Starting a Medical Practice right after residency. Is it Possible?

One of our readers about to graduate emailed me this question. The question is : "Is it possible to start a medical practice right after a residency program? My answer to this question is: “Everything is possible”. Impossible is only a state of mind.

I have known physicians who instead of going into a physician job, started their own medical practice. They are one of the most successful practitioners in the town where I practice. And there is a reason for that: the longer you are in business the more successful you will be. The trick is to continue to stay in business. When I started my practice I sat down with this cardiologist who never went into a physician job but started his own medical practice right after residency. He told me his story as follows.

Dr X finished his residency in Internal Medicine and applied for physician jobs. He got lots of good offers but he could not forget one thing his father had once said to him – “Never work for anyone”. He just could not accept the going against it. So to make a long story short, he went on to do a cardiology fellowship and opened his own medical practice just after fellowship. When he started he told his wife the beginning may be tough but the end would be sweet.

So it has been done. And there is multitude of ways to start your own medical practice just after residency. Crucial to it is the awareness on how to start a medical practice and how to run a medical practice successfully. Not to mention the ability to manage your finances – both personal and business. How to do it is a small question with a lengthy answer. I will focus my future posts on these issues as a single post will not be able to answer this question.