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Background: ~1.5 years out from training. I interviewed at several private practices near my parents as it is a desirable area to live and I have a family of my own. I ended up joining a practice where there is currently no partnership option (one owner and 6 other providers) due to a variety of other factors. Some of the other jobs I interviewed at stated they'd offer partnership in 2-3 years, yet less than one year into working at my other practice and some of those other groups already sold out to private equity. Fast forward 1.5 years at current position. Live 15 minutes from work and my parents which we see about once per week. I generally really like my job - part of it being the specialty, part of it being first job post-residency and anything would be better, part of it being that I think it is a pretty good place to land post-residency (former resident of my program also works here). In terms of income, I work exceedingly hard but my income has reflected it and has been very good for my first year out (>500k which is above average for specialty).
The "issue" if you want to call it that is that currently there is no option for partnership. The solo owner is in early 50s so likely won't retire for 10-15 years. While the practice has largely been positive, there have certainly been a few things that have come up that are one of the downsides of not being an owner or involved in decisions making. They've hired a few extra docs who have "diluted the patient pool" meaning my volume will come down, there have been some mismanagement of staff, and in generally the communication from the top down has been "meh" (especially now during coronavirus). I suppose those in the academic arena at big hospitals can sympathize with similar management issues but this is all new to me.
As I mentioned above...the income is good (for now, hopefully in perpetuity but who knows), the location is great (near family, good schools), and overall is generally a good environment. If I were to join a different group with partnership track (or start my own) I'd likely have to be farther from some of those things and there's no guarantee the grass is greener. But there is definitely some allure of controlling your own destiny, being involved with decisions (pros/cons to that too), and the possibility of further increasing income down the road after sweat equity.
Question to the group: For those who are in private practice, how much did "partnership" and the ability to have more control weigh into their decision making process. Are there some people who just knew they couldn't work for someone else? Am I overthinking it and enjoy what I have and focus on other areas of life since it largely has been a good experience? Just looking to air out my thoughts and gain some perspective form people who have been both positively and negatively impacted by some of those decisions.
The "issue" if you want to call it that is that currently there is no option for partnership. The solo owner is in early 50s so likely won't retire for 10-15 years. While the practice has largely been positive, there have certainly been a few things that have come up that are one of the downsides of not being an owner or involved in decisions making. They've hired a few extra docs who have "diluted the patient pool" meaning my volume will come down, there have been some mismanagement of staff, and in generally the communication from the top down has been "meh" (especially now during coronavirus). I suppose those in the academic arena at big hospitals can sympathize with similar management issues but this is all new to me.
As I mentioned above...the income is good (for now, hopefully in perpetuity but who knows), the location is great (near family, good schools), and overall is generally a good environment. If I were to join a different group with partnership track (or start my own) I'd likely have to be farther from some of those things and there's no guarantee the grass is greener. But there is definitely some allure of controlling your own destiny, being involved with decisions (pros/cons to that too), and the possibility of further increasing income down the road after sweat equity.
Question to the group: For those who are in private practice, how much did "partnership" and the ability to have more control weigh into their decision making process. Are there some people who just knew they couldn't work for someone else? Am I overthinking it and enjoy what I have and focus on other areas of life since it largely has been a good experience? Just looking to air out my thoughts and gain some perspective form people who have been both positively and negatively impacted by some of those decisions.
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