How To Address The Young Doctor Clinical Brain Drain

More young doctors are jumping ship to non-clinical roles. Some are not taking residencies to create or join startups, some are abbreviating their clinical lifespans, and others are creating portfolio careers or joining the sick care gig economy.

Most medical educators seem to take a lead in the stand approach, deluding themselves into believing they can choose to admit only those who will pursue a full time clinical career for forty years. There are other options:

1. Create a shorter, cheaper second pathway in medical schools for those who have limited or no interest in practicing clinical medicine

2. Change how medical students are recruited and selected

3. Make it more joyful to practice physician intrapreneurship

4. Create entrepreneurial medical schools

5. Rethink technology transfer at academic medical centers

6. Provide entrepreneurial experiential learning opportunities for medical students

7. Integrate business, arts and humanities, science, engineering, law and health professional education across campuses

8. Improve industry-academic knowledge exchange

9. Recruit faculty entrepreneurs and train the trainers

10. Reward the scholarship of innovation

Medical educators and sick care systems employers can ignore the trend or embrace it as an opportunity. Law schools are adapting to the changing legal landscape, given that jobs are shrinking and half of graduates don't practice law, and medicine should do the same. Otherwise, we will be waiving good-bye to a lot of talent.