Near 90% failure rate in dental associateships is utterly unacceptable

Near 90% failure rate in the Coast Guard in the 1980s was threatening to shut down the Coast Guard.

I was just listing to the audio companion to a book called Influencer, the Power to Change Anything.  One of the authors had been called in to study why 90% of US Coast Guard recruits were not signing up for a second enlistment, and worse, why those that did sign up for a second enlistment failed to sign up for a third enlistment at the rate of 50%.  The Commandant of the US Coast Guard said that if something didn’t change, they would likely have to shut down the Coast Guard.

I see a similar problem with associateships in dentistry.  The rate at which an associate is able to buy his practice is believed to be at least 80%.  It takes three associateships before the Associate finds a practice that he can complete the purchase.  This is nearly as bad as the Coast Guard failure rate.

The failure rate in the Coast Guard came from several issues, including lack of clear understanding at the beginning of the enlistment, communication difficulties between the enlistees and the supervisors, and what new recruits understood to be unfair treatment from the senior personnel.  Similar issues exist in dentistry.

The issues were fixed in the Coast Guard because there is a top-down command that demanded changes happen.  That top-down command structure does not exist in dentistry, thankfully.  In the Coast Guard, the top brass learned how to be more open from the first moment a potential recruit stepped into the recruiting office.  They told the truth from the start… and the recruits learned what to expect.

I think dentistry can learn from this idea.  If you are a dental practice broker, think seriously about getting a full set of data that you can share with buyer-associates.  Help them understand, from the first time they talk with you,  the full story.  Help the senior dentist build a trusting relationship with the new dentist.  This will go along ways towards cutting down on the failure rate for associateships.