Who are you and what do you do for work?

Hello my name is Jonathan Shum and I am currently a Management Consultant in KPMG’s Health and Life Sciences practice based in Toronto, Canada. I’ve been part of KPMG’s healthcare team for 5 years and prior to that I was a junior doctor working in the NHS.

I have been fortunate enough to be part of several amazing projects throughout my time at KPMG. My first project was working with the Government of The Bahamas to establish a national public health insurance agency (NHIA). With my clinical background, I worked with Bahamian physician specialists to determine the availability of tests / procedures in the country and leveraged international guidelines to develop comprehensive cancer care coverage for all enrolled beneficiaries. From there, I used case costing methodology to determine the overall cost of the cancer program and the net effect on insurance premiums thereafter.

Within KPMG’s healthcare practice, I specialize in working with large hospital organizations to develop a culture of continuous improvement based on Lean principles. This work involves engaging with hospital C-suite executives to determine the organization’s True North and then cascading the vision to frontline staff through various proven tools and techniques. The ultimate goals of the program are increased transparency and accountability for hospital staff and better quality care for patients. The results of our work have been significant - staff feel more engaged with supporting organizational priorities, operational goals reach their targets (e.g. fall reductions), financial savings are achieved, and there is better coordination across different areas to solve organizational-wide challenges.

Lastly, I’ve worked with several provincial task forces and government agencies to support their strategy and operations during COVID-19. This work involved rapidly establishing a lab network (to increase the number of COVID-19 tests per day) and addressing provincial elective surgical and diagnostic backlogs (caused from operating room shut downs during COVID-19). These projects were extremely fast-paced; our team faced pressure to deliver not only for the client but also for the general public.

Overall, my experience at KPMG has been extremely rewarding and I feel lucky to work with such a brilliant team.

How did you hear about your job? What made it appealing to you?

I first heard about Management Consulting from my MBA graduate high school friends. I feel like once you’re in the ‘medical bubble’, you really don’t have any idea what else is out there. I had initially reached out to them after I had realized practicing medicine wasn’t going to be for me (more on that later). They mentioned several other career opportunities where I could leverage my medical training and experience including management consulting, health tech start-ups, big pharma, hospital administration, government positions, and more.

I did research on all of the above and landed on Management Consulting as my new career path. I resonated with the fast-paced, team-based, problem-solving environment (not too dissimilar to clinical practice) and was keen on tackling larger, systematic issues in the healthcare landscape. I wanted to change the way things were done; there had to be a better way to help the patients I was seeing everyday.

What steps did you take to learn more about the job? How did you land your interview?

I spent some time researching online and watching Youtube videos on Management Consulting. I not only sought to understand what consultants actually do, but also find out some of the nuances with the job (forums are a great place for this). I looked at the different consulting firms in my area and their teams. What sort of projects did they work on? Which areas within the healthcare industry do they focus on? What did they write about in their thought leadership? Did any of this excite me?

Once I had a sense of Management Consulting and pinpointed which consulting firms I wanted to pursue, that’s when I started reaching out and networking with individuals.

I connected with a few individuals in KPMG’s team. Prior to the calls, I would do a bit of research on the individual (via LinkedIn) and gather my notes. This allowed me to focus on the call and ask more about the team culture, reaffirm the types of problems the team tries to solve (and how they solve it), and understand the future direction of the healthcare team. I figured this ‘formula’ would allow me to gauge if I was going to be a good fit or not.

I wasn’t pushy or trying to impress - my intent was to determine if Management Consulting was going to be the best fit for me. Eventually I had networked my way to chat with a KPMG partner. I shared my backstory and what I was looking for in my next career, and he ultimately recommended me for an interview.

Describe the interview process and how you prepared for it.

My interview process was a bit unique - I ended up interviewing at the London KPMG office for a position in the Toronto KPMG office given my location at the time. Leading up to the interview, I read some online resources and practiced doing cases by watching Youtube videos. Looking back, I could have prepared way more. The best way to do so is by doing about 50 case studies with a partner - nothing beats this method.

Describe the first 6 months on the job. What did you learn? What was the transition like?

The first 6 months of consulting flew by quickly. Between onboarding and getting started on my first project, I was absorbing everything I could. I learned what ‘polish’ meant for client deliverables, what true insights really look like, and different techniques to facilitate workshops of all sizes. There were some hiccups here and there, but through it all I was well supported by my performance manager and others within the firm.

While the transition from medicine to consulting wasn’t necessarily easy, it also wasn’t rocket science. Once you understand the expectations and standards of how to do the job (i.e. the standards of professional consulting), the rest becomes much more straightforward.

In addition to getting started on an awesome project (Bahamas), my favorite part of those first 6 months was getting to know others within the healthcare practice. It’s common practice to set up coffee chats with others, and I quickly learned that there were many smart and capable individuals in the team. I felt a sense of camaraderie and excitement to be working with everyone I met.

What does a typical day look like at your job?

I spend most of the day behind a computer screen doing various tasks which includes following up on emails, developing client deliverables (i.e. PowerPoint slides), going down research rabbit holes, connecting with my team, and facilitating client workshops. Individually these tasks don’t sound glorious or fulfilling on their own, but these are the steps which lead to great results, provide value to the client, and more importantly give you the satisfaction of the work you’ve done. Just as charting and rounding were necessary steps to see patients improve and be discharged home, so too are these smaller tasks.

What was your original career path?

As I mentioned, prior to Management Consulting I was a junior doctor working in the NHS. Specifically, I was a senior house officer in the Foundation Year training program, the standard 2 year program which all newly graduated medical students enter into before specializing.

I had initially chosen to do this program (vs. going back home to Canada immediately) because when I graduated from RCSI, I wasn’t sure what specialty I wanted to pursue. The Foundation Year program offered flexibility and first hand experience for multiple specialties. As a house officer, you would rotate between different specialities every 3 months. As a result, I worked in family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, nephrology, and orthopedics.

When I was growing up, I thought I had always wanted to be a doctor. There were several doctors, dentists, and pharmacists in my family, so it seemed like a natural career path for me. Little did I know that I would be moving on from it later on!

What motivated you to change career paths?

I vividly remember the feeling I had as I was reviewing my patients in a cardiac outpatient clinic. There were 80+ patients to see that day and as I was scanning through one file after the other, every patient literally had the same problem. During the appointment, I was going to do the same thing: ask them how they’re doing, tinker with their medication, and tell them to come back in 6 to 12 months.

At that moment, I had this feeling of dread and frustration. Dread because it was going to be a very slow boring day. Frustration because there must be a better way to care for these patients than me just adjusting their prescriptions.

From there, my thoughts on practicing medicine started to turn. Even though I had invested in this career, I started to notice myself becoming more frustrated with the work. It took me around 6 months to finally realize that I wasn’t happy in this profession and started to reach out to my business friends for advice.

Through working as a doctor and being frustrated with treating only 1 patient at a time, I realized that I wanted to solve bigger, systemic issues in healthcare. How do I positively change the lives of as many people as possible for each decision or action I make?

This sentiment combined with the fact that I had been away from home for a while (for school and work) really pushed me to seek an alternative career path for myself.

What advice do you have for someone looking to make a similar career change?

A few things to highlight from my perspective:

Don’t undervalue what you bring to the table

If you’re at all hesitant as to the actual value you’ll bring to any consulting firm, don’t be. Whether you’re a healthcare professional or graduating with a science degree background, you will be able to provide credible insights for any engagement.

You’d be surprised by how far knowing basic terminology takes you (i.e. rounds vs. Rounding) or how far doing statistical analysis from clinical research will support similar analysis for clients. I’d be surprised if this wasn’t true for other careers as well, not just consulting.

The implication: don’t sell yourself short. You will bring value, so figure out what it is and leverage it.

An MBA is nice to have, but not completely necessary to pivot into another career path

If you’re thinking you need to do an MBA before applying, you probably don’t. Consulting is not rocket science. It’s a lot of project management and problem solving.

I’m a big believer that if you managed to get into medical school or if you graduated with a Master’s or PhD degree, I’m sure you can figure out how to do this job pretty quickly. Sure, there might be some bumps in the road (e.g. developing client deliverables may be a bit rough at first), but that just takes some practice and getting used to.

The implication: don’t let the idea of going into more student debt prevent you from exploring other career paths. You likely don’t need the typical prerequisites other candidates require because of your unique training and experiences. Instead, what you will have to show is a rationale of why you’re looking to change career paths and how you know this new one is the best one for you (i.e. what evidence is there that you’re truly passionate about this).

Have fun with it

This is a big life moment for you - I remember when I first started getting serious about this, I was a bit anxious, but more importantly excited to move on with my life. So enjoy the moment. Don’t rush into a decision without consulting family / friends. Do your research and really make sure whatever you decide is the best fit for you.

How can people contact you if they have more questions?

I’ll do my best to respond - feel free to reply back to [email protected] or reach out on LinkedIn