Ep 234 When you can't stay and you can't move with Dr. Erin King-Mullins

Dr. Erin King Mullins is a double board-certified general and colorectal surgeon with 12 years in practice and founder of Colorectal Wellness Center in Metro Atlanta. In this episode, she shares the hard-won business lessons from a difficult exit from her fellowship practice, how she navigated a non-compete clause that left her unable to stay or relocate, and the step-by-step path to launching solo private practice — while pregnant with her second child.  Dr. Mullins and host Dr. Amy Vertrees cover what every surgeon must know about physician employment contracts: why you should read your exit clause before your salary, the critical difference between radius-based and entity-based non-competes, and what at-will employment actually means for physicians. They also discuss the human side of running a medical practice — from firing employees the right way to separating friendship from business decisions.  In the second half of the episode, Dr. Mullins pulls back the curtain on her experience as a volunteer director with the American Board of Surgery (ABS) — including how complaint reviews actually work, what due process looks like for a surgeon facing a board action, and how the new Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) framework is transforming resident training and surgical education.  Whether you’re considering private practice, navigating a contract negotiation, or just want to understand what the ABS actually does for surgeons, this episode is required listening.  🎙️ Find Dr. King Mullins: @DrTushyTouchUp (IG/TikTok/FB) | colowellness.com 🎙️ Host: Dr. Amy Vertrees | bosssurgery.com ⭐ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: Meet Dr. Erin King Mullins 1:00 12 Years in Colorectal Surgery 1:30 COVID, Maternity Leave & a Difficult Exit 3:30 Locums as a Bridge 4:00 Business Is the Third Person in the Room 5:00 Firing Employees: The Human vs. Business Side 7:00 Read Your Exit Clause First 7:30 At-Will Employment Law for Physicians 8:00 Non-Competes: Radius vs. Entity-Based 10:30 Why Locums Works for Some Physicians Permanently 11:00 Going Solo: One Person, Infrastructure for Two 12:00 Setting Culture from the Top Down 14:00 Biggest Challenges in Solo Practice 16:00 Business Resources That Helped 18:30 Joining the American Board of Surgery 19:30 The ABS Mission Statement 21:00 Who’s in the Room: Board Diversity 22:00 How the ABS Views Locums Physicians 23:30 What Happens When a Complaint Is Filed 26:00 The Standardized Complaint Review Process 28:30 EPAs: Entrustable Professional Activities 31:00 Get Involved with the ABS 33:30 How to Pivot When You’re Stuck 37:00 Going All In — With a Safety Net 38:00 Women’s Colorectal Health & New Focus 38:30 Where to Find Dr. King Mullins If this episode helped you, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it helps other surgeons find the show.