The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing!
With ever-increasing stresses at work and dissatisfaction and burnout over long hours, it is not surprising that more and more physicians are quitting medicine.
Making money from practicing medicine is hard. As a doctor, you shouldn’t give up the opportunity of earning extra money!
I enjoy my work very much but I believe practicing medicine as a private hospital consultant is a daunting task once your age is catching up. Working as a resident doctor in private is just like giving up your life to the hospital and shackled in a prison with no exit.
I started to think about earning extra money even when I was still a medical student back in 1996 at the University. The reason is simple, as a practicing doctor, you are non-other than just a dispensable asset of the hospital. You have to prepare yourself for the eventuality- one day you will get sick and couldn’t work anymore and job security is not a reality anymore for physicians.
Ways for making extra money
As a medical student, during the semester break, I always took up a temporary job as a teacher in my secondary school. I could easily make MYR 900 per month back in 1997 and 1998. Teaching is always my passion.
Due to the advancement of the internet and social media, you can easily become a private tutor if you want. You can teach science, mathematics or any subject if you like.
My son’s tutor who is a Form Six student charges me MYR 50 per hour for tutoring him to play guitar. It is very easy now to become a home tutor and you can register your interest HERE and start teaching.
Writing a book is the most enjoyable experience, I managed to use two weeks of my semester break to write an SPM ( O level) mathematic book in 1997. And yes, I made MYR 2500 by just spending 2 weeks of my time.
It is possible to earn extra money from home by writing a novel, a blog, or proofreading articles from publishers too!
During your training
It sounds crazy for you to think about doing locums during your training. During my housemanship, I was just too busy to do anything extra. I only managed to do locums after my housemanship.
The days of doing locums every other day in a 24-hour clinic were still vivid in my memory. Certainly making money was the initial aim, but I managed to pick up valuable clinical experiences along the way.
Lack of sleep, chronic tiredness, and deprivation of regular meals are just part and parcel of physician’s training!
If you are good at creating beautiful cards, sewing up clothes, modifying trash into usable items, you might want to have a look at Etsy and start selling! There are many ways of making extra money from home!
And yes, do not throw away your old TVs, handphone or computer, just try your luck to put them up for sale at Mudah, recycle them and be environmentally friendly!
Pick up new skills
The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing. Learning is a lifelong process.
I learned about website design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Facebook advertising, creating a WordPress site from scratch by just googling without even spending a single cent!
Pick up a new skill whenever you are free. Do something different from just practicing medicine. Think about what you want to do after retirement.
Website Design Service
Currently, I am helping new private doctors to create their new clinic websites. If you need help, you can visit HERE to learn more.
If you are just starting out as a private consultant and want to get your own clinic website, let me know and email me at info@drgohhk.com or drgohhk@gmail.com.
Conclusion
Saving and investing money is the most important armamentarium in your journey to financial independence. Making that extra little money does help you to reach the destination sooner.
Always equip yourself with new skills and learn ways of making extra money no matter how small the amount is.
