David Eisenberg left psychiatry residency after his intern year and became Deputy Chief Medical Officer in less than two years, leading value-based care contracts worth over a million dollars. Then he walked away from the C-suite to go back and finish residency as a PGY2.

Most people leave medicine and never look back. David left, succeeded in leadership and a venture capital fellowship, and then chose to return. Going back meant a massive pay cut, starting over while his friends graduated, and asking himself: "Did I just waste four years?"

👋 In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why he left after intern year—and why it wasn't really about clinical medicine
• How he turned a $250K loss into $1M profit in seven months
• What it's really like to leave residency (the emotional weight no one talks about)
• Why he went back after reaching Deputy CMO—and how he knew it was the right choice
• How being a venture fellow taught him that "no" is the default in non-clinical work
• Why he's only taking contract work post-residency to maintain autonomy

David Eisenberg, MD, is a PGY4 psychiatry resident, graduating in August 2025. He previously served as Deputy CMO at The Wright Center and worked as a venture fellow at Arkitekt Ventures. He's proving that the hardest career move isn't leaving medicine—it's choosing to come back and finish on your own terms.

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