Private Practice Pain Doc

My journey into private practice began unexpectedly and progressed quickly. Coming out of residency and fellowship training, I had what I thought was a stable job as both an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist for a large hospital-based group. My salary was competitive, the work was predictable, and I enjoyed my colleagues.

I considered the possibility that I may want to open a private practice someday, but like many doctors just finishing training, I wanted a job that felt safe to start with. Then, in less than two years of starting this job, the pandemic hit.

Elective surgeries and procedures were cancelled, and suddenly the axiom that being a physician afforded a safe and reliable lifestyle was turned upside down. In early April of 2020, I received an email from my employer stating that my salary would be immediately cut by 30%, and that if I continued to show up to work, I would automatically opt into any new terms set forth by my employer. No addended contract was sent to me for review, and no formal discussions were had with my employer.

And so, in my disgust by this corporate coldness, I decided that I could not work for a company that treated its own physicians this way. In July of 2020, my family and I moved across the country close to where I grew up with the goal to open a private practice within a year. I never could have imagined the challenges that lie ahead of us both professionally and personally, but we’ve been navigating them ever since…

Looking over Los Angeles from atop the Mt. Hollywood trail.