The 4 Essential Qualities for Success in Private Practice

Remember the 3 A's--ability, availability, and affability--the age-old 3 ingredients for success as a physician. Do they still apply? Yeh, they still apply and can take you a long way, but they are no longer enough. Here are the 4 key elements as I see them:

1. Focus: You must have a goal for your practice and remained focused to it as the myriad of competing forces try to pull you away. In addition, I'm a big believer in being a focused student of the process of medical practice and small business.
2. Fortitude: Medicine has always been challenging, but now the challenges come from so many different sources, not just the medical ones, but also regulatory, legal, insurance oversight, etc. You must be made of some pretty tough stuff just to survive with your passion intact. My skin is raw hide!
3. Fun: If you don't find it fun, or you have lost your passion, it's over unless you can find it. Try to view it as a journey--a road trip--and everyone knows that the road trip is always better than reaching the final destination.
4. Family: You better keep your family, and especially your wife, happy. Without them, forget about it and just get a job.

Now off to make my wife happy. . .by relieving her of newborn duty. "Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming. . ."

Thanks for listening,

The IU.