Minimizing Medical Burnout: Jason Duprat Of Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy On How Hospitals and Medical Practices Are Helping To Reduce Physician and Healthcare Worker Burnout

An Interview With Dan Rodrigues

Creating a flexible work environment is not critical in today’s age, but there are advantages (such as increased productivity) to making remote work an option. Allowing remote work could be as simple as approving training and education requirements to be completed virtually.

The pandemic was hard on all of us, but statistics have shown that the pressures of the pandemic may have hit physicians and healthcare workers the hardest. While employment is starting to return to pre-pandemic levels, generally, the healthcare sector is lagging behind with a significant percentage of healthcare workers not returning to work. This is one of the factors that is causing a shortage of doctors. Some experts say that the U.S. may soon be short almost 124,000 physicians. (See here for example)

What are hospitals and medical practices doing to help ease the extreme mental strain of doctors and healthcare workers? What are hospitals and medical practices doing to help solve the scourge of physician and healthcare worker burnout?

To address these questions, we are talking to hospital administrators, medical clinic executives, medical school experts, and experienced physicians who can share stories and insights from their experiences about “How Hospitals and Medical Practices Are Helping To Reduce Physician and Healthcare Worker Burnout.” As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Duprat MBA, MSA, APRN, CRNA.

Jason Duprat is a nurse anesthesiologist and former naval officer, turned healthcare educator, business coach, and podcast host. He is the Founder & CEO of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy and is on a mission to educate, motivate, and inspire healthcare professionals along their entrepreneurial journeys.

Duprat has worked in partnership with leading clinical experts to create world-class clinical and business training programs such as the Ketamine Academy, IV Therapy Academy, and his newest Aesthetics Success Academy. He educates and coaches healthcare practitioners (like physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician associates, registered nurses, and others) on how to create and grow their dream medical practices so they can find true professional and personal freedom.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

Of course, and thank you so much for having me! I spent most of my childhood growing up in Western New York in a tiny rural town called Attica, which only has a population of about 3,000. The running joke was that there were more cows than people in that town. Although I never actually fact-checked that, it was probably true.

My dad was a first-generation immigrant from Chile, and we moved from a trailer park in a nearby town when he was officially offered a job as a corrections officer in one of New York’s maximum security prisons, located in Attica. Yes, this is the prison that became famous in 1971, before my dad started working there, for a massive riot that resulted in the prison being completely taken over by the inmates. The riot resulted in a record-setting 43 deaths and required the National Guard to retake the compound.

This job was really important for our dad as I grew up with three other siblings, all sisters. Although my dad was able to finish an associate’s degree in electronics when he came to the United States, he was unable to find a job that could support a family of five. His salary was meager, but it did include medical insurance and a pension.

Needless to say, we grew up right on the poverty line and I recall my family struggling to make ends meet. My mom would methodically spend hours clipping coupons, searching for garage sale bargains, and penny-pinching on everything possible in order to keep expenses down. As a child, I wasn’t really encouraged to pursue a college education (mostly because my family didn’t know much about college, nor could they afford to help me pay for it).

Fortunately, I had a Spanish teacher who saw potential in me, and she kept me late after school to help me choose colleges, write admissions essays, and finalize my applications. Ultimately, I was accepted to and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology. Since then, I have also completed three additional degrees including a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Masters of Science in Anesthesiology, and a Masters in Business Administration.

I spent over 12 years as a bedside clinician, starting out as a nurse technician while in nursing school for my second bachelor’s. After that, I went on to critical care nursing before I eventually transitioned into nurse anesthesiology where I worked in the Navy Reserves and as a civilian nurse anesthetist.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

My career in healthcare was inspired by a friend of my sister, who was a registered nurse. At the time, since my degree was in hotel and resort management, I was working as a restaurant manager. Just after one year, I knew I wanted to do something more meaningful. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do so I took a career and personality assessment, and all of the top career matches for my personality were healthcare-related. After I discussed nursing with my sister’s friend and researched the plethora of career opportunities nursing had to offer, I decided to pursue nursing and had my sights set on becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

I had always loved science and everything I was reading said that this profession was not only the most difficult nursing specialty to get into, but it was also one that allowed for a great deal of autonomy. As a nurse anesthetist, I would be able to assess patients, create treatment plans, prescribe and administer a variety of medications including aesthetics, and I could help one patient at a time. To me, it sounded like a dream job that would be incredibly fulfilling.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Today, I am blessed to be able to work on some really exciting projects. Over the last four years, my team and I have created an amazing podcast and a variety of courses that are aimed at helping healthcare professionals gain more professional and personal freedom by starting and operating their own private medical practices. We accomplish this through a company I created called The Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy.

Our mission is to educate, motivate, and inspire healthcare professionals along their entrepreneurial journey. We teach not only novel and niche clinical topics (such as ketamine therapy, IV nutritional therapy, and most recently aesthetics), but also everything they need to know in order to start a medical practice from the ground up. Additionally, we help healthcare professionals learn how to optimize and market their practice.

Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy is helping healthcare professionals in a really profound way because for those who are burnt out from working in the corporate healthcare system and tired of being an unappreciated money-generating cog in a massive corporate healthcare machine, we provide them with the tools, education, and support they need to succeed in a career path where they have the autonomy to. The healthcare professionals I counsel get to practice and operate their own clinics in ways that will not only inspire them but also allow them to help patients on their own terms.

Naturally, these clinic owners will hire other healthcare professionals to join their medical practices. Because of this, our program includes training on how to recruit, train, hire, support, and retain the trained healthcare professionals they hire. We focus highly on teaching clinic and private practice owners the importance of not only paying their clinical staff well, but also providing their staff with educational opportunities, a family-like work environment, flexible schedules, and many other things similar to those listed. Extremely large corporate healthcare systems are typically not doing well in these areas. Our program is something that’s not only helping the medical practice owners but also the clinical staff in which they employ.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

The three character traits I believe were the most instrumental to my success over the years are excellence, curiosity, and commitment. I’ll dive into each one of those and give a short example.

Excellence is, in my opinion, something that we should all be striving for all throughout our lives. No matter what I’ve done, I’ve always pursued it. For me, I’ve worked toward excellence in everything that I’ve done, even when I was working as a dishwasher. I ensured that the dishes were as clean as possible, that I was efficient with my time, and that I was getting things done quickly. I was even assisting customers as I was taking the dishes to the various locations.

I had learned this trait of excellence as a wrestler. Wrestling is a unique sport as it’s one in which you are on the mat with one other individual and the results of you’re training are on full display. It’s not something you can hide as it’s only you and one other person on that mat. You can’t blame your team members or your coach when it comes to your excellence or failure. No one else is to blame because it is you and you alone on that mat. You are responsible for the outcome of the match, whether you win or lose. This is something I had learned early on in wrestling and it was probably one of the reasons why I was fairly good as a wrestler because I took on the responsibility myself.

I knew this responsibility meant for me to become more physically fit in order to have a stronger endurance and mental fortitude. I was the type of person you would see running down the road from a two-and-a-half-hour wrestling practice in order to be the best that I could possibly be. Walking a mile-and-a-half in the snow in Western New York, after a long day of school and a long wrestling practice, is not just cold and uncomfortable — it’s something that is mentally challenging after such a long day. It was not a terribly long walk or jog, but it was one extra thing I could do every day to help ensure I was chasing excellence and doing everything I could possibly do to be the best wrestler that I could be.

I’ve carried this lesson of excellence through absolutely everything that I’ve done throughout my entire career. I have always put in those extra miles to ensure that no matter what I am doing, I am doing it to the absolute best of my capabilities.

The next trait is curiosity. I believe curiosity is what has taken me a really long way in my professional and personal career. I have an innate interest in figuring out how things work and unique strive to learn about most anything. When I find a topic I’m extremely interested in, I take it to the next level. It’s to the point where some might even call me a little bit obsessed.

For me, this curiosity helps to not only problem solve when I encounter difficult situations, but it also allows me to better myself at pretty much anything I do. This is because I apply everything I have learned to my profession, whether it be reading a book, watching educational videos on YouTube or documentaries on Netflix, or listening to podcasts. I take my curiosity and the things I’ve learned and apply them to all aspects of my life, both personal and professional. I think this mindset has really helped to skyrocket the results and levels of success I have been able to achieve over the years.

The third character trait is commitment. By that, I mean, the commitment to help people do what is best for others. This could be through putting other people first or by not putting down other people. In my life, I set other people as a high priority. This is so I always approach things with an angle of empathy, compassion, and service, no matter what I am doing.

Prioritizing others is something you have to practice and do repeatedly. There have been many periods of my life where I have done this multiple times. I’ve volunteered for many organizations and causes over the years, such as volunteering to work at blood drives and the boys and girls club, serving as an officer in the Navy Reserve Nurse Corps for nearly 10 years, and helping patients during some of their most difficult times when they’re in the hospital for critical and life-threatening situations.

For me, everything is about maintaining the commitment to help and serve others. I believe if you put the focus on others first and what you can do to help them (perhaps by helping them go through a struggle, or whatever it may be), in the long run, this type of behavior pays back in dividends, not only personally but at a business level as well.

Ok, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about minimizing medical burnout. Let’s begin with a basic definition of terms so that all of us are on the same page. How do you define “Physician and Healthcare Worker Burnout?” Does it just mean poor job satisfaction? Can you explain?

My definition of burnout would be a physical or mental state in which something that was once enjoyable no longer brings you joy, satisfaction, or fulfillment. It brings one to the point where someone feels exhausted and no longer wants to do the work or serve in the role that had caused their state of burnout.

How would you define or describe the opposite of burnout?

I would describe the opposite of burnout as being a physical and/or mental state where you feel energized, joyful, and fulfilled with a particular activity, task, job, or role. Rather than feeling like your energy is being sucked away, you feel rejuvenated. This results in an infusion of positivity and motivation.

From your experience, perspective, or research, what are the main causes of Physician and Healthcare Worker Burnout?

From my experience, there are many causes of physician and healthcare burnout. An example is how the corporate healthcare system is inhibiting the ability of healthcare professionals to do their job in the best way possible. One perfect example is healthcare workers that are being limited on how much time they can spend with patients due to the corporate healthcare system wanting to drive productivity so they can increase their bottom line.

Unfortunately, registered nurses and other healthcare professionals are being forced to care for more patients than they can reasonably or safely care for, which is not in the best interest of the patient. When the healthcare worker is being completely overworked and assigned far too many patients per day, the quality of patient care significantly suffers. Healthcare workers usually don’t get to spend quality time with their families as they are being forced to work overtime. Oftentimes, they are required to work nights or even weekends and holidays.

Additionally, healthcare compensation is not keeping up with inflation. Corporate healthcare systems are not increasing pay and they are continuously cutting their contributions to healthcare workers’ retirement plans. Not only are pensions a thing of the past, but right now, I’m seeing a lot of healthcare systems only contributing a tiny 2.5 to 3% 401k match. Autonomy is also being removed from healthcare workers’ daily responsibilities. Lately, I have been seeing healthcare administrators and practice councils create protocols and policies that remove decision-making abilities from the healthcare workers. I’m also seeing computer-generated algorithms greatly influence and in some cases dictate patient care. Lastly, insurance carriers and other payers are also determining the type of care and treatments that can be provided. This is because hospital systems won’t provide treatment options that are not paid for by third-party payers.

The list of what contributes to healthcare worker burnout can go on and on. We have a broken healthcare system and anyone who doesn’t turn a blind eye can see it. We have a system that encourages these large healthcare corporations to continue to expand through mergers and acquisitions. They do this to benefit from economies of scale and also to wipe out any competition. In the process, all these things reduce the quality of patient care as well as the happiness and satisfaction of healthcare workers.

Have you seen burnout impact your own organization? Can you give a first-hand description of how burnout can impact the operations of an organization?

Burnout can be devastating to the operations of an organization. I have seen this in the hospital systems I have worked in and from a patient’s perspective. Most recently, I spent substantial time in the hospital system as I supported my sister through her cancer treatments. I saw first-hand how burnout is affecting patient care directly.

Burnout is greatly affecting patient care and patient satisfaction. While I was at the hospital with my sister, there were times when a healthcare worker would come into my sister’s room and not even acknowledge the fact that she existed or that the family was even in the room. What I witnessed showed how healthcare workers are so tied up with rolling their computers around, documenting that they are getting the items on their checklist done, and attempting to keep up with patient tasks, that they didn’t pay any attention to the fact that there was sick patient in the room who had a devastating diagnosis. From what I saw, workers often could not take the time — a few seconds or two — to acknowledge my sister and ask how she was feeling. In some cases, I felt the healthcare workers were so overworked and burnout they had failed to even treat her like a human being.

This is a prime example of what is grossly wrong with our massive for-profit healthcare systems. Patients are seemingly being treated worse than animals because of the drive by administrators to increase productivity and reduce expenses. I believe the burnout is primarily caused by our hospital systems valuing profit over patients.

In many areas of the country, healthcare systems have grown so large that there is no need to worry about any competition or delivery of substandard care. This is because corporate healthcare organizations purchase all private practices, community hospitals, independent pharmacies, and laboratories. They are working on these complex merger and acquisition strategies to grow citywide, regional, or even statewide. Essentially, they are creating monopolies on a variety of healthcare services.

Does your practice currently offer any mental health resources for providers or clinical staff? We’d love to hear about it.

Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy has transitioned to a business that is focused on helping healthcare professionals run their clinical practices. We currently don’t operate a medical practice ourselves, but rather we support, coach, and educate other clinicians with their medical practices. We wholeheartedly believe that healthcare systems and medical practices should provide mental health resources for their providers or clinical staff. We believe in it so much that we have even created a training program called The Ketamine Academy, which helps clinicians learn how ketamine therapy can assists patients struggling with severe mental health or chronic pain symptoms.

Mental health is a massive problem globally, especially here in the United States. Approximately 15% of Americans suffer from depression and/or anxiety, but a large number of those individuals are either undertreated or have been treated with medications that are not working. All the latest research is pointing toward psychedelics and ketamine therapy being a possible solution. For many of these patients, it is a new treatment option that provides a robust relief of mental health symptoms.

Ketamine therapy can provide acute pain relief in the operating room, emergency room, and field medicine settings and it can also provide acute pain reduction for those suffering from chronic pain. With certain types of chronic pain, ketamine therapy can sometimes even reduce pain levels for many weeks at a time.

Yes, we are huge advocates for supporting healthcare workers from a mental health standpoint. Many employers, insurance companies, and even the government have put mental health on the back burner when it should actually be taken much more seriously and treated much more aggressively.

In my work, I have found that streamlining operational efficiency with digital transformation and automated processes helps to ease the workload of providers and clinical staff. Has that been your experience as well? Do you think that streamlining operational efficiency can be one of the tools to minimize medical burnout? We’d love to hear your perspective.

I agree that streamlining operational efficiency with digital transformation and automated processes could help ease some of the workloads of healthcare providers and clinical staff. However, I honestly don’t feel this is going to relieve enough of the workload to solve the problem completely, because the problem is multifactorial. Automated technology and software are tools that could help decrease some of the workload, but my big fear is that as these tools get developed, large corporate healthcare systems will just continue to push their staff to take on even more patients and see those patients faster so they can continue their push for growth.

In the end, our healthcare system is unlike many others around the world. It is a system of profiteering, yet, our system didn’t work like this way even one hundred years ago. Up until the early 1900s, most healthcare systems were run by churches and religious organizations. It actually wasn’t until the early-1900s that our system transitioned to one that was based on charging for their services, either by charging insurance companies or by charging the patient directly with the sole intent of making profits.

Ever since we created a third-party payer system, and allowed our healthcare system to become a for-profit system, we have seen a drive for increasing productivity, increasing operational efficiency, and decreasing expenses. This has gotten pushed to the point where many burnt-out healthcare professionals who have been in the field for years are returning back to school to find better working opportunities and better working conditions.

With all of that being said, I don’t think the answer is going to be automation or operational efficiency. It may help a little bit in the short term, but longevity wise it’s not going to be the solution that will fix the medical burnout problem we currently have in the U.S.

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 things hospitals and medical practices can do to reduce physician and healthcare worker burnout?

In my opinion, there are six things that medical practices could do to reduce physician and healthcare worker burnout, which are providing a culture of family and promoting fun in the workplace, supporting personal and professional development, valuing time off, hiring part-time workers to assist full-time employees, creating a flexible work environment, and encouraging staff with better pay.

Healthcare employers should strive to provide a culture of family within the workplace to help decrease the burnout most healthcare workers experience. This family culture needs to be created from within the practice, such as celebrating the birthdays of the staff or having social gatherings. Having potluck lunches or dinner parties creates camaraderie among healthcare workers as they socialize with each other in a non-stressful and fun environment. The effect this has on burnout is positive, especially if these types of group events take place several times a year rather than only once for an annual holiday party.

Keeping work fun should be made a priority. The first step to accomplishing this is allowing for plenty of breaks throughout the day. When healthcare workers are able to take a breather, they more than likely will find their work enjoyable rather than smothering. The overemphasizing of productivity and profits should be stopped because that is what drives burnout and disgruntled staff. Another thing to consider is closing up early one or two days a month, or on the slow days of the week. This will let healthcare workers relax and recuperate from the workdays that may have been too stressful.

However, promoting a fun workplace should go beyond just providing reasonable work conditions. Every now and then, healthcare staff should be able to participate in something fun. This could be playing group board games or going out for a work-sponsored movie. Making work fun also relates to creating a family culture within the workplace.

In addition to having a family culture, it’s important for healthcare employers to support the personal and professional development of their staff. By this, I mean that healthcare staff should be invested in by providing them with opportunities to expand on their education and knowledge. An example is by sending staff to conferences or supporting their registration in courses. Healthcare employers should help their staff learn and grow, both professionally and personally.

Thirdly, providing time off for important personal events, such as the birth of a child or a family emergency, should be implemented in healthcare businesses. What contributes to physician and healthcare worker burnout is the emotional drainage of not being able to take time off. To add to this, vacation time should also be valued in the workplace. After working long and tiring shifts, a mental break is needed now and then. Healthcare employers should consider closing for holidays and weekends to give healthcare workers not only a well-needed break but to also show respect for their time. An example of this is how Chick-fil-A is never open on Sundays to respect the religious beliefs of employees.

To expand upon the previous point, healthcare businesses need to hire staff to be available part-time or PRN. This is because when a situation arises where a full-time staff member needs to take time off, it will not be detrimental to the business or the patients. Overworking healthcare workers could be avoided with part-time staff as people will not be forced to take on additional responsibilities to accommodate a worker taking time off. The purpose of hiring part-time staff is to have someone available to step in instead of pushing more work onto someone else. With this strategy, it will not be an overly burdensome process for someone to get time off and work hours will remain reasonable for all of the staff. 50, 60, and 70-hour work weeks could be eliminated by hiring part-time or PRN staff.

Next, creating a flexible work environment is not critical in today’s age, but there are advantages (such as increased productivity) to making remote work an option. Allowing remote work could be as simple as approving training and education requirements to be completed virtually. If the job permits it, some of the work should be allowed to be conducted from home when needed. This will result in the staff or employees having an extra level of flexibility. An example of when flexibility is useful is if someone has difficulty securing childcare for one particular day. With the latest developments in healthcare technology, like Telehealth, remote work is a possibility in the healthcare field.

Lastly, healthcare businesses should make sure they are providing the absolute best pay and benefits package as possible. This will not only show a well-deserved appreciation for healthcare workers, but it will also encourage them to not look for a work position elsewhere. It’s common for people to move on to another job just because it pays a tiny bit better or provides more valuable benefits. What many don’t realize is that lesser pay can also contribute to burnout. In some cases, people are forced to work multiple jobs or schedule additional work shifts in order to afford their cost of living. Even if the healthcare employer is not intentionally making a person work more, they are responsible for overworking them if it’s due to lesser pay.

Overall, all of these things combined are going to help drastically decrease physician and healthcare worker burnout. As a healthcare business owner, there is more control to prevent burnout, provide an enjoyable workplace environment, and undo the harm that corporate healthcare systems have created.

What can concerned friends, colleagues, and life partners do to help someone they care about reverse burnout?

Listening is very important to helping someone recover from burnout. If you feel your colleague, friend, or significant other is suffering from burnout, you should listen to their story, the troubles they may be going through at work, the difficulties they are expected to endure, etc. in an empathetic way. What should not be done is trying to dictate how they should respond to their situation. Supporting someone who is dealing with burnout means being empathetic to their challenges and just being a listening ear so they can feel heard. Words of encouragement can be offered, but they should not your loved one should not feel pressured in any way. While they are confiding in you, their comfortability should be made a top priority.

Another way to help someone who suffers from burnout is to provide assistance for outside factors that may be contributing to or worsening the feelings of burnout. This could be something as simple as bringing them a casserole so can take worrying about dinner off their plate. You can extend an offer to take their children out to the park for a few hours so they can take time for themselves and relax. Anything you can do to provide additional support can greatly aid in reversing burnout.

Lastly, you want to make sure that you are providing them with encouragement. You want to encourage them to thoughtfully analyze their situation and determine whether their burnout is something that could be fixed while they stay in their current position or if they need to consider looking for a more supportive and safer work environment. Referring back to being empathetic, this encouragement should not come harshly and it should be recognized that this will be a difficult life-altering decision to make.

What are a few of the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they try to reverse burnout in themselves or others? What can they do to avoid those mistakes?

One of the most common mistakes I have seen people make when they’re trying to reverse burnout in themselves, or others, would be that they don’t communicate with their employers or with their family. Rather than verbalizing with those around them that they are burnt out, many tend to hold everything in. It’s important to communicate some of the reasons why they are feeling rundown because bottling it up inside oneself only makes the situation worse and produces no positive benefit.

Another mistake I see is that some may act irrationally. Occasionally, burnout is for a short period of time while they are focusing on a particular project or dealing with a certain situation within the workplace that could be addressed and solved. However, not all cases of burnout are short-lived. Someone who is suffering from burnout may find themselves irrationally throwing in the towel, walking out the door, and quitting their job without having a thoughtful plan in place prior to doing so. This may cause more harm to their mental well-being as now there is the stress of finding a job or wondering what they are going to do next.

It’s always important to take a step back and discuss your burnout with someone trustworthy. Talking the situation over with others and analyzing whether the burnout can be rectified in the short term or if the entire culture of the workplace is facilitating burnout can be extremely helpful when it comes to deciding how to move forward.

Some of the individuals who are suffering from burnout may try to talk it over with their employer first. But, when things don’t go as planned or changes are not made in a timely manner, they may feel inclined to give up and resign to the fact that they are going to have to deal with working burnt out. Instead of trying to leave the situation or communicating with their employer further, they oftentimes end up in the terrible situation of continuing to work in an unhealthy environment.

Burnout can be detrimental to mental health and unfortunately, many feel they don’t have another alternative if their workplace is not providing a solution. Feeling as if they have no choice but to work burnt out is probably one of the worst scenarios because this can lead to severe mental health issues. It’s important to be aware of this type of behavior and always know that you don’t have to accept living or working in a burnout state. There are other options available and no work situation should sacrifice your mental health.

It has been said that our mistakes are our greatest teachers. Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?

The most interesting mistake that occurred during the course of my career has been a mistake of the mind. And by that, I mean, there have been several completely inaccurate mindset paradigms that I have subjected myself to.

One of the biggest problems I encountered from this mistake is having a scarcity mindset. At the time, I had felt that I was not deserving and was not good enough to have a greater income and greater happiness. I think the largest mistake I have ever made was not being aware that I let this negative mindset invade what I believed I could actually accomplish.

Once I shifted my mindset and recognized how terrible the scarcity mentality was for my well-being, I was able to move past letting this negative control me. I had decided to take action and train myself to think otherwise. Because of this, my life, happiness, and income have all grown exponentially.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote?” Why does that resonate with you so much?

One of my favorite life lesson quotes is from Warren Buffett when he said, “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” I think this is such an important life quote because so many of us struggle with overspending, which creates a situation where we feel as though we have no freedom. This happens because sometimes our expenses exceed our income and then we become enslaved to those expenses. We are enslaved to debt, which is a great contributor to why many people stay with jobs or positions that are completely unfulfilling for them. This also causes the state of burnout to worsen. I’m a huge believer in managing personal finances because wealth is actually peace of mind. A person can find peace of mind by having a good handle on their personal and business finances.

Ok, we are nearly done. Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest number of people, I would inspire of movement of entrepreneurs. What I mean is that I would love to nurture and inspire a massive community of business owners who are focused on not only serving their customers but also serving their communities. With this movement, I would want those entrepreneurs to support social causes, advocate for positive changes, and support their communities. I would like to see a community of entrepreneurs serving those who are in need or underserved by donating to charitable organizations, creating fundraisers, or sponsoring local events that build up communities. Doing any of these things puts the focus of business back on communities and others. It makes it less about maximizing profits and more about maximizing the health and well-being of others.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

My podcast, The Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy Podcast, can be accessed on most listening platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcast, as well as on my YouTube channel Jason A. Duprat. You can find me on most social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram. On Facebook, I host a variety of groups to help others start and grow their healthcare businesses. For further information about myself and my online healthcare entrepreneur training programs, you can visit my website jasonduprat.com/courses.

This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!

My pleasure, thank you so much for having me!

About the interviewer: Dan Rodrigues is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tebra, a leader in practice growth technology and cloud-based clinical and financial software for independent practices. With an all-in-one, purpose-built platform to drive practice success and modernize every step of the patient journey, Tebra provides digital tools and support to attract new patients, deliver modern care, get paid quickly, and operate efficiently. Rodrigues’ business insights have been featured in publications including Forbes, Fierce Healthcare, and AP News.