How to Become a Medical Entrepreneur After Graduating Med School and Skipping Residency Program?

What programs exist for medical students that wish to go into medical entrepreneurship post med school rather than a residency to practice clinical medicine?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Amy Chai, MD, Internal Medicine, MS Epidemiology



Two words: Theranos

Okay, that was just one word, but in that word is a universe fraught with cautionary tales. The landscape is littered with “wunderkinds” who think they know something, but exactly like Jon Snow, they KNOW NOTHING.

Yes, you can get an MD/MBA.

I would strongly caution against trying to reap a large profit in the medical business without having some heart and soul beaten into you by actually working with real people and understanding exactly how the “entrepreneurial spirit” has harmed as well as helped them.

When people go off and try to do some bullshit startup with dollar signs in their eyes, grabbing investment income from investors who are JUST AS IGNORANT as they are, problems happen.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all in favor of entrepreneurship, capitalism, and a fair wage for your hard work. However, I feel that MEDICINE should always FIRST be a CALLING and not a “means to an end to make money.” And yes, I think physicians deserve a fair wage for the extreme challenges that they face. I also think that inventions and innovation should be rewarded But to go into it thinking, “how can I be an entrepreneur” is not the right thing to do. TOO MANY people sit around thinking “how can I make money” instead of “how can I solve a problem in a way that makes the world a better place.”

If you are still reading, here is my advice: Do a residency, do research. Work with all sorts of people. Learn about people. Care about people. Take a look at the problems that you might be able to solve for them—problems that you actually care about, not problems that you see as a cool way to launch a startup. Talk to some people about their hopes and dreams, watch them struggle to find a ride to your clinic because they can’t get transportation. Watch people with “good insurance” who can’t afford to get the cardiac stress test I ordered for them because they have a massive copay and do not have the money for it. Then look at all the medicaid people who get everything for free, but work within an unsustainable model that is stretched to the breaking point. Then think about where you want to take a large profit from. At whose expense? Then find something amazing, that actually reduces cost, that helps people, that really works. Entrepreneur that. Be responsible. The world is not all about “some kid trying to launch a startup and get rich.” Not in medicine, anyway. Best of luck. Grow wise with age.

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