An excerpt from The Universal Rules of Life: 27 Secrets for Managing Time, Stress, and People.
Every January, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions. It’s a joyous time full of high hopes.
Ask people what they wish to achieve or hope to accomplish in the following year, and the …
This article is sponsored by Wall Street Alliance Group, specializing in physician financial planning.
Often, physicians only give minimal attention to their financial futures, but potential federal changes could make tax planning even more important. The proposed infrastructure …
Tax planning tips for physicians
I’ve had doctors listen to my heart many times in my life. Recent work I did in Pakistan as an anthropologist let me listen to theirs.
A few months ago, I embarked on an ethnographic study to understand what health care professionals saw as the psychosocial needs of pediatric patients. This involved conversations with several doctors in Pakistan, who had volunteered to share their views about pediatric patient care. As I …
Listening to the doctor’s heart
These are my views and should not be construed as investment advice.
If you’ve tuned into the news over the last year, you’ve probably heard of people spending millions on digital JPGs, or people acquiring these digital images and then “flipping” them for a profit. Many of my friends made six-figure profits last year by speculating on digital NFTs, though I don’t recommend it.
You’ve probably heard of terms …
How NFTs, DAOs, Web3 and the metaverse impact health care
“Remember the things that we’ve discussed as the majority of people are broke. And just because your friends are showing off the ‘stuff’ things they buy doesn’t mean they can actually afford them.
Once you realize that everybody in the world is after your money, the quicker you know how …
How not to be a broke doctor [PODCAST]
As the latest pandemic wave seems to be easing, I am again thinking about traveling. I love to travel on vacation. A staycation can be nice, especially if there’s a lot to do around the home, whether that’s working on my home (decluttering and organizing anyone?) or just getting all the little things done that I usually don’t make time for. A break from working, but still at home.
Those homestay …
How physicians can restore themselves on vacation
There are so many paths to financial freedom. It does not matter if it’s starting another business, investing in real estate, or saving in your 401(k). You will reach financial independence as a physician if you save and invest. The most crucial factor in achieving financial independence is consistency.
There are so many paths to financial freedom
Charlotte: I initially met Richard at a wedding. Standing near the much-desired sushi buffet, we quickly started talking about the broken infrastructure of the health care system. At the time, I was an exhausted intern in internal medicine, happy to have the right weekend off. I shared big dreams of one day creating a new model of medical delivery. Richard, a senior executive with decades of leadership experience, listened compassionately. …
An unplanned conversation leads to a mentorship opportunity
As our health care system teeters yet again on the brink of collapse, the big questions on so many of our minds are: What does our future hold for us as physicians? What is our path forward?
As physicians, we currently live and work in a constant state of crisis. We’ve seen record numbers of patients, experienced personnel shortages, and instituted crisis staffing and standards of care. We’ve cared for patients …
Fellow physicians, what is our path forward?
While chatting with a physician client of mine recently, an important topic came up that she hadn’t really asked about previously. My client is in her late 40s and is currently single with no plans of getting married. She’s the only child of her aged parents, and after working as a physician for over 15 years, she has become financially successful enough to slow her career down a bit. Her …
Estate planning and asset protection challenges and strategies for single physicians
When was the last time someone sat down with you to talk about what you want from your career? Let me ask this differently: When was the last time someone sat down with you and listened while you talked about what you want from your career? If your answer is yesterday, or last week, or last month, or anytime in the last year, and you love what you do without …
What do physician coaches do, and what can they do for you?
It’s 2022, and many of us want this year to be better than last year. Instead of just hoping this happens, let’s make some realistic goals and put steps in place to achieve them. Here are some of my 2022 goals:
1. Continue to invest at least 10 percent of my salary in retirement accounts. Investing money gives me the opportunity to allow my money to grow. Because of inflation (the …
A physician’s money goals for 2022
Emergency physician and financial planner Noah Kaufman gives a general cryptocurrency market update. He discusses the state of Bitcoin and the impact of fiscal tightening by the Federal Reserve and also comments on Paul Krugman’s recent New York Times column comparing cryptocurrency to the subprime mortgage crisis. Finally, we talk …
Noah Kaufman, MD on the cryptocurrency market and educating physicians about Bitcoin [PODCAST]
I began pondering this topic after I witnessed a health care professional post on Facebook her hospital system’s expectation that she return to work five days into COVID, still ill and actively symptomatic. She needed more recuperative time but struggled to give herself permission to take it. Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common in the health care community. How did we get here?
Demoting the importance of my own health …
“Me too” instead of “me last”: Have you filled your self-care bucket today?
As an attorney who negotiates physician employment agreements with hospitals on a daily basis, I have developed a healthy skepticism about mindset of hospital executives. It is painfully obvious that most executives in our hospital systems have a business school mindset, that views physicians as necessary (albeit expendable) cogs in the magnificent machine that is the hospital.
Executives can hardly be blamed for this attitude. Physicians will always …
Are hospitals evil? A physician contract lawyer explains.
Anyone can win at poker when dealt a royal flush. But what can you do when the cards you are dealt don’t appear winning at all? My answer: Make the best of what you have.
Recently I learned of a colleague who sustained a broken back in an accident. He continues to work, wearing a brace and not taking pain medication. I know from watching his videos that he routinely handles …
Playing the hand you are dealt
Remember in Jurassic Park when Ian Malcolm describes Chaos Theory to Ellie Satler, watching a drop of water roll down her hand? It might roll to one side or the other based on any number of differences in the hair on her hand, subcutaneous blood flow, imperfections in her skin, all tiny variations in a complex system, affecting the outcome. The scene came to mind last week when in 24 …
Please don’t stop fighting for what brought you to medicine: a tale of 2 physicians
Pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, woman, mother, wife, friend, mentor. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t trying to “work smarter, not harder” to get it all done and feel good about myself, only to begin climbing the mountain with a fresh list the next day. My goals were simple: peace of mind and a sense that I was in control of my life and doing a good job for all …
The new rules of time management
The majority of my coaching clients are physicians. It isn’t easy for them these days. For the most part, doctors are rational types who believe in science, data, and facts. They have trouble understanding why so many of their patients seem to have signed on as extras in the unreality show of a skilled Pied Piper with a large and devoted following. How sad that so many people have followed …
Doctors have had it with tall tales (and those who tell them)
The most memorable books have twists, turns, and surprises. A plot twist is a literary technique involving a radical change in an expected outcome. It involves withholding critical information until the time is right, changing our perception of preceding or current events. There are often hints along the way, foreshadowing what is to come, but realization does not come until the twist happens, and often only appreciated in retrospect. Red …
How do we embrace the plot twists in our life?
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