Healthcare

A Day In the Life of a Medical Device Inventor

Design and develop and invent processes to make medical devices that change people’s lives 

Educational Pathway

Undergrad at UCLA in bachelor of sciences and doctorate in chemistry from UF 

Characteristics/Skills/Inspiration

curiosity, fearlessness and knew a little bit about a lot of different things 

Pros and Cons 

Pros: Independence, ability to work globally, ability to impact people’s lives 

Cons: Needs lots of education, commitment, takes priority over lots of things, regulations in medical devices make it slow 

Biggest Challenge Faced In Getting Where They Are Today - How did they overcome it?

Figuring out the correct ways to manufacture it. Continues to try to overcome this challenge.

Advice For One Pursuing this Career

You get more opportunities if you get advanced degrees. Patience. It took 9 years.

Extra Notes/Interesting Facts

He invented the freestyle libre sensor for all types of diabetes. 

A Day In the Life of a Plastic Surgeon

Weekly work schedule focuses on an office (3 days) practice of plastic surgery patients, including reconstructive (facial & tissue trauma,  breast cancer,  skin cancer, wounds,  & cosmetic procedures). Office, hospital-based and Surgery center operations 2 days a week. 

Educational Pathway

4 years college / university,1 year graduate school, 4 years medical school, 4 years general surgery residency, 2 years plastic surgery residency,1 year plastic surgery fellowship

16 total years full time education before surgical practice 1980-1996 

Characteristics/Skills/Inspiration

Medicine is diversified healthcare with ongoing, academic, and professional care.  very interesting.  always highly challenging with opportunities for improvement consistently available throughout one’s career. 

Plastic surgery is likewise as unique Field that allows a physician who is interested in surgery to work with both very old and very young people and healthy people and people who have illness and sickness. plastic surgeons are unique in that were the only ones that on one day could take care of 3 year old and then a 93-year-old,  men and women are patients,  some very old, some very, very young.

Though the career pathway is very long in terms of formal education, there are excellent job opportunities and healthcare, particularly Surgery. Cost of education is high today approaching  $1 million but income opportunities remain competitive for paying back school loans. 

Pros and Cons 

Pros:  interesting work, get to work with people of all ages, opportunities to help individuals who need care.  fun work!  

Cons: very long, formal education process that’s expensive. running a private practice as opposed to a university position is complex. Long hours can involve ER call in the hospital which limits time for social activities with family and friends during the early part of career. 

Biggest Challenge Faced In Getting Where They Are Today - How did they overcome it?

Probably the very long hours when I was younger, working in the hospital during General surgery residency.  Just work hard and muster through it. 

Advice For One Pursuing this Career

Focus on the long run.  Develop skills at every level. Enjoy your work, but be practical be careful, choosing careers and education that will immerse you in significant lifelong debt without the opportunity for career advancement. 

Extra Notes/Interesting Facts

We need more physicians. Medicine/surgery has excellent career opportunities.  Women actually make great surgeons and have  technically skilled hands!  

A Day In the Life of a Surgeon

Clinic, surgeries, procedures, administrative actions 

Educational Pathway

I studied biology in college but was not sure what I wanted to do.  I worked various healthcare adjacent jobs (research lab, clinical researcher, organ procurement) and once I decided to pursue medicine, took classes in a master's program. It was a long path 

Characteristics/Skills/Inspiration

Compassion, empathy, love to work with my hands 

Pros and Cons 

Pros: get to impact people's lives daily, meet and work with very accomplished individuals, job security 

Cons: very physically and emotionally taxing, hard to protect family time, extremely long path 

Biggest Challenge Faced In Getting Where They Are Today - How did they overcome it?

Not getting into medical school the first time. Identified problems and attacked them head on. 

Advice For One Pursuing this Career

Expect a very long but rewarding path.

A Day In the Life of a Plastic Surgeon

I see patients in my office three days per week and I do operations two days per week 

Educational Pathway

I went to college(4 years), medical school (4 years), internship/residency/fellowship 7.5 years. I studied Human Biology in college which correlates with my career. As long as you complete the prerequisites, I think you can major in whatever interests you most 

Characteristics/Skills/Inspiration

Interest in people, interest in the human body and how it works, interest in doing operations 

Pros and Cons 

Pros: Nice people, very interesting, fun to work with my hands 

Cons: Long hours, many years of training, lots of regulations 

Biggest Challenge Faced In Getting Where They Are Today - How did they overcome it?

Residency was lots of hours, lots of responsibility, and lots of learning ( all at once). I worked hard and had a group of friends who supported each other 

Advice For One Pursuing this Career

I tell my sons that I hope that they find a career that they love. It is different for every person. If you love your job, it makes life much easier. 

Extra Notes/Interesting Facts

I have the best job in the world! 

A Day In the Life of a Surgeon/CEO

My week consists of two main areas: 1) Administrative - managing a small healthcare company with 200 employees.  Meetings / trouble shooting / planning    2) Patient directed care - both time spent in the office seeing patients as well as time in the operating room. 

Educational Pathway

Too long....     I studied biophysics in undergrad and the went to medical school.  after medical school spent 6 years in a surgical residency - one of the years being research.   A number of years later I went back to school to get my MBA.  My undergrad did not correlate directly with my career path - but indirectly ... 

Characteristics/Skills/Inspiration

I didn't - I think a lot of it is putting in the time mastering a skill and also having good mentors.   10,000 hours.   

Pros and Cons 

Pros: Immense satisfaction in helping patients. Working with colleagues who are just as committed to patient care.   Being able to control your own career path. 

Cons: Cons: Immense time sink.  Being at the mercy of enormous  medical companies (e.g. huge insurance companies and drug companies).  Expensive to go through school  - didn't start my first "job" until I was 34. Had some debt to pay back.     

Biggest Challenge Faced In Getting Where They Are Today - How did they overcome it?

I think that the time demands were the biggest challenge and by far the most important factor in overcoming this challenge was having a partner / spouse who was supportive and understanding.  

Advice For One Pursuing this Career

Talk to lots of people  - and keep an open mind..   Remember what Calvin Coolidge said in 1894 " Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."   or Thomas Edison: "Genius in 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration."