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14 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 7, 2023 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS T he YES Clinical Committee put together the session "Toolkit for Job Success," offering the dos and don'ts of contract negotiations, financial wellness secrets, tips on how to start up a solo practice, understanding the nuances of different markets, and beginning career transitions. The committee brought in Jill Maher, MA, COE, to talk about con- tract negotiations. She offered her "six easy steps for successful negotia- tions." They included: 1. Thank the practice for the job offer: As soon as you get a job offer or contract, just say thank you for the generous offer, even if you're not accepting that offer yet and plan to review it. Ideally send this thank you within 24 hours, she said. 2. Expectations: Understand things like how many patients you'll see in a year/each day, the type of support staff available, how ophthal- mic services are marketed, and the training schedule. 3. Priorities: Choose 1–3 items to negotiate, such as clinical inter- ests, compensation, partnership, geography, time, autonomy, benefits, or mentorship opportunities. 4. Gather data: "There are more resources in the world of ophthal- mology than any other medical specialty that I've ever seen," she said." 5. Ask the right questions to clarify and start the negotiation process: These questions could include what you might expect of net collections in the first year, where will patients come from, etc. Figur- ing out what questions to ask is the easiest way to start the negotiating process, Ms. Maher said. 6. Respond in a timely fashion: Know what the due date is for re- sponding, and if you need more time for an attorney to review, ask for more time. Make sure you respond to practices you are saying "no, thank you" to because those could be your future referrals, Ms. Maher said. Ms. Maher also said in the presentation that it's important to ne- gotiate for yourself; do not have an attorney negotiate for you. "You want to really be able to start building that relationship by negotiating yourself," she said. Neda Nikpoor, MD, in the panel discussion, said it's so important to remember these types of negotiations are different than you just trying to win. This is a time when you're nego- tiating for a win-win. Jeffrey Tran, MD, offered his thoughts on starting a solo practice. "Solo is definitely a way to go," Dr. Tran said in his presentation. "Is solo the way you should go?" "For me, going solo and being my own boss was the way to go, but it was the one I had the least knowl- edge about," Dr. Tran said, before walking the audience through all the steps of setting up a solo practice. Once you decide that solo is for you, the first step is location analysis. You need to consider any possible non-competes, market saturation, and referral sources. Once you've identified a location, then you start looking for commercial real-estate locations. In most cases, this will be a space that's 1,500–2,000 square feet, has (or has the ability to build out) a waiting room, diagnostic room, exam rooms, procedure room, personal office, and a break room. From there you need to get your state medical license (if you don't al- ready have it), which can take weeks to months, and other federal applica- tions. It's also important to establish a Pro forma and business plan, which he said are essential for financing. It can give you a realistic projection of your earnings, he presented. During this stage you apply for an LLC/in- corporation and get a tax ID number. Opening your own practice can be expensive, so plan to finance it or have saved a lot in your first job(s), Dr. Tran said. To get a prac- tice running, expect anywhere from $150,000–300,000. Another thing to consider is credentialling, which can take 3–6 months depending on the insurance and applying to bill to Medicare and Medicaid. Other things include getting medical and personal business insur- ance, a phone number and utilities, bank accounts and credit cards, apply for an NPI2, and apply for hospital and ASC privileges. In addition, you shop for an EMR, practice equipment office supplies, and furniture. Staff also needs to be hired. Rachel Gelman, MD, in the panel discussion said she started her own practice because she wanted to practice how she wanted to, in the location she wanted to. "I had to make a lot of mistakes and learn the hard way," she said, adding that it's important to remem- ber the staff element. "Hire staff and be involved in every aspect of their training and your patients. … Focus on creating the premium patient experience, which is not just about how good you are, it's about how good are your front staff, your back staff, office manager, and having a hand in every aspect of your business is essential." Editors' note: Ms. Maher, Dr. Tran, Dr. Nikpoor, and Dr. Gelman do not have financial interests related to their comments. YES symposium provides a toolkit for job success

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