Welcome to the Lounge!

Hey! We are excited to introduce you to the inaugural issue of The Lounge, brought to you by BootstrapMD, and we’re calling it a different type of newsletter for doctors.

For years, the doctor’s lounge would be a place where you could share ideas, collaborate, and confide with your colleagues. Well we aim to bring that back! The Lounge will cover subjects that matter to you such as:

• Building multiple streams of income

• Conventional and “outside the box” investment strategies

• Winning work life balance with your physician career

• Success stories from doctors who are forging their own path

ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT

Unlock the secret to funding your medical business without loans or personal cash. 💰Dr. Omolara Thomas Uwemedimo, MD, MPH, founder of Melanin & Medicine and physician consultant, is an expert in grant application processes for physicians looking to fund their businesses. In this interview, she shares her insights and tips on successfully obtaining grants to grow a medical business. By partnering with established non-profit organizations, physicians can access grant funding and support their ventures without relying on high-interest loans or personal funds.

LOUNGE TALK

Physicians may earn more, but we face our own set of financial hurdles.. In many respects, personal finance is doubly challenging for physicians. Years of long hours and low pay in medical school and residency, combined with an enormous salary jump with the first job make financial planning and prudence especially hard. For instance, a graph based on MedSchoolCoach data suggests that it takes 26 years on the job for the average physician's total earnings to overtake that of an electrician. From physicians’ debt repayment options like NIH Loan Repayment and PSLF to expense management tools and regular savings schemes, gain a better understanding of how medical professionals can navigate financial planning and management.

Move over stocks and bonds; alternative investments are reshaping the financial landscape.. Alternative investments are becoming more accessible for retail investors, opening up a world of opportunities beyond traditional stocks and bonds. With the low-interest rate environment and high volatility of the past decade, investors are increasingly seeking diversification and higher returns. Technology has played a significant role in expanding access to alternative assets, with platforms like crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending making it easier for investors to participate. However, challenges remain in the form of liquidity and transparency for some alternative assets.

How are physician side hustles revolutionizing the medical landscape?. Physicians are increasingly turning to side hustles to supplement their income, achieve financial security, and find personal fulfillment. This shift is driven by factors such as high student loan debt, decreasing autonomy, and the changing landscape of the medical field. Doctors are leveraging their skills and interests to create additional income streams, which can provide relief from financial stress, a creative outlet, and a sense of work-life balance. In addition, side hustles can offer physicians the opportunity to diversify their income and plan for their future.

Can AI chatbots really rival doctors when it comes to empathy and quality in healthcare?? A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that AI chatbot assistants like ChatGPT can provide responses to patients' health questions that are of comparable quality and empathy to those written by physicians. The study compared ChatGPT's responses to those of doctors in Reddit's r/AskDocs, finding that the AI's responses were rated significantly higher for both quality and empathy. However, some researchers question whether this evaluation truly reflects the AI's superiority or merely the doctors' incentive to devote time for accurate and empathetic responses on social media. The ultimate solution may lie in physicians harnessing ChatGPT for better and empathetic care, rather than completely replacing human interaction.

Discover the secret sauce to creating a purpose-driven business that makes a real impact. In the pursuit of building a purpose-driven business that makes a positive impact, entrepreneurs should focus on defining their purpose, creating a sustainable business model, building a community, measuring their impact, telling their story, collaborating with other like-minded businesses, and staying agile and innovative. By effectively combining these elements, a business can differentiate itself, create a lasting legacy, and contribute positively to society and the environment.

We hope you find our newsletter informative and engaging. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out!