Just need to vent

[p100]

I am lucky to be working in an upscale neighborhood but the pay is not upscale. 30% of collections but they cover malpractice and 50% of health insurance.

Everywhere has tip jars so I figured why the hell not and put a tip jar at the front desk for me and the medical assistant to split. It was collecting about $30-40 a day and then the boss found out. He started to take the jar and then only gave me 30% of it. I told him these are gifts and I have 3 kids to feed this is BS, these are not collections. He said "it's in my business and I collected the jar off the counter, it is collections."

I can't wait for this contract to expire.

Edit: The tip jar was a joke. I did not expect serious responses to this.

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[bloxxeeey]

I had a coresident tell me that being a private practice owner isn't worth it, if something happens they don't get paid but the associates always get paid. He signed 100k contract with 5 days vacation, no benefits. It's not all sunshine and rainbows being the owner I guess.

 

[Bored Snorlax]

Is a tip jar even legal? Seeking @SDN podiatrists expertise.

Also, sorry to hear about your boss. He seems like someone I'd never want to work with.

There will always be entitled and difficult people in life.

 

[Shiyuan]

100k??? 5 days??? Shoulda just became a McD’s manager. How sad. But lemme guess... “You’ll build your cases for ABFAS!!!” 😂

 

[Shiyuan]

I am lucky to be working in an upscale neighborhood but the pay is not upscale. 30% of collections but they cover malpractice and 50% of health insurance.

Everywhere has tip jars so I figured why the hell not and put a tip jar at the front desk for me and the medical assistant to split. It was collecting about $30-40 a day and then the boss found out. He started to take the jar and then only gave me 30% of it. I told him these are gifts and I have 3 kids to feed this is BS, these are not collections. He said "it's in my business and I collected the jar off the counter, it is collections."

I can't wait for this contract to expire.

When does it expire? Where are you looking geographically for your next gig?

 

[Shiyuan]

I felt compelled to add these...

 

[p100]

The tip jar was just a joke. I was not expecting serious replies. Pay sucks though lol. There is no choice but to start my own clinic in a year or so.

 

[Feli]

...I can't wait for this contract to expire....

Why are you even waiting for the contract to expire? If there is a non-compete but it's not enforceable in the area, it doesn't matter... leave when you wish. Discuss with a local employ or medical attorney regarding the area and if non-competes hold up if you're not sure (which you should have been prior to signing + starting).

If there is a non-compete and those are enforceable in your area, the contract likely has an auto-renew in it anyways. So, again, leave when you wish. Read very carefully and seek legal advice about the auto-renew or non-compete.

If you are worried they'll claw back some of a small sign bonus or something because you leave a couple months early, it's hardly worth their time. If they're going to do that or withhold your last check or something, they'll do that anyways... even if you complete the term. Don't sweat it. Do you.

Consider it to be a learning experience, and just move on asap.

The only reason to stay at a bad job is that you don't have a better paying job lined up AND you don't have $ to start your own. A bad job and low income is much better than no job. But don't let the contract term stop you from cutting ties. No way.

30% collections associate virtually never works for very long unless you love the area, have a high income partner, or maybe if you're doing heavy amounts of the unnecessary and semi-fraudulent stuff (kickbacks for Rx'ing lab or DME or PT or etc owned by group/supergroup, nail clipping "biopsy," expensive wound grafts, ABIs on every patient "screening," all injects ultrasound, upcoding E&Ms, etc etc). Regardless of if it's legit or nonsense billing... and whether money is highly needed to you or not, you are still always giving the ownership 15-30% of everything you do (and that's even assuming the numbers you are given are your real numbers).

Learn the lesson, and move on.
If the office is not teaching you anything of value, getting you patients/cases you enjoy, or paying you fair or treating you well, then just look out for #1.

You can make 2x or more the $, choose your practice style, choose your hours, and do much better as owner. If it's a bad area (payers, saturation) to be an associate, then it's a bad area to be an owner too... but if you like that area, then 2x or more is still 2x or more. If you can't do that, find a better job and keep saving.

 

[heybrother]

An additional gratuity of 18% will be charged if 8 or more calluses are trimmed.

 

[Feli]

Guys, let's be real: I think there are actually a lot more DPM jobs than we really admit there are. The world is your oyster:

 

[mandrew]

I had a coresident tell me that being a private practice owner isn't worth it, if something happens they don't get paid but the associates always get paid. He signed 100k contract with 5 days vacation, no benefits. It's not all sunshine and rainbows being the owner I guess.

As an owner you are the boss of your time. Ask yourself if it is worth making less money to have more control over your TIME. The answer is always YES. In private practice if you want a day off, you take it.

 

[Feli]

As an owner you are the boss of your time. Ask yourself if it is worth making less money to have more control over your TIME. The answer is always YES. In private practice if you want a day off, you take it.

Ding ding ding.

It's just priceless to get rid of 90% of the boss and admin headaches. Even if an employee doc is paid well, you're still a yes-man to some older fatter owner/manager type(s) who make more for doing less. It doesn't matter if that's the group DPM owner or some HR/MBA or medical dept chief or whoever; their job is to get more work for less money out of you - and all other workers. It's an antagonistic relationship by its very nature. Even with a fantastic "dream" employee job, you will still have some bogus coworkers or frustrations... and someone telling you what to do while snipping most of your revenue. You will still be eating s**t on the daily, and that just gets old.

Fantastic read here:
The VAST majority of life's frustration comes from existing in someone else's organizational system.

...It's not to say owning is a panacea, but it just gets rid of the huuuge majority of the nonsense... eliminates 80-90% of it imo. If you want more $, work more. If you want a certain practice type, market to that. If you want better employees, pay and train more. If you want days off or to change the schedule, do it... no stupid asking or applying for permission. No pressure for scammy services or bad hours from someone who probably lives a much higher standard than you ever will. If you want certain supplies or decor or to eliminate a problematic payer/pathology/employee, it's done... no trying to pitch those ideas to a boss.

All DPMs will have to deal with the minor hospital politics and getting/keeping good help, but the more nonsense you can eliminate, the better. My exp with solo is you can basically work half as much or make twice as much (vs employee)... usually the smart choice is a blend of those: work a bit less and make a bit more... with much fewer overall frustrations.👍