Volume 10 Issue 3 August 2017

MEDICAL DIRECTOR, REHAB UNIT 
SUMTER, SC

• Hospitalist coverage for nights and weekend medical emergencies
• No physiatry or neurology competition
• Affiliation with a national rehab company

ASSOCIATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR, REHAB UNIT
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA AREA

• Full unit and the only unit of its kind in an 80 mile radius
• Initiate a Continuity Care Outpatient clinic
• Hospitalists for medical care

MEDICAL DIRECTOR, INPATIENT AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND GENERAL OUTPATIENT
NEW HAVEN, CT

• Grow with this prestigious, dynamic program
• The inpatient has NO CALL, no weekends, no evenings, and no work on holidays
• Academic or clinical track

Why You Need a Brand

The belief that you don’t really need a brand as a physician is just not true anymore. It is important to put some thought into your brand to boost your career. No matter if you are going into business for yourself by opening your own practice or are looking for work, your brand will make a difference in how potential patients, employers and business partners will view you. Having a solid, consistent brand will help you stand out in a positive way.

Think about the first thing you do when you are considering a new service provider. You probably pull out your smartphone or your laptop, and do a quick Google search to learn more about them. You look for other reviews online. You look for whether or not they’ve had any issues in the past with their clients. You look to see if they have a social media presence. In many cases, in just a few minutes you can research them and make an educated decision on whether or not you want to do business with this person based on what you’ve found. Now, take a moment to Google yourself and see what you find. If you find nothing relevant on the first page of search results, or worse, some embarrassing information that you’d rather not be online, consider establishing your professional brand as a way to counteract this information.

Any potential business partners, employers, employees and patients will probably go through this process choosing to work with you, so this step is essential.

What Makes a Good Brand

A good brand is one that represents you and your values. It should tell how you go about practicing medicine specifically and doing business in general. Your brand is what separates you from the competition, and makes you the right choice for employers, future employees and patients.   Think about what makes you different. Are you more interested in incorporating alternative treatment methods? Are you the type of practitioner that makes home visits to patients that are unable to come into your office? What are your unique skill-sets of education, qualifications, and experiences that make you the unique doctor that you are today? These are all good concepts that help make a good brand.

How to Develop Your Brand

The first thing that you should do is think about what you want to highlight about yourself, your skills, and your personality. Think about how you make people feel. Do you have a good bedside manner? How do others describe you? What benefits can other people get from working with you? The answers to these questions can help you decide what you want to focus on the most with your brand. After this brainstorming, you will want to create your description thinking on who is your target audience, what keyword would you use to describe yourself, and what niche are you looking to fill? The final area to examine is what’s your unique value and how do you stand out from the crowd.

After this brainstorming session, you will want to put this all together into a brand statement and create your general brand. Then, you will want to start implementing your brand. You can do this through your personal social media accounts and websites along with your professional accounts. If you are opening up your own practice or joining a practice, be sure to feature your brand to your patients and potential patients. Also, if you are a job seeker, you can have this added to your CV or resume in both subtle and relevant ways. During your interviews, be sure to highlight your personal brand. Lastly, always live up to the personal brand that you have created for yourself. If you are not consistent, then your branding will not take hold.

Step aside business owners, it’s time for physicians to harness the power of the brand. Embrace the power of your brand. Now that you have an idea of why you should take the time to develop your brand or improve upon it, it’s time to get out there and get started. Developing your brand can take time, but is well worth the effort, especially when you are on a job hunt or trying to fill your schedule with patients.

Article contributed by Christopher Burton, M.D., Physiatrist

E-mail him today ([email protected]) if you are ready to invest in yourself, or visit physiciancoach.guru/coaching for more information.

About once every week or two, you will receive an email about any new practice opportunities. More information about the new practice opportunities may be found by clicking on the Openings tab on the Farr Healthcare website. Even more information is available by contacting Farr Healthcare, Inc. at [email protected], 888-362-7200.