So, you've been saying that we need to wine and dine you, hold our tongues against you, and provide same day sedation if we want to keep your referrals and somehow you are thinking that I am the one feeling superior? You seem more focused on your needs rather than on patient care. And this is the problem with dentistry: its all about what you do for the referring doc and the focus has shifted from patient care (something that we focus on greatly throughout our extensive training).
Yes, we all in these forums understand that we need to be nice and accommodating to our referring docs, and to be nice at work so you don't get fired (we all know how to work and behave professionally). But you have the audacity to tell someone that they may regret 4-6 years of their life pursuing a very noble profession. How do you know this unless you yourself have gone through the training? I have never met an OS that has regretted any aspect of pursuing OMFS, even when it comes to laying out the red-carpet for guys like you. So excuse me if I take offense to some of your comments.
Of course every little bit counts. if you won't do it, your competitors will. If you provide services that my patient wants that day and you can deliver before they change their mind, that's good business for you and me. I'm focused on my patient needs and business needs. Going back to the criteria that I mentioned:
- Being good at what you do - This is a given. If you screw up a lot, my reputation takes a hit and I look bad for vouching for you. Also, having to hide bad implant placement makes my job more difficult or fielding dry sockets.
- Being nice - This is also a given. You can be the best specialist in the area, but if you're a dick to me, you're probably a dick to the patients too. There's a person connected to what you're working on. Treat me and my patients like people (with respect). Goes back to if I refer a patient to you and they had a negative experience, that looks bad upon me and my business. If you're not nice, you're more likely to throw me under the bus. Same deal, bad for business.
- Being accomodating - Don't make my patients wait a long time for an emergency. That makes me look bad if I can't get them out of pain because the procedure is beyond my pay grade.
- Free food/stuff - Symbol of goodwill and friendship. This is icing on the top. If all things are equivalent between specialists, this is the tie breaker.
So yes, for business, you need to do all that, because we are the gatekeepers. If you're the only specialist in town, then you don't have to. If you are not willing to do those things I mentioned above, your competitors will. Do you notice that all except the free food/stuff has a direct business connection? Even the free food/stuff will make my staff talk more highly of you as well to the patient.
Next, you might have some selection bias is saying that you never met an OS that regretted their training. Perhaps the ones that regretted it are the ones that left midway through the program. If what you're saying is true that 100% of OS's don't regret going through their program, then you need to look at the ones that dropped out of their respective OS programs. Also, 4-6 years is a long time to hedge your life against on something you may not necessarily know about until you're knee deep into the program (same with dental school!). In the previous post(s), I've made a comparison of going into a 4-6 yr OS program and regretting it afterwards v. working for 4-6 years later then realizing that you're unfulfilled in your professional life.
You may have a noble profession, but not everyone is stoked to spend 4-6 years of their prime life to pursue that. I don't think my expectations of my specialists are unreasonable, because you guys are essentially an extension of my office without hiring you directly. If you think any of my expectations are unreasonable, post them.
Edit: I'm humble enough to my specialists not to get into direct confrontations. However, this is an unwritten pact that I don't spell out to my specialists. It is EXPECTED as a specialist that I refer to, to do what I've outlined in all these posts. I won't hold my superiority with my specialists, as I'll defer to whatever the hell they want to do from a procedural standpoint unless there's a restorative component (or if they are doing things out of their scope/sending it to other GP's). I also expect them to remain professional and cordial even through the worst of times because I am the one holding the referral cards (literally).
