I tried to find my old thread from about 2 years ago, but can't find it. I've been on this job for 2 years and I really like it. I work with good people, and I get a decent amount of time for each patient (although the waiting list is long and they are talking about cutting down my time per patient.) For a government job, it pays surprisingly well (about the average for all people in my profession) and I get very good retirement benefits if I stay here for 20-30 years. Also, I'm helping less fortunate people which is important to me. I make enough money for a very comfortable lifestyle in which my wife doesn't have to work. However, my wife and are hopefully starting a family soon and I know that there will be huge costs involved with raising children.

Yesterday, I was called out of the blue by a company in North Carolina called Life Enhancement Services. They are expanding their services into Louisiana with clinics in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and possibly other cities if those are successful. They want me to interview for the possibility of being the head of the Baton Rouge clinic. This would involve seeing patients, administrative work, etc and they say they are willing to work around my current job if I want to keep that.

Of course, I don't want to fall into the trap that many physicians make which is to keep increasing work hours to make a ton of money while they are young and eventually burning out. Yet, this job could potentially double or more my income with an additional 10-12 hours/week.

The main reason I'm starting this thread (or would have bumped the old one) is to know if any of the members from the Carolinas or that area have heard of Life Enhancement Services. I've found a bit of information about them on the web and it seems like they have had a few minor issues, but I'd like to know more about them before the interview and am doing research through a variety of avenues including this one.

Thanks in advance for any info or other thoughts.

Two beds to a room, no exceptions

interesting. i have no knowledge of them, but i'd say offhand that that is certainly an attractive offer -- it also would likely be valuable experience of a "management" sort i would imagine, and the attractiveness of potentially doubling your income in that small an investment of time is certainly great -- particularly since the money could be used to help defray the costs (current and future) of starting a family.

certainly a tough decision, but one that on the surface at least looks like it should be fairly logical to make (no matter which way you go).

If this is something they are willing to let you do while still keeping your current position, it sounds like something that would be worth at least trying. If it ends up being too many hours, not worth the the additional time away from your family, etc...then you can turn in notice and still have your current position. If it turns out to be great and you love it, it sounds like something that could be Full Time, which puts you in an even better position...so at this time, from what you've said, it sounds like a win/win opportunity for you.

Life Enhancement Services?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/TheGame_poster323.jpg

If I could double my income by working another 10-12 hours a week working, probably a no brainer for me at least.

I'd try to stay at the same spending habits as your one job though that way, if it gets to be much more than that and or intrudes upon your personal life, you can leave the position and not feel tied to it because you need the income.

How many hours do you work currently?

Actually, change that.

I'd rather keep my salary the same and work just 10-12 hours. :)

How would this extra 10-12 hours impact your FOFC and MP time? :)

How many hours do you work currently?

I work 40 hours per week with no call right now which is part of why I love this job.

How would this extra 10-12 hours impact your FOFC and MP time? :)


I doubt it would affect either too much. I probably won't have time to post from the new job, but the hours that I envision working are times where I don't post much right now as it is usually time to spend with Mrs. Eaglesfan. She is for at least listening to what they have to say and see if they really promise as much money as I'm fairly sure they will (i.e. the usual rate for this type of position.)

My biggest trepidation is I've never heard of this company, and there are some shady companies that open clinics and do unscrupulous things. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a read from this guy when we do dinner next week, but most CEO's I've met are good at projecting appearances and aren't always the easiest to read. That is why I'm hoping some FOFC regulars may have heard of them, as they have multiple clinics in North Carolina and a few in South Carolina. Also, one regular is a doc in NC, so I'm hoping he in particular might have heard some of the professional buzz on them.

Obviously if anyone has heard of them and doesn't want to post in public, please PM me.

I think I'd like EF27 to chime in on your mental issues.

We have another doctor on the forum?

Never heard of LES, but I haven't been in NC more than about a year and change at this point, FYI.

Answer these two questions:

1. Is the total compensation of your current job enough for your desired lifestyle?
2. Is your family happy with your current job?

If the answer is yes to both questions, stick with it. If the answer is no to one question, think about it and weigh the pros and cons. If the answer is no to both questions, look for other options than this one opportunity and weigh them all.

We have another doctor on the forum?

Yep. I think he's mentioned it in public before as well. We also have one other one I know of who chooses to fly completely below the radar.

Answer these two questions:

1. Is the total compensation of your current job enough for your desired lifestyle?
2. Is your family happy with your current job?

If the answer is yes to both questions, stick with it. If the answer is no to one question, think about it and weigh the pros and cons. If the answer is no to both questions, look for other options than this one opportunity and weigh them all.

To clarify, this would be in addition to my current job. If I left my current job and took this job as my only job, my salary would remain about the same and I wouldn't have the great benefits I have now. So, it's either keep my 40 hours/week job or go up to 50-52 hours/week. I suppose if this new clinic grew and was very successful, they could eventually ask me to become full time, but that is not what they are asking of me right now.


Edit: One other interesting point is that I found out that someone at my old job is the one that gave my name and recommended me for this job. Apparently, they gave me such a good recommendation that I've heard through the grapevine that this job is definitely mine if I want it and dinner next week will be all about convincing me that I should take it. It's interesting since I thought my departure was such a nasty one.

I'm a doctor!

A Love Doctor and the Doctor is in...

EF27,

Are you aware of where in NC their clinics are located? Most of my sources are around Raleigh and east down toward Greenville... I am aware that there have been some big political issues related to mental health in NC over the last couple years mostly pertaining to private companies that the state was "farming out" our psychiatric services too that were not living up to their end of the bargain and providing little (and/or) poor care... I am not sure if LES was involved with that or not but I would think that google news searches as well as searching the News and Observer (Raleigh newspaper) and the Charlotte Observer archives would give you an indication if they were involved or not.

Thanks, BigDPW. I haven't searched those newspapers yet. I have done a Google search on them. From what I've gathered so far, they have clinics in Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Lumberton, and Winston Salem as well as 2 other cities (not sure which ones but I suspect Raleigh is one of them.) They are a private organization that takes funding from the state to provide psychiatric services and that is what they would be looking to do in Louisiana as well as billing medicaid and other insurance companies.

Like North Carolina, their have been some of those agencies in Louisiana that have gotten in trouble with the state for failing to provide promised services. Basically, my biggest fear is that I'll get involved with such an agency and ruin my good name. I've avoided other similar jobs because I've heard very bad things about the companies that have been running those clinics. However, this company is an unknown to me and at least worth exploring..

EF, my wife (very) recently completed her child/adolescent fellowship here and went through the job search routine.

A lot of the places she looked at essentially wanted her to sign off on 4-6 patients an hour that social workers or PAs have seen, writing prescriptions and "earning" the insurance money. They paid (in some cases, much) better, but she didn't really feel like she would be doing the work she trained for or be given the time she needed to actually work with patients. She was able to contact a handful of other doctors at some of these businesses and they pretty much confirmed as much (with several of them on their way out to other jobs).

I would advise you to stick with what you are doing if you enjoy your job and its environment. If you are interested in making a lot more money, at the expense of your time and the enjoyment of your occupation, it will make for a tougher decision.

I would advise you to stick with what you are doing if you enjoy your job and its environment. If you are interested in making a lot more money, at the expense of your time and the enjoyment of your occupation, it will make for a tougher decision.
I agree.

EF, my wife (very) recently completed her child/adolescent fellowship here and went through the job search routine.

A lot of the places she looked at essentially wanted her to sign off on 4-6 patients an hour that social workers or PAs have seen, writing prescriptions and "earning" the insurance money. They paid (in some cases, much) better, but she didn't really feel like she would be doing the work she trained for or be given the time she needed to actually work with patients. She was able to contact a handful of other doctors at some of these businesses and they pretty much confirmed as much (with several of them on their way out to other jobs).

I would advise you to stick with what you are doing if you enjoy your job and its environment. If you are interested in making a lot more money, at the expense of your time and the enjoyment of your occupation, it will make for a tougher decision.


Yeah, there are a lot of places like that. I have zero interest in working at a place like that, no matter how much money they offer. The amount of time per patient that I will receive will definitely be one of my questions at dinner. Right now I get 90 minutes per new patient and 30 minutes per med check at my current job. I don't expect that much at this private job, but I expect something close (like 60 and 20) or I won't take the job.

Yep. I think he's mentioned it in public before as well. We also have one other one I know of who chooses to fly completely below the radar.

Is it this man?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/10dr19.jpg/275px-10dr19.jpg

(ok, that's two Doctor Who references in one day on the board- time to stop, but they were both so obvious)

SI

Heh. I love Dr. Who and always like to see a good reference. Donna is my favorite companion yet, even if Rose was better looking.

Never heard of them.
Also just called a good friend who is an Anesthesiologist (I have no chance at that sober and I am deep into a bottle of aged bourbon tonight) who works in Charlotte and did his residency at Chappel Hill, he aint heard of them either.....


FWIW...

I guess I should add that my wife, who works in psychiatry in Chapel Hill and Raleigh (through UNC), has not heard of them either.

I have not heard of them. I'll ask around and see if anyone else has.

I will also second DPW. The sorry state of mental health in this state has been off and on front page news for months/years now. I have not followed the story, so I don't know the details, but I do know that it is bigger than an isolated incident or two.

I have not heard of them. I'll ask around and see if anyone else has.

I will also second DPW. The sorry state of mental health in this state has been off and on front page news for months/years now. I have not followed the story, so I don't know the details, but I do know that it is bigger than an isolated incident or two.

Thanks, I appreciate the effort.

Thanks to everyone else who has replied as well.

I'm also supposed to be hearing back from a friend of a friend who is a child psychiatry faculty at Duke, along with a few other inquiries I have made.

So, I just had dinner with their Chief Operating Officer and his executive assistant tonight. They did a good job presenting their company and offered me a job and tried to get me to sign a contract tonight. Of course, I'm going to have my lawyer look over it before I sign it. Anyway, one last bump to see if anyone else has heard of them. I'm found out they are in 7 cities in North Carolina. They are also in Alabama. So, one final bump to see if anyone has heard anything about them. Also, I asked them for a few references which I'm going to contact. Also, they didn't provide adequate proof that I wanted that they provide malpractice insurance.

Edit to add: They will give me as much time as I want per patient, but they pay more money for more patients seen. So, I won't make quite as much as I thought, but it still would be lucrative while keeping the standards I want for time per patient.

You know, I would think that doing a Google search and a Google News Search would have come up with something, anything, beyond just a coupon for "North Point, NC merchants."

You know, I would think that doing a Google search and a Google News Search would have come up with something, anything, beyond just a coupon for "North Point, NC merchants."

I would have thought so as well. Also, I asked to speak to a couple of their current employees and will be doing so a bit later today, but the lack of news about them is a bit worrisome.

Also, there are a few other issues that might be sticking points for me the more I think about it this morning - such as my concern about their lack of of a well documented on-call coverage scheme and the possibility that I'll be on call all of the time. I won't do constant call even for the amount of money they offered, as I hated it when I did it at my old job. So, that is a major point that needs to be clarified in the language of the contract.

So, I just had dinner with their Chief Operating Officer and his executive assistant tonight. They did a good job presenting their company and offered me a job and tried to get me to sign a contract tonight.

Tread lightly. Any solid medical group shouldn't have to do a hard sell that quickly. It reeks of desparation. My wife had a similar experience when interviewing for a group in the area. 6 months later and that group has been dissolved due to poor management/performance.

It definitely was a turnoff. It's nice to be wanted, but I did feel like I was getting a hard sell which I agree is a bad sign.

Their whole approach concerns me for some reason EF27. I'm glad that you're taking your time and doing some research before accepting the position.

Thanks to everyone who has made inquiries on my behalf. Someone on here (not sure if they wish to remain anonymous (sp?) or not) just provided me a link about the company that made this a very easy decision. They have been linked to some very unsavory practices in North Carolina, so I'm calling them tomorrow to turn the job down.

Glad you were able to find the information you needed. I had a hunch that something out there would pop up... The combination of a company I have never heard of that provides psych care in NC and the current state of our psychiatric system in our state just didn't add up for me but I was never able to get the infor you needed...

I would love to read the article you are talking about... If you don't feel comfortable posting it here you can PM me...