Can DPMs Open Private Practice?

[preDPM]

After going through a lot of posts and listening to some DPMs in practice, it appears that Pods who complete a 2 or 3 year residency have no choice but to work for somebody for at least 2-4yrs before they can open their own practice (if they wish to do so).

Can a DPM open his/her own practice (if they can afford it!) right out of residency rather than working for someone who will most likely exploit them (according to people I talked with)!? Obviously, you would have to know how billing, etc etc works in order to open your own practice. But, assuming you know all this, why cant you open your own practice right after residency?

Are there any restrictions placed by the Pod board (not sure which one because there seem to be so many...APMA,ABPS, AFCAS,etc) on new residents that stops them from opening their own clinic? i.e. Do they have to perform certain number of cases/surgeries in order to get a license to practice on their own?

It would be great to get some insight into this from DPMs, residents, and anyone who can shed some lite on this issue. Has anyone been able to do this right out of residency? What is the minimum number of years you would have to work for someone before you may venture out on your own? Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[NatCh]

No official restrictions on opening up your own practice right away. Many have. It's just more difficult (or scary) since most new graduates have little to no small business background. Getting on insurance provider panels might be challenging in some cases, if they say they're not adding any new doctors at the time (that's the story I got from many insurance companies at first). It can take months to get listed and it can take weeks to months to get paid for services you provided, so the first half year or so after opening you might be living off of your business loan.

 

[krabmas]

There is a recent grad from the program in MD (now closing) that opened 1st year out. He looked for jobs with other pods and orthos but did not like the offers so he opened fresh.

I hear he is doing well.

It takes alot of work but so does any new business.

 

[SportPOD]

After going through a lot of posts and listening to some DPMs in practice, it appears that Pods who complete a 2 or 3 year residency have no choice but to work for somebody for at least 2-4yrs before they can open their own practice (if they wish to do so).

Can a DPM open his/her own practice (if they can afford it!) right out of residency rather than working for someone who will most likely exploit them (according to people I talked with)!? Obviously, you would have to know how billing, etc etc works in order to open your own practice. But, assuming you know all this, why cant you open your own practice right after residency?

Are there any restrictions placed by the Pod board (not sure which one because there seem to be so many...APMA,ABPS, AFCAS,etc) on new residents that stops them from opening their own clinic? i.e. Do they have to perform certain number of cases/surgeries in order to get a license to practice on their own?

It would be great to get some insight into this from DPMs, residents, and anyone who can shed some lite on this issue. Has anyone been able to do this right out of residency? What is the minimum number of years you would have to work for someone before you may venture out on your own? Thanks.

No on can restrict you from opening a your practice (which is essentially a small business). But when you open a business from the ground up by yourself you have to come up with the finances for it. Most people out of residency are usually not independently wealthy so they have to take out additional business loans to start up a practice.

There is no amount of time you need to spend with someone else before you venture on your own, but if you can get on alot of insurance panels while working for another group or podiatrist, it will make the transition to solo practice quicker and allow you to not lose as much revenue generating during the transfer.

I started my own practice about 4 years after finishing residency. This allowed me to understand billing practices, business practices and to get a feel for where and how I wanted to set up a practice. I have now been on my own for about 2 1/2 years and have enjoyed it. It does require you to be on top of your business practices, but I have the freedom of seeing patients the way I want.

If you want to learn more, please PM me.

 

[Stafocker]

After going through a lot of posts and listening to some DPMs in practice, it appears that Pods who complete a 2 or 3 year residency have no choice but to work for somebody for at least 2-4yrs before they can open their own practice (if they wish to do so).

Can a DPM open his/her own practice (if they can afford it!) right out of residency rather than working for someone who will most likely exploit them (according to people I talked with)!? Obviously, you would have to know how billing, etc etc works in order to open your own practice. But, assuming you know all this, why cant you open your own practice right after residency?

Are there any restrictions placed by the Pod board (not sure which one because there seem to be so many...APMA,ABPS, AFCAS,etc) on new residents that stops them from opening their own clinic? i.e. Do they have to perform certain number of cases/surgeries in order to get a license to practice on their own?

It would be great to get some insight into this from DPMs, residents, and anyone who can shed some lite on this issue. Has anyone been able to do this right out of residency? What is the minimum number of years you would have to work for someone before you may venture out on your own? Thanks.

NatCh and SportPod and DPMgrad i think are the only attendings we have here and would be the best to PM, cause.... well Attendings have lived a long life and a lot to talk about (, j/k). (We call them "Attendings" as a sign of respect because they finished the brutality of residency and have priveleges and attend their respective state/hospital/SC, etc)

yeah, i think the majority of DPM's opened up their own practice only just a few years ago. Now with Salaries increasing, it's harder and harder to pass it up for "money now" instead of "money later" with opening up your own business. You can do whatever (within legal means, that is)

I think the State/Health Department is the one that restrict clinic's being opened, but other than paper work, it's hard for them to turn down a healthcare provider especially in a underserved area.

The Case #'s we talk about is for certification/qualified and that's for "extra" padding on our resumes. Really, if a hospital doesn't have a set list of criteria for a doctor to possess, then you can work at that hospital according to your state's laws.

Some ppl want to work first to get that "nestegg" to start a practice, others already have it from saving for so many years, to start their own. No one can stop you, but no one can catch you if you go bankrupt. A practice is a business. Great that you're gunho about it already!

 

[NatCh]

Attendings have lived a long life and a lot to talk about (, j/k).

LOL! Somebody please make me stop yapping!

yeah, i think the majority of DPM's opened up their own practice only just a few years ago. Now with Salaries increasing, it's harder and harder to pass it up for "money now" instead of "money later" with opening up your own business. You can do whatever (within legal means, that is)

I think maybe the best route would be to hire on at an established practice in a place where you wouldn't mind to leaving if things didn't work out but where you wouldn't mind staying for the remainder of your career if things went well. This way you could learn how to run a practice and at the same time make instant income. If you were a good fit to the practice then you could perhaps Partner eventually. If things did not work out you could go start your own practice elsewhere with some business knowledge under your Sans-a-belt.