“Physician, heal thyself” is an ancient proverb encouraging the importance of examining one’s own professional identity, strengths, and limitations to better serve patients. But if you’re an otolaryngologist contemplating a mid-career change, “Physician, know thyself” may be a better guidepost for finding the best match for your personal needs and professional talents.
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August 2025Such self-awareness was one of several tools ENT physicians cited during a panel on mid-career transitions held during The Triological Society’s 2025 Combined Sections Meeting in Orlando, Fla.
It certainly was one of the core skills that LaKeisha Henry, MD, the moderator of the panel who is now in private practice with the Ear, Nose, and Throat Consultants of Nevada, in Las Vegas, reached for as she neared the end of her 29-year career in the Air Force.
Dr. Henry knew that in navigating this next phase, she would be drawing heavily on the knowledge, experience, and self-awareness she had gained in the military, but with one key difference. Due to the fast-paced nature of change in the military, “I had to make many major transitions with limited advanced planning,” she said. “This change, however, was on my terms and at a time I chose. I needed to get it right because it would have a lasting impact on both me and my family. So I embraced change and started planning.”
To that end, she began exploring options through several locum tenens positions, carefully selecting ones that would give her a wide range of different practice experiences. During that process, she relied on trusted friends and mentors who “gave me some frank warnings about avoiding the type of practice that sometimes emphasizes numbers of patients seen—and bonus or revenue promises—over the potential for teaching, growth, and deliberate, patient-focused care,” Dr. Henry said. The former practice model “is just not who I am as a physician,” she said. “I am compassionate and I listen to my patients; I need to make them feel seen and heard.”
Dr. Henry also knew she wanted to draw on her military experience in leadership and logistics to make suggestions about practice improvements. “I have that opportunity now, and I’d like to think that some of my recommendations, such as mentoring others regarding equipment and technology changes impacting budgets and efficiency, have resulted in savings,” she said. “So, even though I may not be the highest-volume physician in the practice—by choice—I still bring significant value to it.”
Fortunately, “I feel heard in my current position,” Dr. Henry added. “It’s a very collegial team that allows me to be the effective problem solver I’ve always been.” But if you don’t let a potential employer know you want to offer practice guidance and feedback up front, “it can come off as intrusive and be unwelcome later on,” she stressed.
Getting these decisions right is not always possible, but the downsides of getting it wrong could be catastrophic, Dr. Henry cautioned. “I have colleagues who had to leave the state after their first position out of the military didn’t work out, because there was no other option for them to have meaningful employment due to geographically broad non-compete clauses,” she said.
These cases are not uncommon. A significant percentage of retired military physicians leave their first job, Dr. Henry noted. Sometimes it’s due to unexpected factors. “But it also can be due to a lack of awareness or experience with aspects of the business of medicine,” she said, including not appreciating the importance of reviewing contracts from prospective employers. “There are lawyers and consulting firms who can do those contract reviews a lot better than you can. So it’s smart to use them.”
Not Ready to Give Up Clinical Work
After Samuel A. Spear, MD, rose to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, he began thinking about the next phase of his career. He had spent his time in the military amassing an impressive list of clinical accomplishments, including a research fellowship at The Ohio State University in Columbus, and a clinical neurotology fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. But once he became a colonel, “there’s no guarantee they’d keep me in a medically related position,” he said.
Dr. Spear’s solution was not to leave the military. Instead, he became the chief of the Department of Defense (DOD) Hearing Center of Excellence. The center was in San Antonio, “which meant we did not have to move, and that was a huge plus for me and my family,” he said. It also enabled him to pursue an interest in military service-related hearing loss, the importance of which “really needed to be elevated in the medical community.”
After three years at the DOD Hearing Center of Excellence, “I knew it was time to leave the military,” Dr. Spear said. His first search strategy was to reach out to colleagues. That effort resulted in connecting with a fellow Air Force member who was an otologist and general ENT physician who had left the military and was now in private practice in Florida.
“Long story short, I visited Florida, and I loved it,” Dr. Spear said. “I took my family out later, and we all felt like it was a great fit. We now live really close to the beach in a beautiful area bordering Jupiter and West Palm Beach, and we just love it here. So, as of April 2024, I have been working at ENT and Allergy Associates of Florida.”
As for the strategies he used to ensure the practice was a good fit, “the key for me was visiting and getting a feel for the team I’d be working with,” Dr. Spear said. “The staff seemed genuinely happy, and the environment felt positive. I could just tell it was a good situation for me.” He stressed, however, that it was not all just a Kumbaya moment. “They also offered me a clear path to becoming a full partner after two years as an associate. That was a big positive.”
A final deciding factor was the ability to continue research and advocacy focused on hearing loss. “My partner [John Li, MD] is a champion of raising awareness about hidden hearing loss, which is a condition I researched in the Air Force,” Dr. Spear said. Also known as cochlear synaptopathy, the condition affects a person’s ability to understand speech, especially in noisy environments, despite a normal audiogram. “Dr. Li launched a website, earaware.com, that focuses on helping people, not just in the military but in civilian life, realize that hearing loss after exposure to noise is a real problem, and that it can be prevented or, if already present, treated effectively.”
The other important factor one should consider when contemplating a mid-career change is work–life balance, Dr. Spear stressed. “If you have hobbies or passions, make sure you choose a practice and a location that allows you to pursue them,” he said. “I love bagpiping—I know, not necessarily a Florida thing! But I also love surfing, fishing, and scuba diving. I can do all of that here. So it’s just a great time for me and my family.”
Knowing When It’s Time to Go
For Peter A. Weisskopf, MD, an otolaryngology–head and neck surgery specialist practicing in Phoenix, Ariz., one of the first keys to making an effective mid-career change was to know when the timing was right to make such a change. The crux for Dr. Weisskopf came after he had amassed more than a decade of military service in a wide variety of roles, including a flight surgeon on the East Coast and a clinician and researcher for NASA and the space shuttle.
I tell people to think about what they really want—whether it’s more time with family, more surgery, or more time with each patient. Then figure out where you can achieve that and what trade-offs you’re willing to make.” – Peter A. Weisskopf, MD
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