Professional Courtesy: Associate Ambitions, Practice Pivot by Dr. Thomas Giacobbi

Professional Courtesy: Associate Ambitions, Practice Pivot


by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, editorial director


Earlier this summer, my associate pulled me aside to tell me she was purchasing a practice and would be leaving soon. Any announcement of this magnitude starts with feelings of shock, disbelief and the obvious question of “Why now?”

I have had a great relationship with this associate, and I remember asking when she joined the practice what her goals were for the future. She didn’t want to work more than three days a week, and she wasn’t interested in ownership. Something changed along the way, and when I told her I would’ve been happy to let her buy into my practice, she replied that the practice she had purchased was much smaller.

While I’m sorry to see her go, I’m proud of her for taking this big step and I want her to be successful in this next stage of her career!

I practice with my wife, and for us to have time out of the office together, having an associate dentist on the team has been very important. We’ve had five different associates over 12 years, and many lessons were learned during that time.

Associates can fall into a few different categories, and the one you choose to hire will differ based on your situation and goals.

The young dentist who has been in practice for less than three years is going to be both the most common candidate and the most challenging. This is someone who will need your mentorship and patience. You’ll invest a lot of time and money in this person, but you might end up with a long-term partner. In this case as well as the others, you must know their goals from the beginning of the relationship.

A dentist with more than five years of experience is a terrific candidate because they’re most likely to work without much need of mentorship. Likewise, they’ll have seen enough to appreciate the opportunities in your practice, assuming you’re treating them well and appreciate what they bring to the practice in terms of skills and motivation for success.

The dentist who is close to retirement is perhaps one of the most underrated associate options. They can often be the best! One of our associates had owned a practice for many years in another state, and after selling it he came to Arizona to eventually retire. Talk about having an owner’s mindset! He treated the practice like his own from Day 1 and his experience was invaluable.

A few closing thoughts on hiring an associate: If you were an associate early in your career, keep your experiences in mind when you draw up the contract for this important member of your team. Treat them you way you would want to be treated—because you might have an opportunity to become their associate one day when they purchase your practice! However, if they’re not receptive to your feedback or unwilling to match your commitment to the patients in the practice, then say goodbye.

The difficult part about having an associate is the uncertainty of how long they will last. This is the No. 1 reason dentists are reluctant to add an associate when their practice is busy enough. Instead, the dentist becomes overwhelmed with a backlog of patients and they get burned out, or the team becomes frustrated and morale goes down.

If you want to ask for some help with or advice for hiring your first associate, or want to share an associate profile I’ve not described, please add your comment under this column below. You can also reach me directly by email at tom@dentaltown.com.


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