Ask the Hacks: Fix My Associateship! (DHS42)

Jason and Alan got a question emailed to them from a new dentist who is struggling with their current associateship. The email asked:

I'm a recent graduate from dental school and just got a new associate position at a private practice near my hometown.  I've been working there for about 2 months now and the patient flow for me has been very slow--seeing 0 patients on some days.  The owner dentist has been doing some marketing for myself to get going and most new patients that walk through the door are mine to be seen.  What else can he and I do to improve my patient flow?   The owner dentist is also big on continuity of care and doesn't allow me to see his patients.  However, he and I had talked about potentially buying into his practice somewhere down the road.  Since this is a long-term relationship, should I be seeing some of his patients?  Should I be doing hygiene exams, simple restorative work, some crowns, new patients and emergencies? What are your thoughts on continuity of care and how does a new associate fit into that? As usual, the Hacks have thoughts! Head on over to the Dental Hacks Nation to join in the conversation!

Microcopy Dental has always been the place to get the most amazing single patient use burs anywhere. But have you ever wondered why a person would want to go the "single patient use" route? Microcopy is offering 2 hours of free CE about this very issue at dentalhacks.com/freece! You'll see why dental burs should be single patient use for lots of reasons and you can pick up 2 CE's on infection control as well! Go check it out at dentalhacks.com/freece!