Surgeon Fired Over His Opinions - Mines Bitcoin Instead with Dr. Buck Parker

The Paradocs Podcast with Eric Larson

What would you do if you were fired by your employer over something you had said on social media? Would you be able to survive or would you have to scramble to find work? That scenario is exactly what was faced by today's guest, general surgeon Dr. Buck Parker. And his solution was a surprising one.

Seeds of an Entrepreneur

It doesn't appear that Dr. Parker never set out to find ways to be financially secure outside of medicine. His path through medical school and his general surgery residency seemed fairly traditional. However, there were signs that he had an entrepreneurial streak about him as he began a very small online business selling gym equipment. Following that, he landed a role on a reality TV series which led to another starring role on a second show.

Aside from practicing clinically as an acute care and trauma surgeon, Dr. Parker leveraged his appearances on TV and built up a following on social media through Instagram and YouTube. And that's where the trouble began.

Losing Your Job

Dr. Parker's termination within his hospital system in 2020 happened a lot like the old joke in bankruptcy. "How do you go bankrupt? Gradually and then suddenly."

Parker's CMO had been very upset with his YouTube channel and social media presence for some time and when Parker published a video stating that the highest risks for COVID are those who are obese, elderly, and with medical co-morbidities, it was the final straw. Perhaps it was because the video went viral and the light it shone on an institution that didn't want any attention paid to it. No matter the reason, it was the end of the line for Dr. Parker's Salt Lake City surgical career.

Overcoming Job Loss as a Miner

Perhaps by happenstance, Dr. Parker had researched and eventually took the plunge to mine bitcoin. Fortunately for him, the price of bitcoin exploded from a few thousand a coin to tens of thousands from the time he started to the time he had been let go. It more than supplemented his income lost as a surgeon and gave him the financial freedom to be able to walk away and not worry about scrambling to get another job.

It's now been almost 18 months since being let go and the CMO has been replaced and the hospital has been busy. So busy they actually asked him to return but he declined. For right now, Dr. Parker doesn't see himself going back to medicine but time will tell.

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