Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD, FACS is the Medical Director of RENU. Learn more about how our consultants can help you get into medical school today.
What motivated you to pursue a career in medicine?
I had always admired physicians. I came from a very low income household and when I started working summer jobs at age 13 my first job was a golf caddie at a country club. I recognized that the people whom I really enjoyed working with and the people who so many others respected were physicians. Coming from my background, becoming a physician was much more of a dream than a reality.
Although I grew up poor, my family understood the value of education and they had me apply to a boarding school in New England. I was accepted and with the help of financial assistance I attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, which completely changed my life and gave me the opportunity to even think about becoming a physician
In my senior year of high school I was accepted into an exchange program to the Dominican Republic. The island had just been devasted by a hurricane and we were placed with a family in a smaller village where electricity was occasional. We were also there to help rebuild schools and I was able to work as a volunteer in a local hospital. When I saw the impact that the physicians had on the lives of these individuals, I knew that I needed to be part of that. Which is when I decided I would pursue medicine when in college.
Did you have any setbacks or rejections during the med school admissions process, and what did you learn from those experiences?
I had plenty of set backs in route to medical school admissions. The biggest issue I had was that I had not time or access to study for the MCAT. I was playing a sport in college and trying to maintain my grades at the same time. I was nowhere near a Kaplan MCAT course and I would not advise anyone to take the MCAT cold. I had two interviews my senior year and unfortunately did not get admitted. I was on the wait list at one of the med schools and literally went up to that med school and slept at the admissions office hoping that perhaps one of their admits would choose another school and not show up for the first day. I was told that was possible, so what did I know!
The summer after my senior year I started working in a lab and studied about 12 hours a day taking the MCAT course. My scores went up so that I tested into the top 1% in four subjects. Ironically, I was admitted into medical school in early September and the medical schools never even saw my new scores.
If someone wants to start their own practice, what does that path look like after finishing medical school?
Starting your own practice does note begin after completing medical school. Residency is the time to determine your field of expertise and whether or not you would like to be in private practice, work for a hospital system, or work for a group that is either run by a medical service organization, or private equity. Starting your own practice looks different for different people. If you have personal and financial support after completing your residency and you have been taught about the business of medicine, then you can probably entertain the idea of starting your own practice. Where you decide to practice, urban or rural, will also determine if starting your own practice is even feasible.
When I completed residency, managed care was full steam ahead and getting onto managed care panels was no guarantee so you needed a group practice if you were going to take insurance in private practice. If you have a great deal of loans to pay off, or you are already married and have a child or two, taking out more loans may not be palatable.
What advice would you give to someone who’s looking to start their practice today?
My advice for anyone who would like to start their practice today is the following:
During your residency or fellowship make sure you spend time in the administrative arm of a private practice you admire to figure out how their machine works and you are not trying to reinvent the wheel which will only lead to financial mistakes.
Do not sign non compete contracts with anyone who you join with in practice. I found that many of the physicians who had onerous buy ins and non competes like to think that they are the reason for your success in practice and you will not be treated fairly. Signing a non compete insures they can continue to treat you unfairly.
Be the hardest worker, the friendliest, and most accessible physician you can be when you are starting out in practice. You can never go wrong with any of these attributes.
Inspira Advantage is proud to interview experts like Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD, FACS to help future doctors understand the challenges and rewards of a medical career. Learn more about how our experts can help you get into medical school today.
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