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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