Professionals must be lifelong learners to remain at the top of their game. There will always be new research, technology, and science to move any industry forward. In fact, those areas that don’t improve will ultimately fail or become obsolete. Investments in research and development (R&D) can propel a company forward to stay ahead of the curve. If these investments aren’t made, failure will be the ultimate end result.
Across the world, Amazon, Google, and Samsung tend to top the charts on their expenditure of R&D. These companies spend over $15B each a year. $15B!!! This can be a staggering number when you think about it. However, it shouldn’t be a surprise since these are some of the most recognizable and advanced brands in their categories.
If we look at Samsung specifically, back in 2016 you may remember a rash of cell phone battery explosions and fires that rocked the cell phone industry. This led to a horrible media storm of bad publicity, poor outcomes, and would seem to lead to certain disaster for the company. You may recall that airlines didn’t even want the Samsung phones on their planes. This humongous product disaster would be certain to destroy a company altogether. Who would want to buy a cell phone that could explode and be banned on airlines??
In this case, Samsung went on to recall their batteries and devices and went on to correct the problem. What else did they do? They dramatically increased their R&D spend which had been sliding over the preceding years. Not only did they increase their spending, they took it up to about 2 and a half times what they spent about 10 years previously. This significant investment leads them to remain one of the biggest companies in cell phones and electronics today.
Recently, I was on stage in front of a group of doctors that were investing in their own research and development at the Medicannaposium. They were learning things about medicinal cannabis mainly in relation to the laws and statutes in Florida. They were learning the latest science developments within the endocannabinoid system and how medical marijuana can help their patients. When you think about it, many of us did not train in a time when marijuana is considered a medication. When I looked in my (over 20 year old) Harrison’s Textbook of Medicine, the section on marijuana was in the drugs of abuse section. The one page section discussed the prevalence and other stats of the drug. The “cutting edge” medicine was the discovery of ‘blunts’ and how they are commonly used in city neighborhoods (blunts are they are marijuana filled cigars.) They talked about acute and chronic intoxication with the physical effects. Then the chapter moved on to LSD…
Now Going to a conference is nothing unusual to our profession. In fact, many people invest in their professional development from time to time. However, in this case it is very different. Most of the crowd was learning something that was not covered in medical school. There are a lot of subjects that aren’t covered in medical school: how to deal with the medical board, how to deal with problematic patients, how to start a business, how to deal with a malpractice claim, how to accept a job offer, how to quit a job and many other topics.
The problem is that we are trained to be a “1 trick pony.” This is especially true of physicians. We are trained to take care of patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Therefore, seeing patients becomes our main objective. In fact, many people become devastated when something interferes with that IMPLIED purpose; seeing patients. Things in life happen; illness, aging, or perhaps you were arrested on false pretenses. Whatever the case, because your purpose has been implied (seeing patients) we think that is all we are good for. We can’t see beyond the label that was placed upon us through our professional degrees.
Our purpose is larger than simply helping people by seeing patients. There may be many other things driving our purpose. Because our training is so rigid, we don’t have time to think about these things. This leads us to have a less than desirable career where we always feel unfulfilled, or have burnout/moral injury, and simply want to give up.
So what if you want to do something else with your career? People have gone on to have a much more fulfilling life after they have gone to do something that matches their purpose. Many episodes of Licensed To Live are designed to highlight how others have pursued different avenues in their career. Many of these changes have occurred when something dramatic has happened to them or their family. This is intended to give you all hope and perhaps you may take action on something that you have always wanted to do as a primary job or even a side job. Perhaps you will find inspiration in somebody else achieving their dream and your life won’t be so bad if you could just make that change. Do something that you have passion for. Do something that makes you feel good. Make a change!
In order to make a change, you must take action. If you are feeling less than fulfilled in your current career, take action. Get the courage to make a change and find that happy place you are looking for. Invest in your own R&D
