Rajiv Sharma, MD, founder of Digestive Health Associates in Terre Haute, Ind., joined Becker’s to discuss the importance of interpersonal relationships.
Editor’s note: This interview was edited lightly for clarity and brevity.
Question: Where does physician education fall short?
Dr. Rajiv Sharma: Technology and networking are two mantras of success. You have to step outside your comfort zone, learn the dollar flow and garner attention. Physicians need to pay attention to the internet and see who is out there as patient navigators and advocates. Physicians have to lead there. Physicians have to work together and look at meeting other doctors as an opportunity to make a life-long friend and business partner. There comes a point in our lives when the high school competitive egotistical behavior needs to be flushed down the toilet. By building a broader network, your opportunity to enhance revenue streams and career satisfaction is high as well.
Physicians need to also educate themselves about healthcare politics and basic things like hospital bylaws. Any relationship they enter in, they need to know as to who controls their paycheck. Biggest point of education should be understanding money flow; that is, who can turn their flow off and how they should hedge against it. That is why networking, making friends, being courteous to other doctors and their families, political fundraisers, business meetings, etc., are helpful. Because when someone else writes your paycheck, you very well need to accept the notion that one of you will play prey and the other one is the predator. You have to decide how big of a bite that is.
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