Finding Purpose Beyond Medicine: A Conversation with Dr. Sabharwal
The journey of an international medical graduate is filled with challenges, uncertainties, and financial hurdles. On this episode of The Worthy Physician, I spoke with Dr. Sabharwal, who shared his story of resilience, adaptability, and his venture into real estate investing.
From International Medical Graduate to Financial Freedom
Dr. Sabharwal’s journey to the U.S. medical system wasn’t straightforward.
"I came to the US about, I want to say, five, six years ago. Actually, I was here from 2008 to 2011, and I went back to India, was there for a little while, came back again and here we are."
His experience as an international medical graduate opened his eyes to the financial and professional barriers that many face.
"When you do rotations here in the US, it's on your own dime."
Despite these challenges, he persevered.
"Thankfully, my parents supported me through this and I'm very grateful for them to have been able to support me and provide me with whatever they did."
The Transition from Medicine to Real Estate Investing
While practicing medicine was rewarding, Dr. Sabharwal realized the constraints of trading time for money.
"You're basically making money for the time spent. And I wanted to get out of that rat race."
His interest in real estate stemmed from wanting to generate passive income and achieve financial independence.
"I had to start investing elsewhere. I obviously didn't want to continue doing that for years on end, so I had to find a way to accelerate that, and that's how I came across real estate."
The Realities of Real Estate Investing
While social media often portrays real estate investing as a quick and easy way to build wealth, Dr. Sabharwal emphasizes the patience and effort it requires.
"No matter how lucrative it looks on the internet, the ground reality is that it is certainly challenging, and I think what it did teach me was you really need a lot of patience for this business."
Despite the challenges, he remained committed and began expanding into larger-scale investments.
"Now what I'm trying to do is actually I try to be on the active side, but I want to help other physicians invest passively alongside me as my limited partners."
Finding Happiness Along the Journey
As physicians, we often chase external achievements, believing they will bring us happiness. Dr. Sabharwal reflected on this misconception:
"We have this idea of this life and this is going to give us happiness, or that is going to give us happiness, and we buy this thing and it's going to bring us happiness. But, that being said, will that bring me happiness? No, happiness actually happens along the way."
For him, true fulfillment comes from continuous growth and self-awareness.
"You really have to find what gives you happiness, what gives you purpose in life, and I believe that starts by looking within and seeing what you really want to do."
Becoming Comfortable with Change
Change is often resisted, especially for physicians who thrive in structured environments. When asked how he became comfortable with change, Dr. Sabharwal admitted:
"I don't think I'm fully comfortable with change, though. We're actually in the process of moving from New Jersey to Virginia because my wife got a pretty solid gig there, and so we're going to move there. Am I 100% comfortable with it? Absolutely not."
However, he emphasized the importance of adaptability.
"The only way to be comfortable with change is to understand and to have that faith that you have the resources within yourself to adapt to that change."
Educating Physicians on Alternative Investments
Recognizing that many physicians lack financial literacy, Dr. Sabharwal created a free educational video series to bridge this gap.
"I created a free video series for people to understand some of the terms that we use. For example, I use the term IRR - internal rate of return. Now, people will not understand what internal rate of return is. AAR - average annual return. Physicians will be sent these offerings, and there'll be these terms and metrics that people look at. I look at it. I can understand it, but does a physician understand that? Normally, no."
His platform, The Immigrant Doctor, helps fellow physicians invest passively in real estate without having to navigate the complexities alone.
Final Words of Wisdom
Dr. Sabharwal left us with a powerful takeaway:
"The key is getting yourself educated. Even when I did a lot of this internal work, I had to get my knowledge up to there before I could start doing it. It’s a constant process. It never ends."
This conversation highlighted the intersection of financial independence, self-awareness, and personal growth. Investing in yourself—whether through financial literacy or personal development—pays dividends beyond wealth.
To learn more about passive real estate investing, check out Dr. Sabharwal’s free video course at RERXCourse.com and connect with him on LinkedIn or Instagram (@TheImmigrantDoctor).
Let’s continue to support and inspire each other in our journeys beyond medicine.