As Louis Pasteur so eloquently stated, “Success favors the prepared mind.” Back in August, I attended the Graduate Orthodontic Residents Program (GORP) with Matt Meyer to introduce residents to The Progressive Orthodontic Resident & New Ortho Study Group. In our conversations with hundreds of residents over the course of the weekend, we came to a disturbing realization. The vast majority of orthodontic residents are grossly underprepared to run a business. Even worse – most of them don’t even realize it yet!
Although this might be old news to many of you veteran orthodontists, we were surprised at the magnitude of the situation. These soon to be doctors and business owners had not even considered that they are lacking even basic business knowledge and didn’t see an urgency to learn the business side of practice ownership. Why aren’t today’s residents more concerned about being prepared to run a business? Two reasons; 1) the curriculum in most programs focuses solely – or at least primarily – on the mechanics of malocclusion correction and building the clinical skills necessary to be a good orthodontist, and 2) most students complete nine years of education without ever holding a salaried job.
It’s a simple fact that business skills are important in any profession. Any successful orthodontist knows that effectively dealing with business issues is just as important as successfully correcting a malocclusion. Without a basic understanding of the business side of running a practice, you’ll start your career at a substantial disadvantage.
Business mistakes are costly. Bad purchases, hiring the wrong people, signing badly written contracts, and overpaying vendors can result in anything from time-consuming frustrations to lawsuits to bankruptcy.
Being a great practitioner isn’t enough to bring patients in the door. You have to give people a reason to come to your practice. The in-office experience, the location, other unique services offered or some combination of these things are important to building a practice. If your front door or sign says “orthodontist”, prospective patients already assume you’re an expert at straightening teeth.
In today’s competitive environment, everyone needs an edge. Even if your plans are to begin your career as an associate, you’ll be in a better negotiating position if you can add value to an established practice through your leadership, knowledge of efficient business practices.
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