? Do you feel like your expectations of medicine don’t line up with the reality of what it’s become? Are you disillusioned with the medical field in general? Many of us started working in healthcare with idealistic hearts and high hopes of helping people, but the inefficiencies and barriers in the current medical system can cause burnout among even the most dedicated clinicians.
My guest Dr. Una, best selling author of the Entre MD method and founder of Entre MD, has a solution for us.
In 2016 she had an “aha moment” that medicine is not going to be the same anymore. She went on a personal mission to “retool” herself to add in extra skill sets and ways of generating revenue without practicing medicine. Now she helps other physicians do the same.
During this episode we talk about:
- Why it’s important for healthcare professionals to become entrepreneurs in the current medical climate
- How to shift out of victim mode to release the golden handcuffs
- Being relentless in celebrating your success to build confidence
- Overcoming your resistance to selling and some effective ways to reframe how you think about selling
This episode is filled with actionable advice and inspiration for every healthcare professional who has ever thought about becoming an entrepreneur.
I can’t wait for you to listen in.
Listen using the audio player above, or on spotify, apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Dr. Una’s Journey to Entrepreneurship in Medicine
Dr. Una went to medical school at the university of Nigeria. After studying, she moved to New Jersey to do her training and then finally became an attending. She moved to Georgia for a solo practice in pediatrics.
One day after one of her patient visits she felt inexplicably sad. She asked herself “is this all I’m going to do for the rest of my life?” She had this feeling that “there has to be more.” Then her boss helped her to start her own practice. She started to study marketing and entrepreneurship in medicine.
Medicine isn’t going to be the same
In 2016, she had an AHA moment that medicine is not going to be the same anymore. She realized that she needed to think of ways that she can still generate revenue without practicing medicine. She started to “re-tool” herself by taking trainings as a speaker and exploring being a writer, a CEO, etc. Then she realized that she can also help other physicians explore entrepreneurship in medicine. That’s when the EntreMD was born.
Entrepreneurship in medicine can be intimidating
Healthcare professionals have evidence of their greatness. We are naturally good at anything, but we can learn them. We were not naturally good at running codes or doing open heart surgery, but we learned them.
Everything is learnable. Entrepreneurship in medicine is something that we can learn. We may be afraid, but we still do it again and again until we become good at it. Let other people’s successes be inspiring to you and not evidence that you aren’t capable of doing that.
You also have to be relentless in celebrating your successes. Take a moment to stop and acknowledge the small things that are going right for you.
Where did the AHA moment come from?
When Dr. Una first had her aha moment in 2016 that entrepreneurship in medicine was going to become increasingly important, at first she thought that it was just an intuition. Later on she started to find proof that validated that thought.
During her time in residency, after hours were not a thing and urgent care was not a thing. It wasn’t that obvious back then that we are heading to where we are right now, but there were signs. Dr. Una started to pick up on those signs and explain to other physicians the importance of entrepreneurship. However, it wasn’t until the pandemic that people really started to pay attention.
Becoming empowered about entrepreneurship in medicine
“We are not victims. We are not stuck. We don’t have to do it this way. If we don’t like the system we can change it. “
Dr. Una
We have to become solution focused instead of problem focused. We start to realize that the me, I am today, cannot produce the result I want tomorrow. You are not a victim, you just need to re-tool yourself.
One of the most important ways to retool yourself for entrepreneurship in medicine is by learning about marketing and selling.
The first tip is getting out of resistance. Stop thinking that “I shouldn’t have to sell” . This is not true
Selling is simply the connection between a person who has a problem and wants to pay and you, the person who has a solution.
The second tip is reframing. You have to believe that selling is not bad. The whole process of learning selling and marketing takes time. You’ll learn a few skills and you get better and better at it.
It is okay to have all the feelings and doubts. The doubt doesn’t mean that you should stop, it just means that you are human.
What to do if you are feeling burnt out and stuck in medicine?
That would be delegation. You need a team. Delegation in home and in work.
Visualize where you want your life to be. The more your life is in alignment with where you are going, the more you will be able to enjoy it under the same circumstances.
