Missing the Medicine: When the Business Starts Crowding Out the Work You Love
I had lunch recently with a physician who’s been running his own practice for five years. Full panel. Good team. Consistent revenue. From the outside, things looked solid.
But somewhere between bites, he said something that stuck with me. “I spend more time managing people than I do caring for them. Honestly… I miss the medicine.” He didn’t say it with frustration. He said it with resignation.
And I’ve heard that same line — or something like it — from countless clinicians who stepped into business ownership hoping for freedom, only to find themselves buried in everything but patient care.
They didn’t lose their love for medicine. They just lost their place in it.
The Business Took Over
Owning a clinic was never about learning how to run one. Most of the clinicians I work with didn’t set out to be employers, marketers, or operations managers. They just wanted more control over how they cared for people.
But somewhere along the way, that control started costing them clarity. Now, their days are packed with meetings, approvals, forms, and decisions. The work doesn’t feel clinical anymore — it feels corporate. They’re still practicing… but barely.
And maybe you know the feeling:
This isn’t just time management. It’s identity erosion.
You Didn’t Fail — You Just Built Without Structure
If you’ve been feeling like you’re doing everything except what you trained for, it’s not because you’re doing something wrong.
It’s because you’ve become the center of your business — not the heart of your care. Most clinician-owners are stuck reacting. They’re making decisions in the moment. They’re managing through instinct and effort, not systems.
It’s not sustainable. And more importantly — it’s not what they wanted.
A Reclaiming, Not a Retreat
Missing the medicine doesn’t mean you need to walk away from the business. It means you need to re-center the business around what matters most.
That starts with clarity. Then systems. Then support. But first, it starts with noticing that something feels off — and giving yourself permission to name it.
If you happen to be a clinician turned business owner, here is one question to sit with: If your time reflected what you love most about your work… what would your week look like? You don’t have to answer it today. But it’s a starting point.
Here’s to an amazing week for all, clinicians and healthcare business owners alike.
-Lana Bamiro, DrPH, FACHE