USE PLANNING AND FINESSE TO INTRODUCE A NEW ASSOCIATE

ONE OF the most satisfying facets of practice growth is seeing your patient numbers grow. Of course, managing that delicate balance between creating demand and ensuring patients are scheduled and seen at a satisfactory interval is another challenge altogether. At some point, to ensure continued success and growth, it becomes necessary to add an additional doctor. This addition can create some trepidation on the part of not only your staff, but also your patients.

As a cold start solo practitioner, my patients had been used to me, and only me, through the last eight years. Thus, introducing my new associate doctor took some planning and finesse.

Here’s how I handled that transition:

I ANNOUNCED EARLY

We announced the new associate’s start date sooner rather than later. Through our electronic newsletter, social media channels, staff conversations and internal marketing, we began to introduce and create excitement around our new doctor addition as soon as we knew she would be joining our practice. Lag time for us between then and her start date was about two months, so this gave us plenty of time to get the word out.

I USED PERSONAL CONNECTIONS AND STORIES

Telling the story of how we found our associate sparked interest and created a dialogue in a variety of media that allowed us to tell our new doctor’s “story.”

What was her background? Where was she from? Why was she coming here? What did she like about the practice? What did she aspire to in her optometry career? We included the answers to all these questions in our “push” to get patients used to the idea of the new associate, and frankly, to get them excited.

I REASSURED STAFF/PATIENTS

I counseled my staff to understand that my selection process had taken a great amount of time (to which they witnessed), so I could hire a new doctor who not only fit with the practice’s culture, but also shared my vision of patient care.

The biggest concern patients had about the new associate was that their history of care was with me, and now that care would be transferred to someone new. My patients wanted to know whether they could trust her. To allay their concerns, my staff, and I, continually educated patients to the fact that I had trained the new doctor specifically in our current approach and practice.

THE POSITIVES

The addition of a new doctor allowed me to open up a couple more days of patient care and expand our office and clinic hours. Additionally, in facilitating the transition of one of my patient care days to an administrative day, I’ve been able to focus on aspects of practice management that require time and attention.

By adding a doctor, and transitioning her into the practice strategically, patients have embraced her presence during the past year, and my practice has grown significantly. Communicating the positives to both staff and patients has created a smooth shift for all who are involved. OM

DR. WESLEY practices at Complete Eye Care of Medina, a Vision Source practice, which she opened in 2008. She was honored as Minnesota’s Optometrist of the Year in 2011. Email drwesley@cecofme dina.com.