Continuing our journey with Dr. Vasumathy M in DocScopy, Dr. Nirainila Joseph from MedBound Times delves deeper into Dr. Vasumathy's role as an independent dental practice owner.
Dr. Vasumathy, who completed BDS at Tamil Nadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, discusses managing clinic staff dynamics, orchestrating collaborations with dental specialists, navigating the challenges and triumphs of female entrepreneurship in dentistry, and offers insightful advice to aspiring dentists starting their own practices.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: How do you build and maintain a positive team culture within your practice? What do you look for when hiring staff?
Dr. Vasumathy M: Being jovial with my team is the technique I follow to maintain a positive team spirit. I always take personal care of my attenders and make them feel free to talk about any problems with me. I always look for easy-to-approach people in my practice so that it would be easy for both me and patients to communicate with them. Since they're the mediators between us, they need to be efficient enough to manage both.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: In your vision for your practice, how important is collaboration with other dental specialists to provide comprehensive care for your patients?
Dr. Vasumathy M: Not all, but a few specialty dentists are needed in my practice to provide appropriate care for my patients. I usually have consultants for orthodontic treatment and surgical extractions. In the growing field of dentistry, advancements play a major role. I will need to collaborate with a few more specialists in the near future for the betterment of both patients and the clinic.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Thriving in any field as a woman entrepreneur presents unique challenges. What specific hurdles have you faced, and how did you tackle them?
Dr. Vasumathy M: As women, we still face the misconception of being the weaker gender, and this hasn't stopped. Testing our patience and taking advantage of us in different ways remains a constant problem in my four years of practice. What I hate the most is when people ask us personal questions. I usually respond with a smile and change the topic.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Being a mother actively balancing career and family, what advice would you offer to others in a similar position in the healthcare field who are juggling family and career aspirations?
Dr. Vasumathy M: My kind advice is not to attempt to be perfect in any of the roles. Setting up your own practice would be a better option for mothers; at least we could have flexible working hours. Undoubtedly, both are exhausting, but once you find a routine and stick to it, things fall into place. The initial years of practice would be difficult, but after three to four years, you would have both your career and personal life in line.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: That's great advice! Now, can you share some of the biggest rewards of owning your own dental practice? What aspects of this new role do you enjoy the most?
Dr. Vasumathy M: I think building up our own community of patients is the biggest reward of owning my own practice. It is a very slow and steady process, but once you've gained the trust of patients, the entire family comes to you and trusts you implicitly. It gave me immense satisfaction in my practice when I started getting only referral patients.
Secondly, you get to apply your own methods of treatment, such as using different combinations of medication, your own treatment protocols, and trying different techniques. This gave me great relief when I started practicing independently. What I enjoy the most is being able to take on cases when I know I can, without needing anyone's permission or supervision. This freedom is what I love and enjoy most about my private practice.
The ability to work independently, without anyone intervening in the treatment plan or methods, brings out a different version of you as a doctor. You try new things and manage the outcomes, whether good or bad. It is an entirely different process and experience. This is what practicing is all about, and it is only possible when you own your own clinic!
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Let's delve into the other side—specifically, the challenges you encountered during the transition from being an employee to running your own dental practice. How did you navigate these hurdles?
Dr. Vasumathy M: Managing finances, whether it's profit or loss, falls solely on you. During the initial years, you cannot take a salary from the revenue, which I found to be the biggest challenge in running the clinic independently. Managing the clinic's expenses with its own revenue was a bit challenging. While being an employee, if a patient is missed out, I'm not affected in any way. But in my own practice, it's a loss, and I'll have to manage it from my pocket. After a few months, I learned how to manage them by rotating money, cutting off unnecessary expenses, etc.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Despite the challenges you've faced, do you find it empowering to be your own boss and have control over your professional environment?
Dr. Vasumathy M: Cent percent empowering it is! Making every single decision by myself can be stressful at times, but once you find the technique of managing things, it becomes much easier. Building and expanding a clinic from scratch, purchasing every single advanced equipment and instrument from your own revenue, and managing your own finances is cent percent motivating.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: It's truly inspiring to hear how empowering it is for you! Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals for your practice?
Dr. Vasumathy M: My long-term goals include establishing a stable patient community on a larger scale and implementing a dual-chair practice alongside a pediatric chair.
Dr. Nirainila Joseph: Wishing you continued success in your practice, and thank you for sharing invaluable tips on owning a dental clinic. Your words will surely inspire and guide dentists embarking on a similar journey. If you have any final words for female dentists starting their own practices, we'd greatly appreciate hearing them.
Dr. Vasumathy M: I would say, kindly be clear about what you know in clinical practice and don't start a practice without proper training under a dentist and adequate experience. Be prepared for false hopes, failing patients, and a dry practice in the initial few months—it happens. There will be frustration when you sit simply in your clinic for the whole 8 hours, but it passes. Every single day counts, and every single patient is important.
MedBound Times expresses sincere gratitude to Dr. Vasumathy M for sharing her valuable insights on our platform.