Before you say anything, obviously I am getting incredibly ahead of myself with this post. I have never owned a business, nor am I formally educated in business practices. So, please, do not take this as an attempt to tell you how to open a practice or run a business because that is better left to other professionals or seasoned practitioners. However, a guilty pleasure of mine is reading business books and imagining a future in which I am the owner of my own practice. Despite the many hurdles I still face and decisions yet to be made (i.e. I still have to match to a residency, and, who knows, I may like academics), I think it is a valuable exercise to educate yourself and set future goals. Considering that this is the time of year for reflection and goal setting, I thought this would be an appropriate subject for a post for a variety of reasons. For one, setting goals can help you stay focused and committed to personal development no matter how far into the future they may be. Second, is you can never get enough business education. Even though not all will go into private practice, healthcare is a patient (read: consumer) oriented profession. Therefore, good service is paramount no matter what environment it may be delivered in. Many core business principles are identical those it takes to be an exceptional practitioner. Leadership, communication, and compassion are some that come to mind.
Even though I may not know about business intimately, I can prepare myself for my future and set goals. Like I mentioned earlier, I enjoy reading business literature. During the break after reading some Dental Economics articles and surfing Dental Town, my imagination began to wonder. Specifically, I was curious if there were any OMFS specific business guides. There are tons of resources available that are directed at general practitioners, but unfortunately there are next to none specific for OMFS. I understand that it is an incredibly small niche, and that the majority of business principles apply to both general practitioners and OMFS, but it would still be nice to see something that includes details pertinent to a resident or associate wanting to become a business owner. The only resource I came across was a PDF by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Niamtu, titled “Beginning a New Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Practice.” Although only 108 pages long, it includes about everything you can imagine regarding starting an OMFS practice.
Most of the information Dr. Niamtu provides, such as information related to hiring and firing, office location, and marketing, can be found in any business book you may read . There are little gems scattered within these sections that do make it OMFS specific though. Even though this is all valuable knowledge, where it probably becomes relevant to the readers of this site, and why I wrote this article, is summed up in a couple of quotes from him. The first is, “One must, from the beginning, have a clear-cut idea of where they are going and how they will get there.” The second is, “If while reading this text you cannot immediately stop and write down your particular vision, then you should stop reading because it is the first rung of the ladder to excellence.” This comes back to the goal setting I mentioned earlier. If you are applying to OMFS, you must have imagined your future at one point. Even though it may be several years down the road, and lots of training, it is never too early to build your vision. By educating yourself of the things that will be important in your future a little bit at a time, it won’t be so overwhelming when that future finally becomes reality. Plus, it’s always fun to dream!
p.s. If you’d like to see some cool offices, check out the Wells Fargo Office Design Competition winners.