The Healthcare Career Incubator That We're Not Talking Enough About
Your Professional Association offers much more than you think...
You don’t have to jump off the diving board yet. You can dip your toe in the water first.
If you’re looking to pivot from practice into a non-clinical career, I recommend starting by making smart sacrifices— strategic investments in your career— to help you figure out what you want to do next. Sure, the price of admission to a job that doesn’t involve patient care can require overcoming some big hurdles, like an expensive masters degree. But before you go through all that, the initial cost to start down your non-clinical path can just be some sweat, maybe a scar or two, and a whole lot of time. And the best place I know of to get started is your Professional Association.
You can read my personal story about making smart sacrifices in Transitioning from a Clinical Career into Non-patient Work.
Your Professional Association is like a barely tapped oil field. You need to put in some real work so set up a drilling operation, but for those that do, that precious liquid gold is ready to come flowing out from the ground.
And you do need to put in some work. You can’t just pay your membership dues, show up to an occasional meeting, and expect to reap the full benefits I’m going to talk about here. This is very much a “get out what you put in” type of situation.
If you’re willing, your Professional Association can offer you so much more than the journal and some continuing education that your dues pay for— it offers the best (and most affordable) leadership training around, and it provides the perfect forum for Power Networking.
A leadership playground
In How I Stopped Being a Dentist, I discuss the prospects of non-clinical careers including academics, lecturing, being a Key Opinion Leader (KOL), consulting, industry positions, and administrative jobs. What all of these have in common is a need for refined leadership skills. Being a visionary, managing people, executing projects… these and several other capabilities will be put to the test.
Your local bookstore has shelves upon shelves of texts on leadership and some of them may offer you a few pearls. But the best way to become a better leader is to roll up your sleeves and get real dirty. And there's no better place for healthcare professionals to get real dirty than their Professional Associations.
If your professions are anything like dentistry, there are a few organizations you can join. There’s your main one, like the American Dental Association, and there are smaller special interest groups, like say the Academy of General Dentistry or the American Association of Orthodontists. Each of these probably has a tripartite structure, meaning there’s a national, state/territory, and local levels of membership. If you’re just starting out, the local association is your first stop.
These are volunteer groups, so pay your membership dues, show up at the next meeting, and just start volunteering for stuff. Join committees that plan events, attend general meetings, rock the vote. Depending on the size of your local chapter, it can take years to be considered for leadership positions or you may climb the ladder quickly. If there’s a vacant leadership position for some rather dull committee, don’t be picky and scoop up the opportunity.
And that’s what this is— an opportunity to practice your leadership skills. Experiment with running meetings, creating agendas, and holding people accountable. Develop your feedback style. Conquer your fear of public speaking. Your local Professional Association is a sandbox for you to gain invaluable experience sitting in the captain’s chair and it’s low stakes, low cost, and maximum return on investment. You’re also doing some good for your profession, so feel good about that.
As you gain experience on the local level, you may find that positions open for you a the state/territory level, or, after several years, on the national stage. Yes, it can mean even more time away from work and family as you travel on association business, but the rewards get so much sweeter. You’ll take on more responsibility, celebrate bigger wins and manage tougher losses, and accumulate more interesting stories to share on a future job interview.
And the more involved you get in your Professional Association, the more exposure you’ll get with prominent individuals in your field. Speaking of which…
Power Networking pays off big time
They say it’s who you know more than what you know that counts in business and, in my experience, that is not far from the truth. Look, you need to be a subject matter expert if you’re gong to venture further into non-clinical work, but you will get more opportunities for that work by putting yourself out there and networking strategically.
See How to Launch Your Career as a Professional Speaker for my full discussion on Power Networking, but the gist is (1) go to as many events as you can, (2) build relationships by making small emotional deposits (from Steven Covey’s terminology), and (3) say “yes” a lot to opportunities.
I’m currently the Chief Dental Officer at a group practice. How did I get the chance to interview for this job? I had built a positive relationship with a leader in the Dental Support Organization (DSO) space seven years earlier when I was Chair of the New Dentist Committee at the American Dental Association. He was consulting with this group as they were in start-up mode and he recommended me when they created the position. I could share similar stories about all of the other exciting non-clinical opportunities I’ve had in my career… it always starts with networking.
If I hadn’t been active New Dentist Committee’s at Suffolk County Dental Society (local), then with the New York Dental Association (state), and ultimately the ADA (national), then I quite possibly would not have the job I have now. It wasn’t luck that provided the opportunity; it was investing in dozens (if not hundreds) of relationships, working my up through the association tripartite.
Give back and get back
Professional Associations were established to protect patients and the healthcare professionals that serve them. They can set standards of care, lobby Congress, provide trusted guidance to the public, and so much more.
They’re built on the backs of volunteer leaders— your colleagues who care deeply about your profession and donate a part of their lives to seeing both patient and provider prosper. I salute every blessed one of them for there service.
I have also found Professional Associations to be a rarely tapped resource for healthcare workers who want to explore a life outside of patient care. If clinical work has lost its luster, volunteering your time with a local society might just be all you need to restore some balance in your life. What’s more, it can also be an accelerator for your next career.