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There is no denying being a surgeon is stressful. Long days in the OR, operating in the middle of the night, complications, too much time doing administrative duties… It’s no wonder surgeons are looking for nonclinical options. Dr. Tracy Pitt, a bariatric surgeon, shares his story of leaving medicine for a job in drug safety with a Contract Research Organization. Find out how he did it and why he’s not looking back.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- The stresses of being a surgeon
- The steps Dr. Tracy Pitt took to change careers
- His role as a drug safety medical director
- What a CRO or contract research organization is
- Compensation for physicians in pharma/CROs
Links for this episode:
Your Insider’s Guide to Pharma – Get an overview of the different areas for physicians in pharma as well as tips to start building your platform to make a transition.
The Carpe Diem Resume Kit – Everything you need to convert your CV to a resume, including templates and a bonus section on cover letters. Crafting a resume for a specific nonclinical job is key for increasing your chances of getting that coveted interview.
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Thank you for featuring someone in a surgical specialty. I completely understand that dread of being on call, dread of the pager going off any time day or night, the constant pressure of “being on.” As an ob/gyn, that is my life as well. I also appreciated the honesty about what he missed and didn’t miss about practicing medicine. I wondered if he missed patient interaction and colleague interaction.
Good morning Andrea! Yes, you are so welcome. I wanted to feature the perspective of a surgeon as those pressures are significant and add a whole other layer to the stresses of being a physician. My appreciation and gratitude go out to Tracy for candidly sharing his experience. The telling of the truth helps to normalize what is true for many physicians/surgeons but isn’t often spoken about. A lot of the Ob/Gyns I speak with talk about the feelings you describe. I remember really enjoying my OB/Gyn rotation in medical school, it was very dynamic and exciting in different ways, but when I thought about actually being the one in charge and the responsibility of an attending, it seemed pretty scary to me! Thank you for your post!
Hello Andrea, Thank you for your comments and question. I do miss interacting with patients, however as I increasingly became stressed and frustrated I was becoming disinterested in the physician-patient interaction. Regarding colleague interactions, I have a new set of colleagues who are wonderful, and I am building new relationships every day. Regarding my close personal surgical colleague relationships, they are very supportive. Lastly, if you’re considering a change, you’re looking at the right site. Best regards. Tracy
I have listened to all of your podcasts, Dr. Fork, and each one is relevant and pertinent to us physicians wanting to make a change to nonclinical medicine.
Thanks Dr. Pitt for your candid story of courage to make a change. Indeed, happiness is certainly priceless. Thanks again both of you for your wisdom.
Why thank you, Dr. Jerry Wehr! I have read and appreciate all of your wonderful comments here! You are true blue! I try to bring content on the podcasts that will be pertinent to my beloved listeners and feel very blessed to have such wonderful clients and guests bringing you their experience and wisdom. When the time is right Jerry, we will have you on! Please let me know of future episodes you’d like to hear!
Hello Jerry,
Your comments are appreciated, Hope my story can help you. Best Regards, Tracy.
I listened to Tracy speak about the 6 pm surgical emergency heading to the ER and felt that familiar dread; so glad you’ve found happiness and satisfaction outside of clinical practice! It makes you think that happiness actually does have a price — a little less money and a jump in happiness from a two to a seven. Tracy, thank you so much for sharing, and Heather, thank you so much for being our fearless leader!
Thank you, Jennifer, I like how you highlight this important point – happiness – or the lack thereof, does have a high cost. I’ve from others of you off-line as well who are in or have been in, surgical specialties and that dread about what’s coming in the door is very common. Emergencies may look like enticing drama on Grey’s Anatomy or ER, am some physicians may thrive off of them, but after a while the stress can take its toll in a very human way. Thank you for your most supportive comments, I’m happy to help and grateful for having Tracy as my fearless guest.
Hello Jennifer, I appreciate your response. Overall happiness is valuable and worthwhile to obtain. Best Regards, Tracy
I am an ObGyn but I don’t have research experience whatsoever. Breaking into pharma seems impossible. What are your suggestions?
Drug safety is an area I have seen a number of physicians break into without prior pharma experience. Some of the things you can consider doing are: take a few online pharma courses, see if there is a clinical trial in your area you could potentially help out with, offer to refer appropriate patients, write several articles on pharma related topics and post them on your LinkedIn profile to show your interest, connect with Medical Science Liaisons in your specialty area, if you are not already on a committee or doing some teaching and presenting, even informally, this looks good on your resume and is valuable experience. Start networking with other physicians who are in pharma, as well as pharma recruiters to develop connections and gather advice. It is possible! There are other roles like the Medical Science Liaison (MSL), medical affairs, and medical communications that physicians transition into w/o significant experience, it all depends on your natural skills, background, connections, right place, right time, etc. Good luck!
Hello Suchada, thank you for the question. Heather’s response is excellent, and I would defer to her for personal assistance. But to add support, it’s NOT impossible (maybe challenging, but wasn’t med school and residency challenging?). As I alluded to in the podcast, inexperience may be somewhat beneficial at times; the company is able to train you without preconceived bias. You have nothing to lose if you send a resume for an opportunity. Best regards, Tracy
I enjoyed listening to another transition story. It is especially to hear again that even though positions often state that experience is required, that is not written in stone. As Dr. Pitt stated, everyone has to start somewhere. The idea of embarking on a new path with a learning curve sounds exciting. We in medicine are good at learning. That I think can be a big positive to balance the uncertainty of leaving clinical medicine behind.
You make a great point Dr. Anne Dall, about how important it is for physicians to be able to keep learning and growing. Mental stagnation and the feeling that you’re not feeding your mind with new things can be a common experience after being in practice for a number of years. Those exponential learning years of training are over and it’s easy to miss the mental stimulation and growth. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments!
Hello Anne, Thank you for your response, and I agree completely. Although challenging at times, I have been excited about learning new topics (i.e. gene therapy). During my career, I did not feel like I was growing academically, just the same day to day routine. Now I am learning about topics that are interesting, but outside the norm for a surgeon. Best regards, Tracy.
Another great and very relevant podcast, thanks Heather!
Thank you Dr Pitt for sharing your journey into Pharma. Although I transitioned to UM from Family Medicine, I could absolutely identify with you when you spoke about moving on before you “snap”!
Enjoy your new career and freedom, wishing you even more success in the future.
God bless!
Thank you Dr. Mo for your very kind and supportive comments for Dr. Pitt! I think there are many of us who’ve had those moments where we felt we were going to snap. We develop high thresholds for dealing with difficult situations and that threshold can get dangerously high before it registers with us what is actually happening. I’m glad you have found a new happy career “home” yourself!
Thanks…It is great blog post. I am Always read your blog. Helpful and Informative blog. It’s a great thing that this article suggested the importance of A Surgeon Decides It’s Time to Leave Medicine. Thanks for sharing these information with us.
Hello Heather,
I don’t usually make comments to public forums if I can help it but I have to mention this.
I’ve just discovered your podcast and website over the past 48 hours and have listened to maybe a dozen or so episodes cherry picked based on the titles/topics. Except this one. It came on more at random as I was mowing the lawn (something I half joke I wish I could do everyday rather than work in medicine).
I’m 36 and an Allergist, father of 2 great kids, have a fantastic wife, supposed to be taking over a private practice composed of two physicians and one physician assistant in a couple years, and I dread going to work each and every day. Before finding your website I did not know there were so many people like me.
The reason I am writing this though is just to mention that though I’ve felt connected to several of the other guests, hearing Dr. Tracey Pitts’s story hit me in such a visceral way it actually got me choking up and tearing up with the type of parallels I can see in myself. Especially when he mentioned not being himself at home due to the stress, short fuse, etc. It made me think just how much my kids (2 and 5) have only ever seen the burned out me and don’t know me as any thing else.
Your podcasts have quickly become both advice as well as support group and I wanted to let you know. I don’t know if I can ever actually bring myself to get out of my situation despite all this wonderful advice, but just knowing there are others who feel the same as me is a massive help. Thank you.
Hello Matt, thank you so much for sharing a window into what you are experiencing as a practicing physician trying to have a life and family. I was very moved by your story and want to send you all the encouragement I can muster to give you hope that there are many options to dreading going to work. You do not need to suffer in this way. Full stop. If you decide you want to make changes to be able to have the kind of life you want with your family and enjoy your work, I know it is possible. I have seen this kind of shift being made over and over by physicians in all sorts of circumstances. We all have our own time frame when we make changes and there are no hard fast rules to how changes are made, but I KNOW you can find your way through this tough time. I hope you can start prioritizing your own happiness. You are worth it. Your family and others will reap the benefits as well. Please feel free to keep in touch. I’m so glad you found the podcast and it has been helpful for you. Your courage and williness to tell the truth are very empowering and will serve you well. You are already moving forward. Wishing you all the best.