Ask Dr. Tea: Thoughts On Entering Practice After Residency

Dr. Tea Nguyen:  Hi, it's Dr. Tea here, and I was asked to answer a question. The question was, what advice do I have for newly graduated residents who are entering into practice? This is a loaded question because there's so much to know. Still so much to learn.

We have the technical aspects of foot and ankle surgery in medical care, but we don't have the business savvy, whether you are an employee or starting your own practice. My number one advice would be to get a business coach.

This is something that has never been taught in medical school or in our training, how valuable it is to have a coach. We're taught about mentors, but mentors can only take you so far. I do think you need to invest in a business coach to accelerate your goals, to get where you want to be faster.

I wish I would have looked into that. I wish I knew that was a thing when I started out in practice. I started my solo practice in 2018, it's now 2021, and I just barely understood what the value of a business coach is. So I would start there first. Good luck!

Dr. Tea Nguyen can be reached at teadpm.com.