“The cause of man’s problem is a lack of knowledge. It does not stem from a shortage of information but rather from the rejection of information.”
– Hosea 4:6

This event in medical history is one such lesson that describes the blinding of physicians to the realities of open-mindedness and the destructive potential that results from ignoring factual truth.

If it weren’t for the persistence and medical ingenuity of an early 1800s medical doctor, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, the impact of our management of childbirth would have been delayed for another century, and hundreds, maybe thousands, more women would have been killed from “Childbed Fever.”

At that time, physicians, like those of us today, were unable to recognize or accept the possibility that there was a simple solution to their worldwide “groupthink” in the practice of medicine concerning the prevention of maternal deaths caused by physicians and their lack of knowledge about the cause of Childbed Fever.

The fact that pregnant women in that era were the first to recognize the extreme danger of hospital birthing that far exceeded home deliveries was enigmatic. Only one European physician stopped to think about the cause of such tragedies. He had an open mind, focused and diligent enough to investigate potential causes. It required setting aside what he had been taught and trusted his intuition.

Seeing that the cause of the problem had to be within the hospital environment, he understood that births outside hospitals usually occurred without medical doctors. That led to connecting doctors with patient deliveries. Surgeons often worked on cadavers to learn more, without gloves or washing hands before delivering patients and cleaning the uterus by hand. Purulent infection of cadavers provided the cause.

He experimented with all the available cleaning solutions and discovered that washing the hands of delivery doctors in chlorine water prevented the infection almost 100%. He traveled around hospitals and gave them the secret. The problem was that all those physicians believed it was a hoax. Those who tried it a few times and quit doing it never noticed any benefit.

It took a few decades before the treatment prevention was accepted. Dr. Semmelweis was so distraught at his failure to convince other physicians that he covered his hands with purulent cadaver residue, slashed his hands, and died of the infection in a few days.

How does one physician persuade other doctors to believe him?

My own 20 years of research into the cause of physician attrition, early retirement, quitting medical practice, and reducing or eliminating all stressors that we all see within the private medical practice environment presently has convinced me that the great majority of physicians are increasingly facing problems that can be effectively resolved.

I know that if medical students are provided with business education while in medical school, it will not only result in an enormous improvement in the factors that today drive them away from medical practice and applying to medical school.

Physicians don’t have to look for outside jobs to supplement their poor income. The backup that basically 100% of physicians don’t have today is the business tools that all businesses in the world use to prosper, grow, and expand. Why are physicians denied these tools and strategies? We in private medical practice have a small business to maintain. We desperately need these tools.

This serious business problem can be related to outdated myths about the business of medical practice and the intentional educational restrictions against business education mandated by medical school education scholars and administrators for a hundred years.

It becomes a problem for all physicians to either believe in the value and benefits of business education (not an MBA) or continue believing they are smarter and can handle their business better than the business experts. Medical students for the last century have never been told about the business side of medical practice.

It is insane to send a physician out into the population with no business education to start a business and make the medical practice business successful. Physicians aren’t dumb. You know that some organizations, all medical schools, or government contracts and oversight are getting all the benefits by not permitting physicians to learn about the business tools.

The other physicians know a powerful need for business education and do not have the money to get business knowledge before or after medical school. These physicians remain silent and tolerate the whipping and abuse—God bless them. The bottom line is that if business education is not provided while in medical school, it will never be affordable.

However, if the rules of medical school scholars and administrators persist—no business education—then medical practice as we know it will disappear very soon.

There is another option for all physicians to take advantage of, which is bulletproof to the swaggers of the medical school education system. Can you imagine that anyone or any educational system would ever attempt to provide a digital business education learning system online that is very affordable and far better than college courses because it is specifically designed for physicians in clinical medical practice?

It’s never been done before. Besides, it would have to be created by a physician who had a private medical practice business and who also had an expert level of business education.

Such a process has already been established that is affordable for all physicians who want to reach their maximum income and do it all while sitting at home with their feet on the coffee table and learning as fast as they choose. The interesting part of the program is that you can select one management process and one marketing strategy and start them within a week. Of course, you will need to read a few books by business experts on the topics you need more information about.

Nothing else that I know provides a way to start using business tools long before you know everything you need to know about medical practice management and marketing strategies. Activate one business management tool and one marketing tool and continue to add to that foundation for as long as you prefer. As you keep earning more income, you can afford to expand your profits to a higher level, step by step. You don’t have to be a millionaire—you need enough increasing income to accomplish what you started in your medical career to do.

Curtis G. Graham is a physician.