How Collaborative Learning, Direct Contracting, and Career Flexibility are Empowering Today’s DPC Physicians
- Maryal Concepcion
- 53 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Unleashing Physician Entrepreneurship: Lessons from the Rise Up Summit & My DPC Story
Beyond the Insurance-Driven Model
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is no longer merely an alternative to the conventional insurance-based healthcare model—it's a movement. For those already immersed in the DPC world, the next logical conversation isn't “what is DPC?” but “how do I take what I've built and expand my freedom, impact, and satisfaction as a physician entrepreneur?” In this special episode of the My DPC Story Podcast, host Dr. Maryal Concepcion—family physician and seasoned DPC owner—welcomes Dr. Holly Shen (OB/GYN and DPC entrepreneur) and Dr. Aaron Morganstein (surgeon, entrepreneur, FlexMedStaff co-founder) to unpack the rise of physician-led entrepreneurship. Their discussion offers a roadmap for seasoned DPC doctors to reflect, innovate, and intentionally shape the next phase of their wellness-focused, autonomy-centered careers.
Physician Entrepreneurship: More Than a Buzzword
Physician entrepreneurship, especially within the DPC ecosystem, is a reclaiming of agency—moving away from being “indentured servants” to insurance or hospital corporations, and toward working truly for and with our patients. But it also means expanding that sense of control and possibility. As Dr. Concepcion articulates, “Physician entrepreneurship represents the reclamation of our ability as physicians to really work for and with our patients and not for and with the insurance companies.”
Redefining the Physician’s Role
Drawing from her own experience, Dr. Shen describes the power and vulnerability in stepping away from institutional models. Initially never seeing herself as an “entrepreneur,” Dr. Shen’s journey was catalyzed by workplace dissatisfaction and the drive for true professional autonomy. With the right communal support and resources—in her case, connecting with Dr. Morganstein and FlexMedStaff—she found the courage and wisdom to not only jump into self-employment, but also create a thriving network for others.
Community Is Key
Physicians collaborating with peers across specialties, sharing strategies, and pooling hard-won lessons isn’t just helpful—it’s necessary. Dr. Shen highlights how the collective intelligence and generosity of the DPC/locums community helped her translate foreign entrepreneurial concepts into actionable steps: “I pulled him [Aaron Morganstein] into my space...because we needed to take every little bit of knowledge—every tidbit—and then share it across our specialty.”
The Three Pillars: DPC, Direct Contracting, and Locum Tenens
One of the Rise Up Summit's core tenets is that physician independence exists on a spectrum—there’s no one way to craft your entrepreneurial life. Dr. Morganstein lays out what he sees as the three avenues for nontraditional clinical careers:
Direct Primary Care (DPC): The foundational model for many, centering the physician-patient relationship and membership-based care.
Direct Contracting: Negotiating with health facilities directly, removing the agency middleman, and securing terms favorable to the physician.
Locum Tenens: Temporary clinical work arrangements, either through agencies or independently, allowing for geographic and schedule flexibility.
By building skillsets across these modalities, you future-proof your career, expand income options, and create space for diversified professional satisfaction. As Dr. Shen discovered, stepping into self-directed contracting and locum tenens work as an OB/GYN brought new meaning, flexibility, and financial reward that had been unattainable within traditional employment.
The Power of Story & Mentorship: Learning from Each Other
One of the strongest threads in this episode is the value of story and lived experience as curriculum. Peer mentorship, as seen between Drs. Shen and Morganstein, shortens the learning curve and provides proof that change is possible, especially for those in historically “hard-to-break-out” specialties like surgery or hospital medicine.
Dr. Morganstein shares, “If we’re going to change our careers, improve our lives and help other physicians, we need to pass the education we learn forward.” For DPC physicians considering alternative revenue streams, mentorship isn’t a luxury—it’s the difference between slow, painful trial-and-error and informed, confident action.
Creating a Life by Design: What True Flexibility Looks Like
For many who have already transitioned to DPC and are considering expanding, one of the most exciting revelations is the degree of personal freedom attainable outside the employer framework.
Taking Back Your Calendar
Both Dr. Shen and Dr. Morganstein underscore the ability to create bespoke work schedules—whether that’s working two weeks on/two weeks off, stacking shifts to maximize long periods off, or mixing clinical and nonclinical endeavors (like quality consulting, legal review, or interior design!). Dr. Shen describes this as: “You can literally mold and construct the way that you use your medical degree to work, whether it’s clinical or nonclinical. Once you have that flexibility and freedom, you’re not allowed to do that otherwise.”
Reclaiming Joy in Medicine
With this flexibility comes the space to fall back in love with medicine itself. Free from corporate quotas and administrative overload, physicians rediscover the satisfaction of pure patient care. Dr. Shen shares that after leaving employment, “I fell back in love with clinical medicine and hospital OB care on my own terms.”
Financial Freedom: No More Salary Boxes
Traditional employment often means a fixed salary, limited negotiating power, and little control over workload or income. For the DPC physician, the transition to DPC alone unlocks new economic models, but layering direct contracting or locums can supercharge financial security and growth.
Earnings on Your Terms
Dr. Shen illustrates this dramatically: “I now make almost three times as much as I made as an employed physician with way more time off, complete flexibility and control, and the ability to pick up more or less whenever I want...I have a fantastic retirement plan I never did before. I am now able to take time and actually travel and afford the trips, which is great, but it actually puts it in your hands and lets you be in charge of your own professional financial destiny instead of living in a salary box.”
Mitigating Risk and Burnout
For those worried about the insecurity of non-employment, diversifying through DPC, locums, and direct contracts spreads risk and stabilizes cash flow. Instead of “all your eggs in one basket,” you build resilience against market and regulatory fluctuations—while creating the space for passion projects and rest.
Navigating the “How”: Rise Up as Your Tactical Blueprint
The Rise Up Physician Summit—organized by the hosts and guests—exists to meet physicians exactly where they are, regardless of specialty or DPC tenure. The curriculum is intentionally constructed as a series of deep-dive masterclasses, tailored to deliver not just inspiration but also step-by-step operational skills.
Topics With High-Yield Practical Value
The summit is organized around four days dedicated to:
DPC Deep Dive: Practice startup, marketing, community collaboration, and cross-specialty skills retention.
Locum Tenens 101: Understanding payment structures, dealing with agencies, setting boundaries, working with confirmation letters, and safeguarding against common traps.
Direct Contracting: Crafting and negotiating contracts with facilities, legal/financial compliance, understanding W2 vs 1099 implications, building your “one-woman/man” physician business.
Live Q&A: Bringing together all of these threads for real-time troubleshooting from physicians “talking the talk and walking the walk.”
Dr. Shen emphasizes that summit content is constantly updated—adapting to market shifts, regulatory changes, and new entrepreneurial models. This isn’t static wisdom: “At FlexMedStaff, we always have a finger on the pulse...this is an ever evolving and adapting field.”
Leveraging Community for Ongoing Growth
Whether you attend the live summit or access the recordings, the iterative power of community learning is essential. Dr. Shen’s experience building a group of 1,600 female OB/GYN locum physicians is a testament to how shared stories, strategies, and support accelerate everyone’s progress—and provide much-needed solidarity.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Perhaps most priceless is the opportunity to learn what not to do. Panelists will show both their successes and mistakes, providing a practical “how-not-to” companion to every “how-to.” For DPC physicians, this means safely navigating the maze of direct contracting negotiations, legal hurdles, and evolving best practices—without reinventing the wheel or stepping on hidden landmines.
The Mindset Shift: Stop Waiting, Start Building
A key takeaway from Drs. Shen and Morganstein is the imperative to stop “waiting until you’re burned out” or until some arbitrary timeline makes sense. The tools, resources, and mentors are available now. Dr. Morganstein’s advice: “Just stop hesitating about it and get the material now, learn it, and dive right in.”
For DPC physicians considering adding locum work, building direct facility contracts, or simply crafting new clinical/nonclinical income streams, now is always the right time to invest in education and community.
Reflections: Applying These Lessons to Your DPC Journey
If you’re reading this, you’re not new to DPC—you’re looking for ways to expand, diversify, and optimize your practice and your life. Here’s how you might reflect on your own DPC path in light of the episode’s revelations:
Community First: Seek out masterminds, sub-specialty forums, or mentorship groups. Learn from stories; share your own.
Skill Stack: Don’t limit yourself to a single modality. Investigate direct contracting, locums, consulting, or teaching to multiply your impact and stability.
Financial Sovereignty: Regularly reassess your income streams. Are you maximizing value for your time? What would doubling your flexibility or halving your stress do for your net satisfaction?
Build in Public: Your entrepreneurial journey inspires more than just your bank account—it creates the next wave of empowered physicians. Share generously, mentor newcomers, and be open to continuous evolution.
Medicine Is Strongest When We Rise Up Together
The most resonant message of this podcast episode—and the Rise Up Summit itself—is that medicine’s future is in the hands of those willing to build together, share their wisdom, and challenge the status quo. For DPC doctors ready to reflect, level up, and carve a personally fulfilling and professionally sustainable path, the stories and strategies shared here are a vital resource.
Ready to explore further, connect with peers, or access high-yield masterclasses on DPC, locums, and physician entrepreneurship? Visit flexmedstaff.com/RiseUp and consider engaging with My DPC Story’s ongoing community and learning channels. Your journey, your way—backed by the strength of collective experience.
For more inspiration and tactical tools on thriving as an entrepreneurial physician, be sure to subscribe to My DPC Story Podcast, leave a review, and join the DPC Didactics sessions listed on their website. Every story, including yours, makes this movement stronger.
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