Taking the Risks and Reaping the Rewards in Starting a New Private Practice

American women today find themselves in a paradoxical position. While we are making inroads in equality in many spheres, such as access to education, equal pay, and breaking the proverbial glass ceiling, our access to quality health care has been limited by the inherent flaws in our system; the decisions made by judges and lawmakers that affect our rights to family planning; and the fact that women have been historically understudied when it comes to the research and development of new, groundbreaking medical devices and medications. As someone who is dedicated to the care of women, I found that the fulfillment of my calling came through creating a unique private practice, Women4Women OBGYN in Huntsville, Alabama, that allowed me to pursue my purpose as an ob-gyn.

I became a physician as we faced the new millennium. I was a nontraditional student, having been a practicing attorney for 10 years before entering medical school. I was always interested in women’s health, so I planned on specializing in obstetrics and gynecology from the get-go. In the last 20 years, I have seen many different types of medical practices, including solo and group private practices, multispecialty groups, managed care contracted health care, and hospital-acquired or private equity-acquired groups across specialties and locations. Each practice model approaches the delivery of health care differently. 

Many practices are myopically focused on delivering clinical care, with little regard to the setting or the patient’s experience before or after entering the exam room. Similarly, they often do not provide clear guidance on the way in which their ancillary staff, the nurses and medical assistants, schedulers and billers, or even practice managers and nurse practitioners should interact with patients. I don’t mean they don’t try to find competent people, but they do not intentionally create a culture, educate their people on proper bedside manner and empathy, or develop them as people. The importance of the rest of the care team to the patient’s experience cannot be overstated. I knew that a focus on a well-integrated team would aid me in building our brand and immensely add to my own personal job satisfaction. 

I’ll admit I was daunted when I first decided to open my own practice after being in a group for many years. I wanted to continue to serve my patients and I had a vision of how I hoped to do that. I came to medicine as a full-fledged adult, mother, and wife after a career as a practicing attorney. This later-in-life exposure to the health care system from the inside after experiencing it for years from the outside gave me a unique perspective. My experiences shaped my opinion of what a medical clinic should and could be. I often thought about what I would want if I were a patient at my new practice. That led to what became Women4Women’s guiding principle: to have a practice where everyone was treated with kindness, respect, and compassion and to provide outstanding medical care in a calm, serene setting that would help patients feel at ease rather than a sterile clinic. 

The kind of fulfillment that we as health care professionals feel when rendering the quality of care that we had envisioned when we went into medicine makes all the sacrifices worthwhile. In doing so, we build the core value of trust between patients and our team. In this divisive age, this may be exactly what we need the most. 

Private practice is not for everyone, and it took a tremendous amount of work for me to pursue this passion. But what I learned is that we each have a practice setting that fits, and when we find our way to the type of practice where we belong, we can rediscover the joy inherent in being an ob-gyn.

Dr. Reidy is the founder of Women4Women OBGYN and has long been a leader in women’s health and women’s leadership. She was recognized with ACOG’s Vaccine Champion award in 2021. She works for women’s advancement and equality for all and pursues environmental justice through her work with the International Women’s Forum and as a Climate Reality Leader.