Running a surgical practice isn't just about patients, procedures, and revenue. It's about people.

In Episode 8 of the Business of Surgery series, Dr. Lauren Umstattd talks candidly about one of the hardest parts of owning a practice: hiring, managing, promoting, and sometimes letting people go.

She shares lessons from her own mistakes—including realizing that the best candidate for an open position may already be on your team, learning to address performance issues before they become major problems, and understanding when it's time to let someone go.

Lauren also gets into the emotional side of personnel management: the guilt that can come with firing someone, the tension between being generous and protecting your business, and why compassionate leadership doesn't mean lowering your standards.

In this episode:

• Why you should look at your existing team before hiring externally

• Why hiring slowly can save you from bigger problems later

• How to define expectations before someone starts

• When and how to give difficult feedback

• Why you shouldn't wait until resentment builds to address performance issues

• Planning for employee leave and unexpected changes

• The emotional reality of firing and turnover

• Why it's okay to let people go

• How to treat employees with dignity—even when they're leaving

• The lessons Lauren would give herself before opening her practice

For physicians building their own practice, personnel management can be one of the most difficult—and most important—parts of the job.

This is Episode 8 of the 12-part Business of Surgery series on Fem, MD.

Host: Dr. Lauren Umstattd

Connect with Lauren: @lauren_umstattd_md

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

See more shows and content at hippocratic-collective.com