Staff Management

Adding an Associate: Compare Doctor & Associate Expectations

By Eric M. White, OD

and Matthew Geller, OD


Matthew Geller, OD

Eric M. White, OD

Adding an associate can rapidly grow an established practice–if that new doctor complements your skills. And, if you’re looking to join an existing practice, best to find a place where you can contribute and grow.

Selecting a partner for your practice can be challenging. You want a doctor who brings something new to your practice or adds to a high-needs part of the practice. You also need a person who you can get along with, and whom your patients will like. Complete Family Vision Care in San Diego, Calif., recently added Matthew Geller, OD, as an associate. Here is how this professional relationship arose, and what practice owner Eric M. White, OD, expects from it and what Dr. Geller would like to achieve. The practice dates back to 1959, with Dr. White purchasing it in 1985. We spoke to both doctors three months into the associate-ship.

Complementary Relationship

SKILL COMPLEMENTS

Dr. White: General clinical skills, business knowledge, staff management

Dr. Geller: Glaucoma-certified, social media, graphic design savvy

PERSONALITY COMPLEMENTS

Dr. White: California mellow

Dr. Geller: New York high energy

Why Now?

Dr. White: I have been solo for years.There were two things that happened recently that changed my mind. I planned a trip to Europe for two weeks, and when you are solo it is hard to take time off.I realized that having an associate would help me relax on time off.I have been incredibly busy.Last year I conducted 1,891 comprehensive exams, and we are up 6.6 percent so far this year. Before Dr. Geller joined the practice, we were booked three-plus weeks in advance. This is not healthy for the practice.I knew it was time to consider adding another doctor to handle the increasing patient volume. In addition, one of my goals is to grow the medical eyecare side of the practice, something an associate with strong medical eyecare skills can help accomplish.

Dr. Geller: It’s that time in my career to consider joining an established practice or striking out on my own. When starting as a new graduate, most doctors will like you to begin as an associate prior to talking about partnership. These circumstances brought me to Dr. White because I desired to start a new life in San Diego with a highly successful, established practice.

Financially, Does It Make Sense?


Dr. White and Dr. Geller in their practice’s office in San Diego, Calif.

Dr. White: I knew adding an associate will be some cost to the practice, but with our patient backlog and an enthusiastic ready-to-work new associate, our finances will quickly recover and, eventually, the addition will make the practice money. I am blessed with a great practice, but I know what my limits are, and the new graduates know so much more about medical eyecare and glaucoma. This is where the future is and I know being a senior doctor that I need help going to the next level in medical eyecare. Having Dr. Geller in the office will allow me to work fewer hours, lecture and travel more while maintaining the same level of income. I currently work four days a week, and plan to continue doing so, but having an associate allows me the freedom to take time off for relaxation or other projects without worrying.

Dr. Geller: For a new graduate to determine what salary makes sense, they must do a monthly budget analysis and a five-year profit and loss analysis.I tracked all my expenses and then ran that against my income after taxes. Once I had those numbers I calculated what it would take me to hit certain goals that I had. For example, if I wanted to reach my goals in five years versus 10 years, then I would have to make “x” amount of more money per month. Setting those goals helps you when you want to negotiate salaries. I started these from scratch in Microsoft Excel, and they made a huge impact on my understanding of my responsibilities and cash flow in the current moment and into the future. This way, once I go into salary negotiations, I can take the numbers back home, plug them into Excel and see the way the numbers will affect my future life. I will be providing these spreadsheets for free to new graduates on the new resource I am developing, NewGradOptometry.com, which will be launched by the end of this year.

How Did You Find Each Other?

Dr. White:I have been looking for an associate willing and wanting to work for many years. I love what I do and do not feel this is work. All I wanted is someone with the same feeling, and I feel I have found him in Dr. Geller. I am willing to do anything for my patients and I have never been able to find someone with the same outlook until now.

Dr. Geller: I looked for a hiring doctor at the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Career Center (OCC) and also on my optometry school, SUNY College of Optometry, web site. These didn’t help me much with a California position because California is especially competitive for young doctors. So, I proceeded to make my resume, a cover letter and a stock e-mail that I sent to about 30+ people that I met over my time in optometry school. They all sent out my information to their references, and before I knew it, I had a few leads to play with.


The storefront of Complete Family Vision Care, the practice which Dr. White owns, and which Dr. Geller recently joined as an associate doctor.

What Do You Want to Gain from the Associate-Ship?

Dr. White: I knew the new associate could bring a ton of new medical eyecare expertise whereas I could give them the knowledge of how to prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses and how to make money. You have to find someone willing to work and willing to listen and able to adapt to how the senior doctor works. But I, as the senior doctor, need to be willing to work with the new doctor to grow the practice together. I am very set in my ways in my practice, but I know there is so much more I can offer my patients. You want someone willing to learn your style and also able to teach you new skills. A good example of thisis in the glaucoma services we offer. I do not have time nor energy to get certified, but I know my new associate, who is glaucoma-certified, can bring that high-level glaucoma care to the practice. I also would like Dr. Geller to help me add vision therapy services.

Dr. Geller: I hoped my new hiring doctor would really be cutting-edge in something clinical and something business-related. I was looking for someone who had no intention of slowing down or becoming lazy. I want to be with someone like Dr. White who is ready to teach but also ready to learn from me. My philosophy is that the more spectrums of eyecare Complete Family Vision Care can cover, the better. With that idea in mind, I was hoping Dr. White had a skill that I didn’t have so we could be a better team. Also, I made sure I had an optometric skill that would make me a more attractive candidate.

Get Support Before Signing a Contract and Ensure Staff Approval

Dr. White: One of my biggest concerns is that the staff like him and can work with him. It is imperative that he respect them and they respect him. Dr. Geller did not come in saying “I’m the doctor,” but instead seemed to be saying “let’s work together for our patients.” A good associate needs to be willing to learn the way of the practice and not try to change everything.

Dr. Geller: [Along with ensuring a good relationship with Dr. White’s staff] I got feedback from friends, doctors and professionals in the industry. I called my accountant, my business attorney, my two to three closest OD friends who have been out of school for 20+ years, and also I talked with Evan Kestenbaum, CIO of Gateway Provider Network. A lot of this conversation was about contractual items, like salary and hours. Other things were about practice health, chair cost, revenue per patient and location–basically the items that ensure a healthy practice. The staff and I have a great rapport because I see them as my equals and as my friends. I keep things light, I don’t complain, I try to understand their frustrations and I try to help them. Staffing is the most complex issue in a practice and very difficult to get right. To me, it’s all about keeping staff engaged, learning, happy, and allowing them to see the fruits of their labor.

Prepare for Associate’s First Day

Dr. White: I gave Dr. Geller a tour of the office and then left for Europe for two weeks. Good or bad, I threw him into the practice with a full schedule and not knowing what is where. He did incredibly well,which told me he is the right one because sometimes you feel buried and have to lean on the associate to climb out, which he did with flying colors. You don’t want someone who needs to be spoon feed, nor do you want someone who wants to change everything.

Dr. Geller: I prepared for my first interaction with the practice with a printed and bound portfolio titled “Ideas for Success.” They were a general list of ideas that Dr. White and I had to focus on, in the short term, and long term, in order to succeed. It had everything from compensation ideas to how to start a vision therapy office. I came prepared and this is my philosophy–go all out from the get-go. Dr. White has an amazing practice and I need to be the wind in its sails, not the rough seas, which is why I created this portfolio of ideas.

Prepare Patient Base for Associate

Dr. White: We are doing that now. We recently sent an e-blast to our patient base introducing Dr. Geller and we also updated our web site to include information about him. In addition, we are adding him to the practice Facebook page and we are doing a local media announcement about our new associate. I don’t work Friday and we are letting everyone know he will be here on Friday. I plan to refer all my medical eyecare to Dr. Geller to grow his end of the practice. I also gave him a 15-point “how to grow a practice” handout to work on.

Dr. Geller: I made sure to publish my story on OptometryStudents.com about my switch to Complete Family Vision Care. Doing this got the news online in a press release form, and that was really all I could do. Other than that, when I worked in the office for six days “to test things out,” I gave every patient my cell phone number and made sure they were comfortable with the transition and seeing me in the future.

Will Many Long-Time Patients Migrate to New Associate?

Dr. White: This is the hardest thing. I love my patients and they are my family. There are going to be a lot of patients who don’t want to change and they do not have to. I want to bring them into Dr. Geller on the medical side or the vision therapy side–something that I do not do. They can still be my patients but we are now working as a team for my patients. I am going to stay two weeks out booked and the overflow will automatically go to Dr. Geller. I don’t advertise, so patients come to me by referral. This is one of many reasons why we need to work together.

Dr. Geller: You avoid competition by developing more than a business relationship. Friendship is likely the key to avoiding doctor-associate competition in the sense that you are more likely to “stick together as a team” if you are friends, and if things separate, there is a genuine respect. I intend to focus 100 percent on developing my own patient base because that is how to increase practice growth. Even when seeing Dr. White’s patients, referrals will always be in the back of my mind. I will have to see Dr. White’s patients to start and then I will use the internet, word of mouth, business cards, and my overall outgoing personality, to bring new people in.

Related ROB Articles

Associate Acumen: Prepare Well When Adding a Doctor

Carefully Consider Factors Before Taking On an Associate or Partner

Protect Your Practice Legally When Adding an Associate

Eric M. White, OD, is the owner of Complete Family Vision Care in San Diego, Calif. To contact him: Emwhiteod@aol.com. Matthew Geller, OD, is the practice’s associate doctor. To contact him: Mattgellerod@gmail.com.

To Top
Subscribe Today for Free...
And join more than 35,000 optometric colleagues who have made Review of Optometric Business their daily business advisor.