Beyond Residency: The New Physician’s Guide to the Practice of Medicine

Beyond Residency offers practical, no-nonsense advice about the business and economics of being a medical doctor. Used as a textbook in the Business of Medicine Course at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine, this edition is designed to work more broadly for other institutions teaching business of medicine courses and for new physicians starting out in practice.

Recalling his days in medical school, Marc Lyles, senior director of health care affairs for the Association of American Medical Colleges said, "Whenever we asked a business question we were always told, 'Don't worry about that. You need to learn the medical side before you worry about the business side.'" He states that between 2003 and 2007, the majority of students were satisfied with their medical and clinical training. However, less than half felt that enough time was devoted to the practice of medicine, especially to medical economics.

The Brody School of Medicine addresses that discrepancy, offering its Business of Medicine Course as a fourth-year elective and as a postgraduate class for students in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Topics addressed include time value of money, contracts, RVUs, disability and life insurance, and investment plans such as traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs.

In 2015, the Business of Medicine Course received a positive score of 4.68/5 (94%) for its value to medical students, and Beyond Residency received a score of 3.89/4 (97%) for its effectiveness in teaching students the business of medicine.

Beyond Residency helps students to understand important yet under-explored areas that will impact them as practicing physicians.