The Career Associate
There are many very successful Associates arrangements whereby neither party wish to be partners and the junior is happy to remain as an Associate for life. Female dentists often seek this arrangement to allow them the opportunity to raise a family. Most wish to establish their own practice but often at a later time in their career.
Locum Dentists — an emerging career choice
The presence of the temporary dentist (the “temp”) in the workplace has become more and more commonplace. Often these dentists have sold their practices but still wish to continue to practice, but at a reduced rate. Typically, these dentists have registered with a Locum service (some “temp” for the person who has bought their practice, when the purchaser takes holidays or temporary leaves for maternity, medical, or other reasons). This makes perfect sense as patients and staff are most accepting of the former, and familiar, dentist. Production is usually maintained at similar levels, thus keeping the practice vibrant while the Principal is off.
Medical doctors have been practicing as Locums for decades. Many Associates never plan or want to own their own practice. They come and go, as required, and are content to do so. Many dentists are on the verge of adopting this career choice.
The benefits of being a Locum, much like that of an Associate, are:
• No financial commitment
• Intermittent work — say one or two months on, then one or two months off
• No ‘burden’ of management — the Principal makes the decisions
• Freedom — some mature Locums have limited family commitments and welcome the freedom to travel, pursue hobbies or live an alternative lifestyle • The primary benefit of hiring a Locum dentist is the ability to take a leave. Maternity leaves, due to the proliferation of female dentists, are about to increase substantially. Who will cover for these expectant mothers? Locums are needed!
Baby boomer dentists (those who are 40 to 60 years of age) are the majority of today’s practitioners, and they are the most likely to experience a disability. Hundreds of interviews with dentists who are selling their practices reveal a large majority are doing so because of a disability. The Locum is the ideal source of interim labour to maintain patient care and assure the disabled dentist of income. Disability insurance will cover some of the expenses, but in most instances it is insufficient to maintain a full compliment of staff. One client interviewed needed immediate surgery. The recovery period was estimated at one month. She chose to close the practice, temporarily lay off her staff, and notified the patients she would be back in a month. Her thinking was that very few, if any, patients would not be able to ‘wait for just one month to see me’. Emergencies were referred to the local service.
She suffered a relapse and notified her staff and patients about a further delay. Sadly, her health diminished further, and she had been closed for two months! Her short-term disability insurance was about to expire. A Locum was found to carry on her practice. Luckily, after this two-month closure, none of the staff had found other employment and were willing to return. Only a handful of her patients had sought another dentist and the practice was back on track within weeks. This is a fortunate situation and it was possible only due to the lack of nearby competitors. The practice was situated in a smaller community and there were limited options for the patients to seek treatment elsewhere. In a larger city, where dentists are marketing for new patients much more assertively, this practice would have suffered a substantial loss of patients in this two month period. Too often, dentists are overly optimistic about recovery from a disability.
Dentists are advised to protect their practice and hire a Locum. They can be called on short notice and relied upon until complete recovery occurs.
Timothy A. Brown is the President & C.E.O. of ROI Corporation & ROI Capital, companies that specialize in dental practice appraisals, brokerage, consulting, Locums placements, Associate- ships and practice financing across Canada. Timothy can be reached at (905) 278-4145 or timothy@roicorp.com This article is excerpted from Profitable Practice — Why a Dental Practice is an Exceptional Investment, Timothy A. Brown
