Better to do one full-time associateship or multiple part-time associateships? Your thoughts?

[Mauricio45]

I believe multiples is better because it helps to work in different environments because all offices are run so differently. Plus, it looks good on your work history that you worked two (or more) offices long-term at the same time as opposed to one office long-term.  It shows you can adapt to different offices with different staff.  Plus, easier for FD to fill up your schedule for 2-3 days as opposed to 4-5 days. I remember this was a big issue when I worked full-time in one office. 

It's best not to put all your eggs in one basket. If one associateship doesn't work out, chances are the first couple of jobs won't after school, you can transition out of that one and into another or add days at one of the other ones you're working at.  If you are only in one practice, there is a lot of pressure to make that one work.  You may be forced to make compromises you shouldn’t make out if fear of not having any income stream. I also think that politics & petty gossip in the office (amongst staff) tends to be a big thing when you are confined to one small office; whereas, in multiple part-time gigs, the office & staff sees you as simply showing up to do your work and leave.

Working multiples allows you to get to know the practices, and yourself, and gives you an easier out if you need it. I wouldn't sign any restrictive convenants with part-time associateships though. A complete deal-breaker IMO.

 

[Mauricio45]

13 hours ago, malkynn said:

There are pros and cons to both, but I agree that there are A LOT of pros to working multiple part time jobs, and this is coming from someone who has never done it, but in many ways wishes that I had. 

It really is shocking how differently clinics are run, and the more styles you see, the better for learning your own way of doing things. The industry has this veneer of having some standard way of doing business, but that’s sooooooo not the case.

I find a lot of new grads are specifically looking for full time positions over multiple part time and they think that it’s better somehow, when that’s not necessarily the case. 

I also totally agree about restrictive covenants (aka agreeing to not work within a certain distance limit from your current clinic). I simply won’t sign them. I refuse to be told where I can and cannot work. I’ll happily sign something that says that I can’t solicit patients that I didn’t personally bring to the practice, but not something that limits what clinics I can work at if I leave. 

 

Even if you did sign 'em, I've heard the restrictive convenant is very difficult to enforce in Canada. The owner dentist may not even think it's worth it to spend $$ on court costs and waste precious clinic time.  They probably will just let it go (especially if you've only worked there for like a couple of months).

[cleanup]

I don't have preference for one over the other. But I would want to work at least 2 days per clinic. Spreading yourself too thin (working at 3 or 4 or even more clinics) can be tricky since a dentist who is not at the clinic very much may have trouble keeping their schedules filled. You need to have a presence at the clinic in order for people to be okay to see Dr. Mauricio45. On the flip-side, having a single full-time position can result in the same issues (it's rare to find a clinic that can wham, hire a new grad for 30-40 hours of doctor time a week and guarantee you'll be busy, unless you're replacing someone who was already busy, which in reality is not an ideal situation for the practice since you're a new grad). 

I think the sweet spot for a new grad is 2 part-time positions, each for 2-2.5 days each. You can tack on a third one for 1 day or 1/2 a day a week, but it should be a relatively sure thing ie. busy-ness in your schedule. Usually this can be achieved by say a weekend or evening position.

Later on you can whittle things down as you get more comfortable, busier or both at one practice or another. Maybe you become efficient & fast enough that you only need to work 3-3.5 days a week full-time at one practice. YMMV.

 

[Jason50]

14 hours ago, cleanup said:

 On the flip-side, having a single full-time position can result in the same issues (it's rare to find a clinic that can wham, hire a new grad for 30-40 hours of doctor time a week and guarantee you'll be busy, unless you're replacing someone who was already busy, which in reality is not an ideal situation for the practice since you're a new grad).

 

 

I agree with this. My first job out of school was a single full time associateship which turned out to be a total disaster. I replaced another associate (who was also a new grad) and he worked there for 2 years. He had a busy schedule. However, I had a much different experience than he did. I was hardly ever busy.  Literally had 2-3 hour gaps between patients. I did not get along with staff and did not fit in with the culture of the practice.  Left after about 7 months. After that horrible experience, I started doing multiple part-time positions which I think is "safer" than 1 full-time.  Much happier now.

I think it's difficult to find a single full-time associateship in a practice that you fit in with because staff will always favour the owner and pawn off the "breadcrumbs" (exams, diagnosis, occlusal adjustment) & low-yield procedures to the associate.  It's best to find a practice where you are truly needed, and not used as a "gatekeeper" to do just exams&diagnosis.  I think they're alot of shady owners out there that take advantage of the naive, new grad which is sad.