IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO JOIN A WELL-RUN GROUP PRIVATE PRACTICE…. 

That’s Right!

It is NOT a RIGHT.
It is NOT a GIVEN.
It is a PRIVILEGE.

Personally, I really don’t care what title you have in front of your name or whether you have 10, 15 or 20 years of experience, joining my group private practice is a privilege that only gets extended to individuals whom exhibit a demonstrated passion towards helping people live the lives they deserve and doing so in a way that allows us to reach as many people as possible.

And they are so amazing, they do this whilst being a team member whom exhibits self-responsibility, accountability and a love of working together towards fulfilling our aligned purpose.

Yes, yes, I’m sure there are some unscrupulous practice owners out there (they exist in each and every industry and we are NOT except from that), but they are most definitely the exception rather than the rule and if you came across more than one of those, then you need to start reflecting on HOW you have been choosing the people you have aligned yourself with.

If you have been making choices about joining group private practices purely based on how much money you will be paid, then that might explain it.

How do I know? Because I’ve spoken to many a clinician whom have been the victim of unscrupulous practice owners. You get lured in by the promise of high rates and percentages, just to find …..

– that you don’t get the number of clients to actually still pay your bills – as a subcontractor in private practice, a high rate of pay means nothing without clients actually coming through the doors!

– they don’t pay you on time – because their cash flow sucks. I once spoke to a clinician whom had not been paid in 8 weeks!! Why does this happen? because they are probably paying you too much (yes, it sucks to hear that!) but a large majority of practice owners HUGELY underestimate what it actually costs to run, pay for and maintain a group private practice.

Research has shown that approximately 50% of a businesses income goes towards expenses – and we are not THAT special that we are any different – as an allied health business, we have the exact same expenses. We use the same electricity. We pay the same level of rent than any other business and have all the other standard business expenses – we are not special. And then we are often limited in how much we can earn per hour due to working within a time-limited industry (i.e. the client pays you per hour). And even more often we allow the market to dictate how much we can earn, by being ‘forced’ to provide a bulk-bill service.

I’m not saying don’t pursue the money.

What I’m saying is look at the whole picture and make an informed decision.

• What support is on offer to you to break that private practice isolation?
• What professional development or career progression opportunities are there for you?
• What is the general vibe around the practice – are they a team or just ships in the night?
• What are the practice values?
• What drives the practice owner – i.e what is their why and is it aligned to your why as a helping professional?

It really is up to each of you.

As a practice owner you need to choose your team well.
As a clinician, you need to choose your practice and the practice owner well.

It is your choice.

Know what matters to you most.
Know what brings passion to your day.
Know what motivates you to be the amazing helping professional that you are.

Then, go out and act accordingly.

Yours in Private Practice Success!