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Working for Others, Think Carefully
About It ! When you start your own practice, it will take several years to fill your schedule. As a result, you should look for outside work to supplement your income. Talk to other podiatrists and spread the word that you are available for work. With this being said, think very carefully about any potential job offer. I went out on my own to avoid having to work for someone else. Since starting practice, I have had several offers to work in nursing homes and in practices for other podiatrists. About one month into practice I was contacted by a local podiatrist who had been visiting a nursing home 2 times per month. His schedule no longer permitted him to go to the nursing home and he asked me if I would be interested in taking over the facility. I told him I was interested. He then proceeded to tell me the arrangement he had in mind. I would see the patients and his office would do the billing and he would pay me 45% of collections. I thanked him for the offer and kindly told him I was not interested. He was shocked that I did not want the job and tried to convince me to take it. He kept pressing me for an answering as to why I did not want the job and I finally told him that the deal was not good for me. Think carefully about each job offer. The podiatrist who offered me the job was not an employee of the facility, not an owner of the facility, and he did not pay overhead to the facility. Not to mention, he does not pay for my benefits or malpractice insurance. Also remember the fee schedule in nursing homes is less than your private office. He could no longer go to the facility and provide the services, yet felt he was entitled to collect 55% of my services. There is nothing to stop you from contacting the facility and telling them the doctor informed you he/she would be leaving and you are available to provide the service. You have no obligation to the doctor and they have no right trying to profit off of something they don't own. Not to long ago I was contacted by another doctor who was looking for someone to work in his office 1/2 day a week. He offered to pay me $50/hour and 30% on orthotics and office or hospital surgeries. While this offer may have helped me earn some money, he also wanted me to sign a non-compete clause. If you start your own practice and hear the words "non-compete," walk away. A major advantage of having your own practice from the beginning is that you don't have a non-compete clause. If I were to work in this office for 4 hours I would make a guaranteed $200, and would see about 10-12 patients. When you are new in practice, all of your patients are new. If I see 2 new patients in my office in one day I would collect at least $200 and I would be building my own practice. The bottom line is this doctor's offer was not very good. The hourly wage was low, the percentage was low, and he was removing a key benefit of being on my own by restricting who I could see through a no compete clause. Don't let the short-term prospect of earning a few dollars get in the way of growing your own practice for the long-term. At the end of November 2006 I got an email from one of the doctors I had interviewed with during my job search. He told me he could no longer go to one of the nursing homes he visited monthly and asked if I could take it over with no strings attached. I was very grateful and accepted the offer. This was a great example of a well-established doctor helping a new practitioner. I am sure you will encounter similar experiences and I urge you to analyze the deals carefully before accepting. Contact nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and wound care centers and let them know you are interested in providing podiatry services. If the facilities have another doctor already providing the services, leave your name and information with the medical director in the event there is an opening in the future.
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