If you’re currently seeking a job as a healthcare practitioner, a career path in Integrative and Functional Medicine is definitely worth your consideration. The Functional Medicine field has become increasingly popular, not only for patients, but for healthcare practitioners as well. With the growing crisis of chronic disease, patient demand is high for a more holistic experience with doctors who get to the root cause of illness and transform health. An increasing number of providers and patients are choosing patient-centered care, which results in rapidly increasing opportunity in Integrative and Functional Medicine jobs.
The growing community of Integrative and Functional Medicine is deeply rooted in the shared value of patient-centered care that transforms health. If you’re looking to truly make a difference in your patients’ life and health, a Functional Medicine job is exactly what you’re looking for. Here are 6 reasons why Integrative and Functional Medicine provides the best jobs for healthcare practitioners.
Work with Like-Minded People
Finding your community is an integral part of achieving success in any aspect of work or life. This is particularly true when it comes to Functional Medicine. Being a part of a team that has the same mission and vision gives you the support needed to make authentic change. Having the opportunity to practice medicine the way that medicine was intended, surrounded by like-minded individuals, creates an advantageous work environment for everyone involved, from patient to practitioner.
Competitive Compensation
When I started recruiting in this field in 2009, it was difficult for practices in Integrative and Functional Medicine to compete with conventional salaries. Times have definitely changed. Several years ago, I saw this salary gap start to close, and now Functional Medicine jobs compete with conventional salaries. Now you can have more time with patients, transform health, and love what you do while maintaining the same salary and quality of life. All of the opportunities that I’ve recruited for within the last few years have offered very competitive compensation and benefits packages.
Escape Conventional Medicine Burnout
Physician burnout is a stark reality of conventional medicine. From staggering hours to suicidal ideation, healthcare practitioners are succumbing to the tedious track of traditional practice management. Here is a sample from one family physician’s story in an article that I was interviewed for in 2016: “Initially I thought my career fatigue was due to medicine in general. But in reality, it’s the way our current primary care office visit is structured. As a traditional Family Practice doctor, we aren’t allowed the time or supportive resources to make any substantial impact in mind-body-spirit health as a whole.”
Functional medicine jobs are the way to go if you desire the healthcare experience that you wanted from the start of your medical career—the ability to help heal your patients. There are incredible benefits mentally, physically, and spiritually when it comes to working in a field in which your contribution is valued and gives you more options.
Collaboration
When it comes to functional medicine jobs, the collaboration among practitioners is unlike any other field of medicine. An integrative medicine practitioner is often the last resort for a patient dealing with complex health issues. These issues can be difficult to solve and often require intense medical detective work. Dealing with such complex conditions that traditional medicine has been unable to remedy creates a spirit of mentorship, support, and collaboration that is truly exceptional.
Rewarding and Transformative
There is nothing like being part of a movement toward a positive outcome. In this case, the positive outcome is more personalized, patient-centered healthcare. Integrative and Functional Medicine is a transformative shift and is the future of healthcare. It follows the principle that the only way to achieve optimal health is through personalized health care that addresses the cause of the illness and the mind, body, spirit, and environmental factors impacting health. According to the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), “Functional Medicine is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease.”
With reputable institutions like the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine touting the benefits, it is clear that the functional medicine movement is more than a passing fad. It has momentum and credibility. And along with this comes an array of highly rewarding functional medicine jobs. In no other field can you as effectively fulfill your desire to heal, transform healthcare, and give people their health back so that they can live life to the fullest.
Continuous Learning In a Supportive Environment
If you love learning, then you’ll love a job in the Integrative and Functional Medicine field. You’ll be working in an environment where learning is supported and encouraged, with the opportunity to immediately put into practice what you have learned. It’s cutting-edge medicine that is inspiring to practice. Many of the practices that I have worked with hold regular team meetings where they not only collaborate on difficult cases, but also share relevant information new to the field.
If an Integrative and Functional Medicine job sounds like something you’d be interested in exploring, we’re here to help. Visit our Integrated Connections Academy for additional guidance and support as you prepare for a career in Integrated and Functional Medicine. Here at Integrated Connections, we can match you up with the perfect job. Sign up for our monthly job announcements and newsletter. We also provide a job posting service exclusively for functional medicine jobs across the nation.
We’re the leading-edge healthcare staffing firm that specializes exclusively in Integrative and Functional Medicine career placements. We are the official “connector” in the field and actively seek to promote all the available opportunities. Our goal is to connect you to the best opportunity for your skills and aspirations.
