Sylvester Ochoga 🩺

Hey, Emelda. I seldomly do this but let me try to put something and my thoughts together anyhow. So here's my advice for you; before anything else ask yourself why you want to leave clinicals. Is it money, impact, or wanting to belong somewhere? Me na money and impact sha. See, each one leads to a different path. If you don't answer this honestly, you'll switch fields and still feel stuck lmao. For me, I'd say think healthcare not just "medicine." Your MBBS is a passport into health tech, public health, pharma, insurance, policy, and consulting. Clinical work is one door out of many. And this is what many doctors fail to comprehend. Have you heard of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Language (AI/ML)? Abeg learn AI/ML now. You don't have to become an engineer, but to become the doctor in the room who understands both the medicine and the model. You get? That combo is rare and well paid. You'll keep studying and applying for remote roles while you do. Hmmm...this one is tricky sha. Got a startup idea like @AskAwaDoc? You can launch it oh but before you become a tech founder abeg have a "sugar daddy" oh e get why 😅 See, I mean someone who backs you financially without much scrutiny; maybe your dad, bf or hubby or a friend. 'Cos startups take longer to pay than you expect and you need runway yep. Something to look at again which I will strongly recommend is the NGO route and it's one of the sweetest. It polishes your CV and the pay is real money, trust me. You go flex tire literally. How? Go to the careers pages of int'll NGOs and look for roles that suite you. You can try programme officer roles. There are worth checking too since they fit doctors well. Another one is to get a manag't degree. Try save around N1.5m and enrol at Miva University. They also offer an MPH if you lean toward public health. But I'd advise you to get an MBA...e get why. MPH dey too "saturated" somehow. With a degree in healthcare manag't, na you go dey employ doctors in clinical practice and with better pay than them (abeg no offence 🙏). There's another thing I'd advise you to do now, which is to pick a niche. My suggestion is women's health, especially maternal health. Study it deeply, then add that AI/ML on top. Omo, you'd be making blood money. That's where a lot of grant funding sits. Apply widely, connect with like minds and make your cool funds. Have you heard of doctors in the green economy? Climate and health is wide open. Check what we do at @Ozone_HQ first. Did you even know that Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health has a department of Climate Change? And very few doctors are working in this space yet :) Before I forget this one and it's important too. You can japa oh. Japa is also a non clinical investment lol. Going abroad for a master's in public health, health informatics, or health manag't can reset your whole career. For real, for real. So whatever you choose start before you feel ready. Pick one path this month and take one concrete step on it. Oya, happy weekend 🫡