Raise your glasses [of juice, water, champagne, or whatever you fancy] and join me in celebrating a dream come true: I’m officially a physician who practices medicine from home! To think that it was only four years ago that I was burnt out. It took having that eye-opening experience to take myself off the grid and begin practicing medicine on my own terms. I left nephrology to practice as a locum hospitalist. Since then, I never looked back.
It was not exactly a cakewalk reaching this career goal. Let’s rewind to a year ago, shall we? In my quest to move to a tax-free state with warm weather, my family and I moved to Texas. As much as it was planned, things moved more quickly than anticipated. My husband and I came to Dallas for spring break and during this time, he had a job interview here, got the job, and we had to move right away.
Given that I was already in the process of applying for a Texas license, I moved without securing a job in my new location. I took advantage of this time by touring the state with my family during the Texas summer, and it was a honeymoon period of pure bliss. By the time November rolled around, I still didn’t have my Texas license, and my plan to build my coaching practice was not taking off like I wanted. By this time, I was dipping into my emergency fund.
I knew I couldn’t keep depending on my emergency fund for long, so I sought out something I could do from home that would allow me to use my Indiana license. Traveling back to Indiana just to work was not an option I even wanted to consider. To make matters worse, I bought my first rental property while I was out of work, so my emergency fund that could have lasted two years, could now only last nine months. My fun move was suddenly not so fun anymore, and I started to freak out. I knew that I had to take action, and do it quickly.
I started exploring clinical and non-clinical careers from home, and I learned a great deal. Working from home in this age is very common and viable. I tried a similar endeavor four years prior, but without much success because working from home was not what it is today. When it came to trying it out again last year, I uncovered so many options, applied, and talked to several recruiters.
Initially, I went down the chart review, utilization review, and physician advisor route. I got hired by one company that was very good, but I could not make room in my schedule for the out-of-state training so the opportunity fell through. I came across a handful of eye-catching companies, which I applied to, but for one reason or another they turned out not to be a good fit. Other avenues I considered getting into [but did not pursue] were disability exams, medical legal (pays well), direct sales for skin care companies, pharmaceutical opportunities, medical writing, telehospitalist jobs, and more.
Finally, I discovered telemedicine in all its glory, and man, I was excited to say the least! The best perk of telemedicine is the flexibility it provides, since it is per diem and according to one’s schedule. I applied to telemedicine opportunities and got hired to do telemedicine in February of this year. I was so overjoyed!
As of now, I choose to see patients once a week so I can comfortably semi-retire. Interestingly enough, by the time I got everything sorted out with my new job, my financial and life coaching business had begun picking up. That’s some timing, huh? My real estate business is also stabilizing, and I recently joined an anti-aging skincare and wellness company called Neora. As Warren Buffett (my favorite virtual mentor) says, “multiple streams of income are not optional, they are a necessity.” As you can see, it has been quite a journey to get here, but one that has been worthwhile! I hope that you enjoyed this article and that it was helpful for you!
*I help physicians get out of debt and live wealthy lives using the magic of personal finance, and multiple streams of income. Does this interest you? If so, click this link to book a free money breakthrough consultation with me!
