After she graduated medical school, Dr Teresa Chan had the medical skills she would need to examine and treat patients. Having the best business skills to run her own practice, however, was a different story: “You never learn business skills in medical school because you just see the patients and you keep moving. Even through residency, there was no formal teaching on how to bill and code for our services, much less how to start or run a private practice.” So when Teresa pursued her dreams of starting her own practice, she realized she needed help.
“[The program] allowed me to really see how far I’ve come in my career and all that I’ve already accomplished in my practice.”
Working in the diverse Lower East Side of Manhattan, Teresa takes pride in the culturally sensitive care she provides to Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking families from the community. Making sure her business had solid footing and a strategic plan for growth was important not just to her, but to the families she served.
IPP was able to provide support for Teresa and the rest of her cohort of 18 local physicians. “Having an instructor who actually has been working in the healthcare field, with many years of experience and also a billing background, was invaluable,” says Teresa about the program. Speaking with guest experts who “had given their time to share their expertise and even offered individualized help” supplied Teresa with the resources she needed to create action steps as part of a three-year plan to grow her company.
Teresa’s peers in the program were another source of support:
“You realize after being in this class that you’re not in it alone . . . It’s refreshing but also supportive to hear that people have gotten over the same problems that you’re facing.”
Independent Physicians Program
Class of 2017:
Dr. Luis Fujimoto, CDC Dental Rehab
Dr. Neil Herbsman, Gastroenterology of the Bronx
Dr. Jonathan Kaplan, SoHo CBT and Mindfulness Center
Dr. Genevieve Kinney, Genevieve Kinney DMD
Dr. Jovan Miles, Miles Medical PC
Dr. Lucien Mocombe, Lucien Mocombe MD PC
Dr. Jacquelin Belamy, Flatlands Medical and Urgent Care PC
Dr. Teresa Chan, Lower East Side Family Medicine
Dr. Kevin Charlotten, Q-Care Affordable Medical Care
Dr. Milly Mui, Mui Eye Care Optometry PLLC
Dr. Denise Nuñez, Divino Niño Pediatrics
Dr. Lucia Patrino, Patinio Eye Care
Dr. Jason Compton, Compton Eye Associates
Dr. Carol De Costa, Rehabilitation Medicine & Sports Services PC
Dr. Edgar Flores-Castillo, Edgar Flores-Castillo MD PC
Dr. Christopher Phang, Harlem Pediatric Associates
Dr. Hari Polavarapu, HP Medical PC
Dr. Dina Strachan, Aglow Dermatology
The Independent Physicians Program is a new addition to Strategic Steps for Growth, a set of capacity building programs offered by SBS for Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) as well as media, entertainment, and technology firms who want to grow their businesses. All programs are powered by Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum. SBS offers its programs with instruction by and supplemental content from the NYU School of Professional Studies, with additional support from Citi Development.