Associate Doctors, Yes or No?

This morning, I spoke with a doc.

Great guy. Like, really great.

He hired an associate for four-thousand a month (PLUS “PERFORMANCE BONUSES” to “work” full time, Monday-Friday with the goal of him someday becoming a “partner”.

He hoped/assumed that this new associate would bring in 5 new patients per week.

I asked him, “What would he do and when do you expect him to do it?”

He responded…

“Promote at events and work weekends.”

ME…

“So he should be working 6-7 days a week?”

He responded…

“Yes, go out and work the grind… initially.”

Here’s the problem with all this…

1. You will burn the associate out.
2. You can’t expect an associate to be a great full-time doctor and an effective marketer.
3. These days, effective (and efficient) marketing—marketing that doesn’t position you as needing new patients and doesn’t attract the wrong people—does NOT require you to work weekends or do “events”.
4. The idea that someday your associate will “buy in” the practice is a long shot strategy. That type of person doesn’t need you. Associates typically just want a steady paycheck. If they wanted to own their own business and had fearless capabilities, they wouldn’t be working for or with you.
5. Bonuses never work. They create resentment and when target goals aren’t met, the blame gets passed around. Do your job and you have a job. No need to bonus anyone for doing their job. Additionally, bonuses tempt staff into doing what they should never do… over treat and over charge, for example.

So now this really great person that I spoke to this morning has himself a $4,000 a month employee who is really just taking 15 hours a week off of his patient care/work load.

Bad plan.

So, if YOU have considered hiring an associate, ask yourself, “why?”

• So I have someone to work with and brainstorm with. (False security)
• So I have someone to adjust my patients when I am sick or on vacation. (If or when that happens, just hire a relief doc.)
• So I have someone to sell my practice to someday. (Who says that it is easier and better to sell to an associate? Rarely is that the case.)
• So I can stay home and just market my practice. (Are you THAT good at marketing and managing? Probably not.)
• So I can make money off them. (Make money off of yourself. You’ll make more.)

…all bad reasons.

Associates are employees.

Pay them to do specific tasks—tasks that you can’t do on your own or tasks that they can do better than you.

If they want to treat their own patients in your office, that’s fine.

But the moment you and this associate work “together” for the betterment of “the practice”, things are going to fall apart.

Partnerships are for dancing.

That’s it.