Interview with Dr. Helen Rhodes – 387

On this week’s episode of the PNC podcast, we revisit my interview with Dr. Helen Rhodes from 2019. She describes how persistence and flexibility helped her find meaningful clinical and nonclinical jobs to create a delightful career.

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Helen describes the difficulties of returning to obstetrics after several years away, the value of diversifying your employment opportunities, and the fascinating world of plasmapheresis.

Early Clinical Career Opportunities

Helen began her career in her home state of Texas, completing her residency there. Shortly thereafter, an academic medical center in Houston recruited her to do gynecology only.

Although she felt fortunate to be doing gynecology, Helen soon realized she was unprepared for academic medicine. Not yet 30 years old, traditional practice beckoned. So, Helen left academic medicine and returned to full-service OB-GYN work, serving a community in Houston for ten years. However, after ten years of service, she felt the OB-GYN lifestyle no longer fit her goals.

I really was having difficulty with the lifestyle, of obstetrics primarily. – Dr. Helen Rhodes

Feeling better prepared for it, she returned to the same academic institution she had left a decade before and worked there for ten more years as a gynecologist.

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Private Practice

After her youngest son graduated high school, Helen decided to take a big leap and go into private practice doing only gynecology. She knew it was a risky move, given that she had no patients to follow her and would not be offering obstetrics.

On top of that, her reason for the change was to reconnect with her patients and spend more time on patient care. She quickly realized, however, that fewer patients would mean less revenue, particularly in private practice.

Supplemental Income

Helen recognized the need to supplement her income in private practice to match her previous salary. After doing file review jobs, sales, and legal testimony, she finally landed on locum tenens work.

You’ve got to throw a lot of lines in the water. – Dr. Helen Rhodes

Initially, Helen had difficulty finding locum tenens work because she had been out of obstetrics for so long. However, with persistence and lots of time spent browsing recruitment sites and answering emails, she found work that enabled her to do prenatal care.

These unexpected opportunities encouraged Helen to be creative and flexible. And she continued to explore unfamiliar clinical and nonclinical options.

Business School

While managing her private practice, Helen decided to get her MBA with the goal of either entering administration or consulting. There she met several doctors from rural Kansas who offered her a locum tenens opportunity that would allow her to return to obstetrics.

That opened her eyes to the option of working out of state. After finding another opportunity in Kansas, Helen delivered her first baby in 13 years. So she pursued more out-of-state work, getting licensed in New Mexico. She ultimately found a rewarding, semi-permanent position at an underserved rural hospital there.

Be Creative and Flexible and Add Plasmapheresis

Soon, another business school peer introduced Helen to the world of plasmapheresis, where she became a medical director for a facility in Houston. She found the work stimulating and the compensation very reasonable. With a commitment of only 4 hours for any day that she worked, it fit well into her private practice and locum schedules.

Summary

Helen’s story is a timeless one. Through her willingness to take risks, explore every opportunity, and work hard, she cultivated a successful, diverse, and rewarding career.

Most importantly, you just have to think outside the box. Look at many many opportunities…. Expect to get a lot of “no”s and don’t get discouraged. – Dr. Helen Rhodes

That’s not to say that she hasn’t experienced difficult times. She can certainly recognize areas where she would have done things differently. At its core though, her story is one of perseverance and the value of exploring every available option.

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Disclaimers:

Many of the links that I refer you to, and that you’ll find in the show notes, are affiliate links. That means that I receive a payment from the seller if you purchase the affiliate item using my link. Doing so has no effect on the price you are charged. And I only promote products and services that I believe are of high quality and will be useful to you, that I have personally used or am very familiar with.

The opinions expressed here are mine and my guest’s. While the information provided on the podcast is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, there is no express or implied guarantee that using the methods discussed here will lead to success in your career, life, or business.

The information presented on this blog and related podcast is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical, legal, tax, or emotional advice. If you take action on the information provided on the blog or podcast, it is at your own risk. Always consult an attorney, accountant, career counselor, or other professional before making any major decisions about your career.