The title of this blog comes from a lovely song by Gotye. You can here it here-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqRC5tquyU0.
I spent the largest part of my professional life with my partner in Knoxville, Bob. He and I were partners for 15 years. We didn't always see things the same way; no two people ever do. We did, however, co-exist and prosper when so many medical partnerships founder. We did so because we split everything equally. We simply took the money we made, took out the overhead, and divided by two. Some months he billed more, some I billed more, but we always simply split it, because we worked equal amounts of call and equally hard.
As time went on,our call styles diverged more and more. He came in for everything- UTIs, false labor, everything. His call nights became a miasma of trips back and forth to the hospital and interrupted sleep. I let the labor floor nurses do their job. I trusted them, and so I was only in-house for someone in labor. We also managed induction of labor differently. I brought patients in the night before. By the time I came in at 7 AM they were already 4 cms, had an epidural and typically delivered by 4 PM. Bob would start his at 0700, and still be at the hospital at 8 PM for deliveries.
I covered him for a total of 13 weeks for two separate surgeries. During that time I made a lot of money, still got a total of a whole day off weekly (two afternoons) and spent only two nights in the hospital. Bob covered me for 21 straight weeks between nephrectomy and transplant. He spent a great deal of time in the hospital and, by insisting on a whole day off, never really got a day off, since there is always something every day.
We had a discussion about whether we would split money on an 'eat what you kill' basis. Bob abandoned this idea when I pointed out, and the accountant agreed, that I was responsible for 70% of the practice billings, since I supervised our mid-levels and the sonographer.
We had very different overt values. He is deeply and conservatively religious, whereas I am spiritual and non-observant. He is cautious with money to the point of being miserly, while I am perfectly happy to spend on staff, bonuses, meals, etc. He likes vaginal surgery, I like laparoscopic cases. He is a 'splitter', building up a picture from many small details. I am a 'lumper', using details to exclude diagnoses.
When it was time for me to teach again I made no secret of looking, and we sat down with the accountant to work out how we would split assets. This was done to our mutual satisfaction and with a signed agreement. I left to go to Chattanooga, with about 40-50,000.00 due me over the first three months after leaving. I didn't get a check.
What I got was a call from the office manager saying Bob had questions about certain expenses. Not a call from Bob, but the manager. There could be no questions at all; our agreement was perfectly straightforward. I pointed this out, and then sent an email demanding my monies be paid. This is business. I'm not mean, but money is just math, and there's no room for reneging on contracts. I got my money, but Bob was upset. He sent me an email lamenting that I had 'won'. I didn't 'win' anything. It wasn't a competition. I wasn't angry, and I'm still not. I've spoken to Bob exactly one time in four years, although I maintain friendly contact with a couple of the MDs in Knoxville, and with several nurses on Facebook.
Time passed, and I had occasion to see a patient cared for by Bob and his new associates. She ended up in Erlanger, and there were the familiar records and phrases I knew. I called to get more information. An unfamiliar voice answered the phone, who had no idea who I was. I informed her, and asked if one of the MDs was available. Bob was in the office, and I asked to speak with him. There was a delay of several minutes, and then the unfamiliar voice returned, and told me Bob couldn't come to the phone- he was busy.
The emotions come faster than the mind can put words to them or we (at least I) can sort them out. But what ultimately shook out was that the man I worked with for 15 years didn't want to talk to me. I've gotten several calls from Knoxville over the last 4 years, and always eagerly take them, and take time to speak with my colleagues. That seems like professional courtesy to me, and an acknowledgement of a relationship.
Clearly, there is no further relationship with Bob.
Bob will always be the doctor with whom I practiced the longest, and he had a substantial impact on me. I have a long and (so far) excellent memory, and I have many recollections of working with him and of the office. He might give a different version of these events, and if he reads the blog I will certainly publish his version. I bear him no malice, I respect him and his values and abilities. I don't have a single bad word to say about him, and I'm grateful to him for much that he did for me. I often imagined that I would give his retirement speech, if I lived long enough to do it.
Now he's just somebody that I used to know.
Ted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqRC5tquyU0.
I spent the largest part of my professional life with my partner in Knoxville, Bob. He and I were partners for 15 years. We didn't always see things the same way; no two people ever do. We did, however, co-exist and prosper when so many medical partnerships founder. We did so because we split everything equally. We simply took the money we made, took out the overhead, and divided by two. Some months he billed more, some I billed more, but we always simply split it, because we worked equal amounts of call and equally hard.
As time went on,our call styles diverged more and more. He came in for everything- UTIs, false labor, everything. His call nights became a miasma of trips back and forth to the hospital and interrupted sleep. I let the labor floor nurses do their job. I trusted them, and so I was only in-house for someone in labor. We also managed induction of labor differently. I brought patients in the night before. By the time I came in at 7 AM they were already 4 cms, had an epidural and typically delivered by 4 PM. Bob would start his at 0700, and still be at the hospital at 8 PM for deliveries.
I covered him for a total of 13 weeks for two separate surgeries. During that time I made a lot of money, still got a total of a whole day off weekly (two afternoons) and spent only two nights in the hospital. Bob covered me for 21 straight weeks between nephrectomy and transplant. He spent a great deal of time in the hospital and, by insisting on a whole day off, never really got a day off, since there is always something every day.
We had a discussion about whether we would split money on an 'eat what you kill' basis. Bob abandoned this idea when I pointed out, and the accountant agreed, that I was responsible for 70% of the practice billings, since I supervised our mid-levels and the sonographer.
We had very different overt values. He is deeply and conservatively religious, whereas I am spiritual and non-observant. He is cautious with money to the point of being miserly, while I am perfectly happy to spend on staff, bonuses, meals, etc. He likes vaginal surgery, I like laparoscopic cases. He is a 'splitter', building up a picture from many small details. I am a 'lumper', using details to exclude diagnoses.
When it was time for me to teach again I made no secret of looking, and we sat down with the accountant to work out how we would split assets. This was done to our mutual satisfaction and with a signed agreement. I left to go to Chattanooga, with about 40-50,000.00 due me over the first three months after leaving. I didn't get a check.
What I got was a call from the office manager saying Bob had questions about certain expenses. Not a call from Bob, but the manager. There could be no questions at all; our agreement was perfectly straightforward. I pointed this out, and then sent an email demanding my monies be paid. This is business. I'm not mean, but money is just math, and there's no room for reneging on contracts. I got my money, but Bob was upset. He sent me an email lamenting that I had 'won'. I didn't 'win' anything. It wasn't a competition. I wasn't angry, and I'm still not. I've spoken to Bob exactly one time in four years, although I maintain friendly contact with a couple of the MDs in Knoxville, and with several nurses on Facebook.
Time passed, and I had occasion to see a patient cared for by Bob and his new associates. She ended up in Erlanger, and there were the familiar records and phrases I knew. I called to get more information. An unfamiliar voice answered the phone, who had no idea who I was. I informed her, and asked if one of the MDs was available. Bob was in the office, and I asked to speak with him. There was a delay of several minutes, and then the unfamiliar voice returned, and told me Bob couldn't come to the phone- he was busy.
The emotions come faster than the mind can put words to them or we (at least I) can sort them out. But what ultimately shook out was that the man I worked with for 15 years didn't want to talk to me. I've gotten several calls from Knoxville over the last 4 years, and always eagerly take them, and take time to speak with my colleagues. That seems like professional courtesy to me, and an acknowledgement of a relationship.
Clearly, there is no further relationship with Bob.
Bob will always be the doctor with whom I practiced the longest, and he had a substantial impact on me. I have a long and (so far) excellent memory, and I have many recollections of working with him and of the office. He might give a different version of these events, and if he reads the blog I will certainly publish his version. I bear him no malice, I respect him and his values and abilities. I don't have a single bad word to say about him, and I'm grateful to him for much that he did for me. I often imagined that I would give his retirement speech, if I lived long enough to do it.
Now he's just somebody that I used to know.
Ted
Break-ups are typically thought of in terms of romances, but they also occur in the religious world (with splintering of branches within a particular religious tradition), in the political world, nationally (civil wars are oh so nasty), and internationally (allies today, enemies tomorrow). Then there is business: sometimes the break ups are good, sometimes so-so, and sometimes they are bad. What is especially frustrating is when we think something has ended well, only to find out that the other party sees things differently.
ReplyDeleteAs I was a colleague to both parties in this scenario, I am sorry that Bob is now just somebody that you used to know.