Running Rural and Small Town Dental Practices with Dr. Sukhman Chauhan

During this episode of the Practice Accelerator Podcast, we speak with Dr. Sukhman Chauhan. Dr. Chauhan Sukhman talks about working in small town rural dental practices in comparison to big city practices, the nuances to consider when interacting with small communities, and what it took to start her practice.

Episode Highlights: 

• What is Dr. Sukhman Chauhan’s background?
• Why did she decide upon a small town practice? 
• She talks about commuting by airplane weekly for two years to a small town practice. 
• What are some nuances of running a rural practice? 
• How did she learn to appreciate interacting with local patients?  
• What are the advantages to a rural practice as opposed to a big city practice? 
• What are the business pros and cons? 
• She shares her experience with the diversity of specialized procedures in small towns.  
• Be great with your patiences and be great with your staff. 
• She talks about her experience with taking over a practice.
• How did she transition into the new practice and the old system. 
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your team and learn how to integrate the business with them. 

3 Key Points:

1. Commit to trying out a work environment instead of just basing your choice on the experience of others.
2. When you make assumptions, you set yourself up for disappointment and possibly failure. 
3. Good communications are especially important in small dental practices because people get to know you.  

Tweetable Quotes: 

• “The choice of moving to a smaller town did not come right away. I had already moved from India to Canada. So, that was already a big move for me and my family.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
• “I enjoyed the interpersonal relationships with people and other team members of being in a smaller community just forced us to be closer to each other as a team and I kind of liked that office environment.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
• “It’s one thing to listen to people’s experiences and make your decision based on that. But it is very different when you actually do it.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
• (Running a rural dental practice) “You aren’t just a dentist anymore. You are a community person as well. People want to see that aspect of you.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
• “If one person had a bad experience, it could mean that you lose 10 more potentials, right? They are going to talk.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan

Resources Mentioned:

• Canoe Dental Website: https://canoedental.ca