Medical students, doctors and medical residents are not taught about the Human Resources component of their career

In medical school and in medical residency we, as doctors entering the business world, get no training on HR (Human resources). Doctors are not instructed one iota on how to evaluate, hire, and fire employees. This can be a daunting task and doctors and medical students should be given some expectation of what running a business, ie a private practice is really like. One important aspect of private practice in medicine is knowing when and how to hire staff and when and how to terminate bad staff. There are legal ramifications for both actions. Critical to hiring is defining the role and responsibilities with a job description for each position you fill. (You can find a typical job description for the employees you would need to hire in the book, The Medical Entrepreneur). Having the employees and staff understand their role, responsibilities and job description will help them understand where they need to be focusing their efforts, so they can be more productive. Your staff will appreciate that clarity. Also, whom the employee reports to...such as the office manager in most cases is very important to define from the first day of their job. Also, the job description itself will serve as a benchmark by which you can objectively evaluate their performance. This is particularly important when an employee is not meeting their expected roles and responsibilities. If an employees are not working out, you should understand the process to correct this or if not, to let that employees go as soon as possible.