The Challenges of Running a Solo Private Practice

I know I shouldn't complain. I also know that I do on a regular basis. Nonetheless, I often feel pulled in so many directions that I don't know what to do next.

I am very happy that the practice is doing well. After years of research into the feasibility of a private solo practice, months of preparation, and lots of anxiety, I opened the doors two years ago. There were times along the way when I wondered if I made the right decision from a financial standpoint. There was security in being employed. And I am grateful to my referring physicians and to my patients who entrust their family members and friends to our care as well. 

But there are days that the office is so busy, the phone calls are overwhelming, and the paperwork is stacked to the ceiling. And while I understand that to each individual patient, there is no one more important than himself, the reality is that I have to triage. Who do I call first - the person anxiously awaiting her biopsy result or the pregnant women with the blood sugar of 240?

Add to that the request from our hospital that I do lectures for the community. It's diabetes month, and I have a lecture to prepare. And I have been asked to give a talk to the medical staff during an upcoming conference. And I am part of that quality improvement committee I mentioned in an earlier post. And I have been asked to give a lecture to the residents, to let a nurse practitioner student do a preceptorship with us, and to teach the medical students.

Ah, the price of excellence! I'm joking, of course, but there are days I wish that I was either worse at what I do or less likable. OK, have to keep this short. I have lectures to put together.
 

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