From the time you enter medical training until you become an attending physician, you have several opportunities to experience different clinical career paths.

While you must make a choice, there are well-worn paths you can follow.

However, if the clinical path you chose no longer feels right, and none of the non-clinical career paths appeal to you, you may choose to create a new unique path. A unique career path for which there may not be a blueprint.

Here are 4 tips to create your blueprint to a unique career path.

1. Open your mind to what you love.

On those days when you go to work feeling tired, what activities light you up?
Get curious and notice what gives you energy.

2. Take an inventory of your experience, interests, values, and skills.

What are you really good at and how much do you enjoy it (i.e., high competency and high enjoyment activities)?

If you struggle with this one, ask trusted colleagues and friends what they think you do better than anyone else.

(In the early days of my own transition out of medicine, I had a coach ask me to email 15 colleagues and friends who knew me well and ask them what they saw as my “superpower”. I resisted this assignment- I felt embarrassed and fearful of what they might say. It turned out to be one of the more useful exercises I did. Many responses had 2 or 3 skills or talents that I didn’t think of as anything special.)

3. Ask yourself, “What kind of life do I want to live?”

How can your next career fit into the life you want?

What do you really want?

Allow yourself to explore and think outside the box.

4. Look back over your life.

Was there a career you were interested in when you were younger?

What happened to that interest?

Real-life examples:

Create a portfolio career with different jobs and income streams.

Add additional offerings to your practice (such as acupuncture, aesthetics, or a preventive health coaching program).

Start your own non-medical online business and live in three different countries.

Go part-time clinical and start a lucrative side-gig.

Final Words.

You have a unique combination of skills, experiences, gifts, preferences, and needs. Forging your own, unique path will require thinking outside the box, taking calculated risks, and going against old beliefs. It might feel uncertain, and require courage and patience.

The rewards of creating your own path are tremendous! Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself!