LOTS of debt?

[lezion]

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I want to be a family practice doctor.

I understand that these numbers vary greatly but I am curious what they would be approximately...

1). Once I finish residency how much debt will I have?

2). If I buy a practice how much do they cost (dental practices cost about 500,000 - 750,000 is that what family medical practices cost too?)

3). If I start up my own practice how much does that cost?

4). Which way is better to go? buy a practice or start one up? are there other options?

THANKS!!!

 

[GoodmanBrown]

Your questions are so broad as to be almost infinitely variable. But I've given it a shot.

I want to be a family practice doctor.

I understand that these numbers vary greatly but I am curious what they would be approximately...

1). Once I finish residency how much debt will I have?

Well, if you're a US citizen, a resident of a state like North Carolina or Texas, and you go to your in-state school, you probably won't have as much. Perhaps $100K. If you go out of state, probably $200K. If you go to a private school (including DO), probably $250K+.

2). If I buy a practice how much do they cost (dental practices cost about 500,000 - 750,000 is that what family medical practices cost too?)

3). If I start up my own practice how much does that cost?

4). Which way is better to go? buy a practice or start one up? are there other options?

THANKS!!!

Questions 2-4 are all tied up in buying or starting your own practice. However, I would posit that most FM docs coming out of residency do neither. They probably join existing practices or are hired as employees in bigger hospital systems. In this way, there's no start-up fees.

If you're intent on working solo, then you will probably have to start a practice in a very small town. However, I can't help with costs as I have no idea.

 

[deleted87716]

As GoodmanBrown said, there's really no way to give specific answers to your questions due to the number of variables.

As for buying a practice, very few people do that, but you need to be very careful. Have the practice appraised. Don't take the seller's word for how much it's worth. It's almost always worth a lot less than they think it is.

Re: starting a practice, there are some good resources on the AAFP web site, and links have been provided in some earlier threads on the subject. You can find these with the SDN search feature.