About one month ago, I dropped down to 0.9 FTE (full-time equivalent). I thought it might be time to reflect on how it’s going so far.
Continue reading “One Month Later”Author: IM-PCP
Get Credit For the Work You Do
Any resident who joins me in clinic will hear me talk about billing. It isn’t the most important thing I can teach them–seeing a variety of medical issues, learning nuances of outpatient medicine, practicing efficiency: these are what they want to learn, and what they should learn. However, I had little education on billing as a resident, which really came back to bite me in my first job, and I would like to help them avoid this in their own practice.
If you know how you get paid (which you should!), you need to make sure you get paid appropriately. I think it’s also important for employees to get credit if they are working hard. My first job became quite unpleasant after a few years, mostly due to my ignorance of proper medical billing practice.
Fitness log #9
One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.
I most certainly do struggle with fitness and health, like many other Americans with sedentary jobs and a proclivity to eat treats. One of my goals is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen). I will see for how long I am willing to document my progress Saturday to Friday.
This week involved a lot of driving, and coming back to a full week of work. And holiday stuff.
The YOLO Chair
In the corner of my parents’ living room sits a large armchair, Louis XV style. It’s my father’s chair, generally speaking no one else sits in it, unless one of the cats sneaks in. It’s quite handsome, and guests frequently remark on it.
My mother tells the story of how they acquired the chair:
Continue reading “The YOLO Chair”Know How You Get Paid
Something that I see written about frequently–and will likely write more about myself–is saving your money. As attendings, we doctors are paid pretty darned well, and ought to be able to live within our means, while also saving for retirement. However, some of the numbers offered as reasonable physician income are far higher than what an average primary care physician or internist can reasonably be expected to earn.
While it is reasonable to find savings to put away by spending less, another strategy is to make more. Working hard at your job, or negotiating better terms on a contract, are important factors to earning more. What I’d like to write about today is knowing where your money is coming from. That can help you make smarter choices about where you want to put your effort, possibly helping you get paid for work you are already doing.
Continue reading “Know How You Get Paid”Fitness Log #8
One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.
I most certainly do struggle with fitness and health, like many other Americans with sedentary jobs and a proclivity to eat treats. One of my goals is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen). I will see for how long I am willing to document my progress Saturday to Friday.
Continue reading “Fitness Log #8”One Doctor’s Retirement, 20 years later
In my prior post, I wrote about my father’s career and retirement preparations. He retired just over 20 years ago, and from what I can see, had a pretty good time.
Over the years we have talked about finances, and though I haven’t announced firm plans to retire early, I think he can tell I am thinking about it. He has been giving more advice recently, mostly to keep working.
I thought I would share some of his recent advice, and some of my observations of his two-decades-long retirement, which I hope will go another decade more.
Continue reading “One Doctor’s Retirement, 20 years later”One Doctor’s Retirement
My office mate is just starting out, and seems overwhelmed by finances. When I mentioned my father was a retired physician, and had retired well, she was very interested in how he had managed that.
I asked him this weekend, and got a shorter-than-expected answer. In many ways, the answer is very simple: save money and invest it. I will embellish the answer and see if it might be illuminating.
Fitness Log #7
One of the favorite things I have heard from a patient is: you’re a doctor, you don’t have to worry about blood pressure. Implying, of course, that doctor’s don’t struggle with their health.
I most certainly do struggle with fitness and health, like many other Americans with sedentary jobs and a proclivity to eat treats. One of my goals is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen). I will see for how long I am willing to document my progress Saturday to Friday.
Continue reading “Fitness Log #7”When Are You Rich?
As Thanksgiving approaches, it seems time to pay special attention to the blessings and riches we enjoy.
Continue reading “When Are You Rich?”