More and more doctors are creating multihyphenate careers - with businesses or “side hustles” outside of medicine. This isn’t a particularly well-trodden path, though - partly because of restraints of time and energy, as well as medicine being a particularly “traditional” profession.
The decision to pursue my creative interests and build my businesses has been one of my best career decisions.
However, it wasn’t an easy route. After I’d completed my yoga teacher training, I resisted teaching regular yoga classes for so long even though it was one of my passions.
Why? Partly because I had no idea how it would be feasible alongside my long hours working as a GP. Whenever I wasn’t working, I was exhausted!
Eventually, my love for teaching yoga felt too strong to ignore, and I set up a weekly class - and my first business was born. This took a lot of planning, juggling, and late nights to make it work - but I did it!
For me personally, there have been several benefits to building a multi-hyphenate career.
Spending my time and energy teaching and working creatively gives me time to recharge and helps me to avoid burnout.
I get to learn new skills and have new experiences that I would never get the chance to in medicine,
I get to enjoy working with people and making a difference without the barriers and formality of the doctor/patient relationship - meaning I’ve become a more “human” doctor.
My confidence has really grown as a result of stepping outside my comfort zone to take a risk and bring my vision to life.
I've learnt how to prioritise my time in a way that also prioritises me, my interests and my wellbeing - which means I can be more present as a clinician.
Overall a multi-hypenated career has helped me grow as a clinician, a business owner and a human and I’d encourage other doctors to consider it as a serious career route.