The #1 Advice Every New Doctor Needs to Hear

This week, Match Day made me nostalgic for that time 17 years ago when my class at Stanford found out where we’d matched for residency — the excitement, relief, certainty, and everything that came with it. It also got me thinking: What advice would I give my younger self if I were to do it all over again?

So much has changed since 2008, but if there’s anything I wish more people had told me, it’s that there is no one path for your medical career. This has only gotten truer over time: Want a full-time clinical job? Great. Want to get involved with medical education and teaching? Also great. Or, maybe you’re considering startups, media advocacy, nonprofits, government, pharma or consulting. Each of these choices is valid, and yet far too often, we’re only exposed to The One True Path: a full-time clinical career, qday, x30 years.

And because I don’t think The One True Path works today (and maybe it never did), we work hard to spotlight new role models and unearth stories of physicians charting their own paths through our How I Doctor podcast, blog, and this newsletter. This includes doctors who’ve returned to private practice from academics like Dr. Basil Kahwash. Those who’ve made a leap to the private sector like Phil DiGiacomo. Those exploring new practice models altogether, like Dr. Kenneth Qiu, Dr. Tessa Reinke, and Dr. Tarang Patel and Dr. Kevin Kadakia. It also includes leaders who are helping physicians remain independent, like Dr. Farzad Mostashari, Dr. Christine Meyer, and Dr. Adam Brown. As well as those working at healthcare startups, like Dr. Tina Shah, Dr. Rishi Khakhkhar, and Dr. Simon Chang. And finally, those using media for advocacy (and entertainment) like Dr. Will Flanary, Dr. Darien Sutton, and Dr. Emily Silverman.

In my own case, I continue to work clinically in the ED (hi overnight shift last Thursday), while leading AI, innovation, and advocacy work for my medical group and founding two startups, MDCalc and Offcall. The breadth of exposure undoubtedly helps me stay creative and inspired. I thought it would be fun to poll some physician colleagues who I think break the “cookie cutter” mold, so everyone could also see their No. 1 piece of career advice. See their responses below (and a huge thank you to all who contributed — you personally inspire me!). I think you’ll find consistent themes:

1. Keep an open mind, allow your own passion to shape and inspire your career.
2. Regardless of the path you choose, what matters most is honoring your oath and working to help patients and fellow physicians.

So, to the class of 2025 and all my colleagues, I say don’t be afraid to go against the grain. Figure out how to best apply your skills for the good of medicine and humanity — no matter how “atypical” that path may be. Know that I, and all the physicians in this community, will be here to mentor and cheer you along the way.

Sincerely,

Graham Walker, MD, Emergency Physician
Co-founder, Offcall

P.S. I know there are countless other physicians practicing medicine differently today who deserve a spotlight. Tell me: Who’s a physician or organization charting their own path in a creative way for the good of physicians and patients? Reply directly or tag yourself (or them!) and their organization in the comments. We’ll spotlight them on our blog and a future newsletter!

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Yana Vaks: “Stop following the prescribed path and start building your own. The most growth happens during the detours. Define what success means for you — not what’s been drilled into your Type A brain. There is no gold star at the end, no A+ waiting for you in attending-hood. The real win? Figuring out what actually excites you, what kind of doctor (and human) you want to be, and chasing that with everything you’ve got.”

Andrew Parambath: “Feel empowered to explore what excites you, question the way things are done, and dive deep into the details. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo! Shed the belief that you’re ‘just a trainee’ and that you don’t have much to offer — because you do. Adopt a growth mindset and recognize that your insights, curiosity, and fresh perspective are already valuable. You deserve a seat at the table. Let your guiding compass be the commitment to making healthcare better — whether by improving patient care, supporting colleagues, driving innovation, or advancing health equity. As you climb the ladder of success, bring others up with you. True progress in healthcare never happens in isolation, it's always a collective effort.”

Eve Cunningham: “Medicine will take you places you never imagined — whether it’s the incredible fulfillment of patient care or surprising turns into leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. It’s a journey rich with impact and opportunity. My advice? Be present, be curious, and don’t forget to enjoy the process. Be kind to yourself and trust that the path will unfold in ways you never planned — but often exactly as it should.”

Sherman Leung: “Don't wait until you're fully finished with clinical training to start improving our broken healthcare system. A fresh set of eyes and an incessant curiosity about root causes can make trainees (and medical students!) powerful change agents in the interstitial layers of healthcare, especially if you don't shy away from building an interdisciplinary understanding of healthcare-specific data/technology, policy, and business challenges.”

Ainsley MacLean: “Follow your dreams and be creative in how you think about and practice your love of medicine! The way we treat disease today is not the way we will tomorrow, the future is yours to make and we will be cheering you on!”

Rick Pescatore: “Medicine is a long journey, and early on, it can feel like there’s only one right way to walk it. There isn’t. The most fulfilled and impactful physicians I know are the ones who gave themselves permission to grow beyond the narrow definitions of what a doctor ‘should’ be. My advice? Be relentless in your curiosity. Learn from everyone — your mentors, your patients, your friends and family, your own missteps. And don’t be afraid to carve your own path. Whether that means practicing at the bedside for 40 years or exploring how your skills translate into research, policy, business, or something else entirely — your career belongs to you. Medicine is bigger than you think, and so are you.”

Lior Braunstein: "Training in and practicing medicine are hard. We devote our careers to pushing back against nature and its attendant illnesses and malfunctions; this is no easy feat! Try not to lose sight of the person you were on that first day of medical school — to maintain that curiosity and awe and wonder that brought you to this most noble calling. And to recall that each day in medicine — no matter how grueling, or thankless, or oppressive — each day affords us the supreme privilege of alleviating suffering and lightening the burden of the human condition."

Know someone who would benefit from joining us? Help us grow our tent by forwarding this newsletter to your physician colleagues and subscribing here.

I Got Rejected for Loans in Residency – So I Started My Own Bank for Doctors!

This week on How I Doctor, Graham talked to Dr. Michael Jerkins, a med-peds physician who co-founded Panacea Financial, a financial services company for doctors. After being rejected for multiple loans during residency, Michael realized that traditional banks were failing doctors as customers. So, he created a bank that understands the unique financial struggles and goals of the medical community. Michael shares the company’s founding story, explores why he and more doctors like him are becoming entrepreneurs, and offers insights about physicians’ unique financial situation and building more wealth and well-being.

👀 Learn more about Panacea and listen to this episode below!

Listen to the full episode →

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Santina Wheat breaks down the problems with “just going part time” and discusses the alternative solutions to burnout that have actually helped her personally.

3 Things to Read This Week

The NP and PA Will See You Now (Forbes)
Dr. Spencer Dorn argues it’s time to move beyond asking whether NPs and PAs provide similar quality care to MDs, and instead consider how each profession must evolve to meet our increasing needs.

Inside the Gen Z Doctor Shortage (Business Insider)
America needs 90,000 more family physicians. Med students have different priorities.

As AI Nurses Reshape Hospital Care, Human Nurses Are Pushing Back (AP News)
Hospitals say AI is helping their nurses work more efficiently, but nursing unions argue AI is overriding nurses’ expertise and degrading the quality of care patients receive.

Highlights From Our Community

Each week, we celebrate career milestones, launches, & other goings-on in the physician community. Have something to promote? Reply and we’ll feature you.

🎉 Congrats, class of 2025!
To all who matched, a huge congratulations! Shouting out just a few (please tag someone in the comments who should be included!): Joel Bervell (here), Maryam Haghshomar (here), Harsh Moolani (here), Jaskaran Singh Dhillon (here), Nuhar Thind (here), Moutushi Ahmed (here), Ali Ali (here), Johnson Ayodeji (here).

⚕️Wait there’s more, behind the Match Day numbers.
Emergency medicine bounces back, see more from Dr. Resa Lewiss here. >95% of pediatrics positions filled, learn more from Dr. Yana Vaks here. However, things are not trending as favorably for Family Medicine, learn more from Dr. Paulius Mui here.

👏 Speaking of family medicine…
Shawn Martin and AAFP President Dr. Jen Brull debuted a new Be Their First campaign to drive interest in more family medicine and primary care physicians. Learn more here.

👍 Great reminder, Amna Shabbir
Dr. Amna Shabbir shared a great reflection about Match Day and a reminder to not let the decision impact your self-worth, no matter what the outcome. Read it here.

🎙️Let’s go, Morgan Cheatham
Morgan Cheatham appeared on the NEJM AI Grand Rounds podcast to discuss trends in venture capital and AI and his vision for the future of biomedicine. Check it out here!

🩺 Strong work, Dhruv Khullar 
In JAMA Viewpoint, Dr. Dhruv Khullar, Dr. Amelia Bond, Dr. Lawrence Casalino examined two under-appreciated elements of Medicare Advantage enrollment. More here.

🗣️ Tune in, Aditi Nerukar
Dr. Aditi Nerukar is giving an upcoming TED Talk on stress, your brain, and mental health. Learn more and register here.

📖 Great read, Aditi Joshi
Dr. Aditi Joshi reflects on the use of language in medicine and how language between law and medicine differs. Read it here.

🎙️ Good listen, Jennifer Bepple
Dr. Jennifer Bepple spoke with Dr. Anish Desai on The Undergod Physician podcast about the role of physicians in the development of technology. Give it a listen here.

🔬Keep it up, Alin Gragossian
Dr. Alin Gragossian held a fireside chat with Dr. Elisa Jill Gordon about incorporating the patient voice into drug development. Read her recap here.

🔥 Post of the week, Graham Walker
Graham’s reflections about how hospital execs could be doing a better job understanding physicians went viral on social media. Read it here.

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