Best Pasture for an Old Goat

[UltraTooth]

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My former partner left our dental practice 3 years ago. He heard the siren's call from the California prison system and took a clinical position paying top dollar. Now he has been laid off! He has completely soured on California, and I have scaled down the practice and cannot take him back.

Does anyone know of a particular State and region where he could go (he is 42 years old with 2 kids) and get a good income stream ASAP?

 

[Mackchops]

Word I've heard is people are streaming to Texas. It's the dust bowl -- in reverse.

 

[servitup]

My sister went to Dallas and is doing very well straight out of school.

 

[armorshell]

Texas is the golden land, until medicaid switches to capitation of course

 

[Demeter]

Texas is the golden land, until medicaid switches to capitation of course

March 2012 🙁

 

[Demeter]

you should post this on dental town.

 

[RedTornado]

www.dentist.ihs.gov

There are open spots in western Oklahoma at Indian Health Service hospitals where the dentist would fill a civil service position through the federal government.

 

[yunowu]

Upon liquidation of my private practice at the end of '09 (just in time too), I kept a rather close eye on the job market. Most of newly-created jobs are in the military, branches of federal government (ihs) and private corrrection corporations. Many states, counties and cities are in the process of implementing austerity measures. It actually means "creative accounting" in the world of professional investors. That means the states will shift the financial burden of running corrections to these private corporations.

http://www.thegeogroupinc.com/

http://www.correctionscorp.com/

There are others. You use google search (correctional dentistry). These privately run corporations usually issue their own stocks. They complete on the average about one prison per month. That should tell you about the state of affairs in this country..🙁

Most privately run prisons average about 2000 inmates for one dentist. So they will work you pretty hard. Efficiency is the name of the game. I have a friend that works for one these outfits. He sees about 50-60 inmates a day. The pay is about $100,000-$ 130,000 per year, depending on the experience..

Good luck to your friend. I should know I guess. I am in my mid-forties as well.

 

[dragonteeth]

www.dentist.ihs.gov

There are open spots in western Oklahoma at Indian Health Service hospitals where the dentist would fill a civil service position through the federal government.

I second this idea. I walked away from private practice after eight years and was commissioned as an officer in the USPHS three years ago. I have been stationed at two IHS locations in Oklahoma (the second being a totally awesome 2 yr AGPR residency that I'm currently enjoying the heck out of). Civilian GS at federal facilities and civilian tribal hire at tribal facilities both pay very competitive salaries and offer decent retirement and benefit packages. The procedures you get to do varies by location - some tribal clinics have pros budgets while federals may not for example. Clinics also vary widely in size from single dentist locations to large clinics with 8-10 dentists and specialists.

Most IHS positions are in smaller towns within an hour or two of larger cities, and offer decent schools, low crime, and cheap housing prices. As a single mom pushing 40 with a special needs son, these things were as an important consideration for me as I am sure it would be for your friend.

There are also civilian IHS positions available in California as well as several other locations around the country. It might not be the most glamorous job in the world, but taking money and insurance out of the doctor-patient relationship is truly and deeply satisfying at the end of the day.

Finally, your friend is still in the age range (upper edge - might need a waiver if he waits very long) for USPHS commissioning. There's a sizable signing bonus (75k) with pay/benefits/rank the same as the Armed Forces and transferable GI Bill. We have considerable control over where we are stationed, and can work with a wide range of federal agencies (IHS, Bureau of Prisons, Immigration, Coast Guard, NIH, CDC, FDA, and more with the ability to switch between agencies if desired). The job security and retirement that would bring might be rather tantalizing to your friend right about now.