Clinic Plans

At this juncture, many students are trying to figure out what they are going to do once they graduate.  We are heading into our final set of board exams in May, which contain the practical portion of the tests.  These exams are the final ones we have to pass in order to officially get our license to practice in September.  In the midst of all this, we also have our final set of OSCE's that may or may not fall on finals week.  There is lots to think about and a bunch of work left to be done before the doctorate is in hand and lots to figure out before launching the clinic this fall.

Clinic plans have always been on my mind.  I have drawn numerous different layouts and have researched products and financial estimates.  It is consuming and can take up an afternoon in the blink of an eye.  My big hold up these days is what to name the clinic.  I took a poll to see what my facebook friends thought about a few ideas and most who replied felt that naming the clinic after a neighborhood was better than naming it after myself or some sort of ideology that I have strong feelings for.  This to me is important information to think about.  People want to feel as if the place they are going to trust with their health care is part of the place they live in.  Neighborhoods, many times, have strong ideologies that they adhere to.  The ideals draw people of similar mindsets to the area because they feel as if the neighborhood justifies their identity.

The trick is naming the clinic strategically so that it grows in the coming years versus the alternative.  One drawback to naming something after the neighborhood or region it is in, is that it isn't unique and potentially does not stand out.  This is a fear of mine because if it doesn't draw attention to itself, then I will be sitting idle with no patients to work with.  We don't want that.

Branding is a big deal from what I have read.  You want a symbol that people correlate to your business name.  The symbol must encompass not only your clinic's mission but also it must speak to the population you want to work with, such as the neighborhood you named your clinic after.  Now, if the neighborhood has the highest population of endurance athletes in the city, then it might be wise to find a symbol that they can relate with or at least gets their attention and perhaps draws them into your clinic.  From what I have read, it is all about getting the people into the clinic so they can feel comfortable with what it is you are trying to sell.  In my clinic, we will be selling snake oil and life long treatment plans...  Just kidding..

I can now see why many of my friends are going to start out as associate doctors before they venture out on their own.  There is less risk with this idea and it is just as respectable as opening your own clinic.

All for now