Have you thought about expanding your current practice into your own business, or possibly that you should own an urgent care franchise? Does this scenario sound like you?
You trained for years to be a doctor. From undergrad to med school to residency, you have put in countless hours and years to become the doctor you are today. You care about your patients and practicing medicine is everything you ever wanted it to be, but what do you do if working for someone else—whether it’s another doctor’s practice, a hospital, or anything in between—isn’t panning out for you?
If you have been asking yourself that question, keep reading. Here are three important things to know about making your practice your own business.
#1 Fewer Doctors Own Their Practices
Your first thought might be to open your own practice. That’s a surefire way to work for yourself, but it has some drawbacks. According to the AMA, 2016 is the first year when less than 50 percent of physicians own their own practices. For some perspective, a similar AMA survey revealed that more than 75 percent of physicians owned their own practices in 1983.
#2 Owners Need Skills You Didn’t Learn in Medical School
In your training to become a doctor, the skills you learned are invaluable when it comes to saving lives and providing important patient care. When you become the owner of your practice, you have to be both the doctor and the business owner, which requires an altogether different set of skills. Things like bookkeeping, management, and marketing are all the responsibilities of the owner.
When you own an urgent care franchise, as opposed to starting a practice on your own, you get two major benefits. First, franchisees undergo comprehensive training to ensure that they are prepared to handle all the roles of the owner. This training teaches you these important business skills and empowers you to combine them with your experience as a doctor to build a strong business.
Second, franchises come equipped with a variety of tools and resources that you can use to make your job easier. These can include relationships with insurance companies or medical suppliers, proprietary software to manage patients, ongoing professional development, and more. These are major benefits that help you navigate the waters of business ownership with an experienced partner.
#3 Being an Owner is Rewarding
There are a variety of studies showing that people who own their own businesses are more satisfied, and this is certainly true for physicians. If you own an urgent care franchise, you get to make decisions that directly affect your patients’ care. You are in control of the doctors and nurses you work with. You can build a respected practice that provides important care to your community, helping patients in need.
If you aren’t sure you want to work for someone else, you should start looking into American Family Care, where we provide the right care, right now. We are looking for franchisees all over the nation, so check out our available territories.
