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Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Working weekends
Well, who does, right? I mean, there are probably a few people who like it for some reason. But I'm guessing most people don't enjoy working weekends.
But I really, really don't like working weekends. When I have to get up to work on the weekend, I usually spend much of my time at work on the brink of tears, accompanied by a steady stream of resentment toward all the people who don't have to work that day. Then I usually come down with a cold the next day. So I feel like I might dislike working weekends more than average, but I could be wrong. That could be average.
Sometimes weekends on call aren't as painful as regular days. But sometimes they're much more painful. Sometimes they involve rounding on every patient on everyone's service with an attending who doesn't seem to understand that weekend rounds are for emergent issues only and judiciously uses the phrase, "Is there anything else?"
I suppose that there are several jobs that also involve working weekends (policeman? chef?), but there are also many that don't. My husband, for example, has never worked a weekend. And he has a good job with a good salary.
It bothers me that becoming a physician requires this commitment of working weekends, at least during training (which, as we all know, lasts for freaking ever). Especially when you have young children at home, this requirement ranges from annoying to heartbreaking. I'm sure lots of people will comment and say that they have a job that doesn't require any weekend responsibilities, but I don't think that's the norm for physicians. People get sick 7 days a week.
There's a part of me that wonders if you're the kind of person who really, really hates working weekends, and really, really hates waking up early, if maybe you shouldn't consider a different career based on that alone? Sometimes I wonder if I should have.
58 comments:
- AnonymousNovember 10, 2010 at 10:25 PM
try being in high school and having saturday classes because your school's strict adherence to tradition demanded it to be so. you see, when you're WORKING weekends, you get paid for the privilege.ReplyDelete
I hate weekends. They are always ten times harder, in my job. Except the last one, which I gave up with money. My partner said it was the easiest call he has ever had (and he has had a lot of call). Just my luck.ReplyDelete
Who wants to work 12 days straight? Not me.
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
It's been almost 30 years. Hated weekends then. Hate working weekends now. But it's part of the territoryReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 10, 2010 at 11:21 PM
From what you write, fizzy, it does seem like sometimes you might be happier in another field. It's not just this thing about weekends--I remember your post a while back about not trusting your instincts when you went to shadow a doctor in college. Have you thought about a career change? I know it's not always possible for everyone but if it's in any way possible to move into another area (maybe some field where you can still use your MD credentials) it could be worth looking into if you really feel this way a lot.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 10, 2010 at 11:51 PM
I totally sympathize about hating working weekends especially when thinking about all the precious time missed with the little ones. However, once you are out of training wouldn't it be possible to find a job without weekends or even part time? If not, at least as an attending you can set your own schedule and round on patients as you feel necessary. Both my husband and I are physicians. He works in an outpatient clinic and never takes call or works weekends whereas I work in a hospital, take call, and some nights and weekends. I think there is a lot of flexibility in medicine after training which can be more enjoyable after you have some autonomy. Hang in there!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 10, 2010 at 11:57 PM
I wonder the same thing sometimes. I actually don't have any issues with working weekends - I usually see weekends as a 2-day study marathon with evenings off - but I do have a huge problem with getting less than 8 hours of sleep. I can't even function on 5 hours.ReplyDelete
... So, seems like I'm going into the wrong profession. But like you say you once did, I'm not really taking that feeling too seriously yet.
It seems this might not end well.
Thank you for bringing such nice posts. Your blog is always fascinating to read.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 2:11 AM
Ah, only from PM & R =)ReplyDelete
- JugglerNovember 11, 2010 at 4:00 AM
I hear you! I don't hate the work, but miss my family like crazy....and my non-medical husband hates it too...ReplyDelete
I'm hoping it'll get better after training- still on call but not as much on site....
- OutriderNovember 11, 2010 at 6:09 AM
I'm in solo equine veterinary practice and on call for emergencies every weekend. I also work every Saturday.ReplyDelete
Do I enjoy this? No, not at all, though I didn't mind too much for the first six or seven years. I'd love to have two consecutive days off without call every week. This is just one reason I'm exploring another career path. Perhaps you should, too.
To all the people who know me so well that they think I should quit medicine after nine years of training: I actually no longer work weekends. I had a one-time work-related obligation this weekend, which reminded me how much I hate it. So no complaints currently, but that doesn't change the fact that it seriously sucked having to work weekends for nearly a decade. And not wanting to work weekends also limited my job options.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 7:47 AM
Of course any job choice limits your options. You just have to be emotionally stable enough to handle your decisions. I like what I do and the patients I see so I sometimes compromise my family time to do it. Perhaps you write your posts with the object of provocation. You want people to comment; if you don't like the comments stop putting your emotional laundry out to view: are you really at the verge of tears? Give me a break.ReplyDelete
- OutriderNovember 11, 2010 at 7:48 AM
>>not wanting to work weekends also limited my job options>>ReplyDelete
Okay, so why didn't you decide to do whatever it is your husband does (good salary and no weekends)?
Honestly, as a kid, I used to wonder who worked weekends (other than my parents, of course, but I KNEW they were weird). Now that I'm an adult, I wonder who doesn't, at least occasionally. The streets are NOT deserted when I drive to work at 6:30 AM on Saturdays. I kind of enjoy stopping to get my coffee and smiling at the cashier: yeah, I'm working today, too.
To be clear: I, personally, am making a change because I'd like regular hours with minimal on-call. I don't care if those regular hours happen to fall on the weekend; my significant other works most weekends, too.
What's sacred about the weekend?
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 8:35 AM
No one is asking you to quit your job. I think they are just responding to what you have written yourself, i.e. "I wonder if I should have considered a different career."ReplyDelete
You can't write things like that on a public blog without expecting some people (me included) to question whether you are happy in your chosen field. If you think that's no one's business, don't put these kinds of thoughts in a blog post.
Wow, there is quite a lot of catty backlash to a simple "I hate working weekends" post. I seriously doubt you're looking for people to respond with negative comments. It is challenging to work weekends. As an airline pilot, I worked weekends every single month, month in and month out, no matter how senior I was, and I *hated* it. I didn't even have kids then and I still hated it. But, it was part of the job description. Now, I don't work that job (I made a change) and I see my kids and my spouse on the weekend, get a lot more sleep, and as a result, am a lot happier.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Hi. I am new to this blog and am enjoying following it. i too am a resident with a 4 and 2 year old. I am in agreement with the weekend thing. My 4 year old now understands that I usually do not have to work saturdays, so when he sees me preparing my things to leave on a saturday or sunday, he is devastated. which makes his mommy very sad........ReplyDelete
I had to work weekends at my prior job, and also detested it. At my new job I don't and I have to say, it's really nice to be able to commit my time to my family. But yes, it did take some looking to find a job that was in the right place and good salary. It's not the ideal job in some respects, but then again, what job is? :)ReplyDelete
I work weekends (both Saturday and Sunday) almost every week. But! I get to choose when and how the work happens, which helps a lot. I expect it will be this way with most of the rest of my life if I keep doing academic medicine, but if I find that it's bringing me to the point of tears, I might decide a different career is in order.ReplyDelete
I know my first reply sounded a little bitchy. I have a bad cold (see post) and had five minutes prior to rushing off to work, so that was what came out. Felt a little bad about it after, but it was too late.ReplyDelete
That said, it is absolutely my pet peeve when a medical blogger makes a post complaining about some aspect of their training or job, and some anonymous commenter (possibly a premed, possibly someone not in medicine at all) says, "Gee, sounds like you don't like medicine. Maybe you should switch careers." What am I supposed to say? "Oh, thank you, Anonymous Person, that never occurred to me! To hell with my hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and the ten years of grueling training under my belt! I'll just switch careers! It's so simple!"
So yeah, it really pisses me off when people say that.
(Outrider, I was not expressing irritation with you, because you were not anonymous and were sharing a personal experience.)
And to some of the most recent Anonymouses: of course I expect these comments. I'm always secretly disappointed when everyone agrees with me. But if you honestly don't believe I could be on the verge of tears, then you really have no idea what medical training is like. I've not only been on the verge of tears, but I've cried many times on call and seen several fellow residents doing the same. Exhaustion + frustration + missing family = crying.
OMDG: My dad does a lot of research as a physician, and he is basically working all the time. But he does it from home usually and he enjoys it, as you probably do too. I guess I mean working more along the lines of pagers and patients.ReplyDelete
- OutriderNovember 11, 2010 at 4:50 PM
>>To hell with my hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and the ten years of grueling training under my belt! I'll just switch careers! It's so simple!>>ReplyDelete
Well, I can tell you from personal experience: it isn't simple. The hardest part, for me, was letting go of my carefully constructed identity as a clinician. The next most difficult was figuring out how to pay the bills.
Beginning to implement a plan to leave clinical medicine became relatively easy after I'd resolved those two issues, more or less. I'll still be a veterinarian - I'll always be a veterinarian - but my time as a solo, 100% on-call equine ambulatory veterinarian will be ending shortly.
I think being open to change is wise. Once I considered what exactly about my job makes me unhappy (clients and erratic hours) I knew I had to make a change because that's also my job description.
Unlike you, I don't care if I work weekends. I prefer a "weekend" during the week, actually; my mechanic and hair stylist are always able to accommodate me.
Outrider: I actually might prefer working weekends if I had a partner with a similar schedule. But for now, working weekends means my husband and daughter are having fun without me. Which makes me sad. (I want them to have fun, of course, but I want to be there.)ReplyDelete
Part of the reason I get irritated by the passing comments that "you don't seem happy, leave medicine" is that of course these people don't know me or realize that I've already made huge changes in my career to maximize my happiness. I was a different person after leaving my first residency. It is, as you said, a very hard thing to do. A lot of the things I complain about on this blog are things that USED to bother me during training and I'm sort of venting retroactively.
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 6:15 PM
We all hate time away from our families. I agree the weekends away range from no fun to total heartbreak. What I see in your original post is unstable emotions. Most of my colleagues who are young moms have the frustration but do not break down in tears...Did you mean to sound that off balance? Or was that for effect?ReplyDelete
No, I think I'm the only mom who feels sad and sometimes tearful when I miss my child. I probably need help.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 7:38 PM
Fizzy, maybe I'm in the minority but your post came off as really self indulgent. How many people would love to have a job where no weekend work was required? In these difficult times, millions of people would kill to have any type of paying job. While you feel resentful about the people who don't have to work on weekends, what about the people who are servicing your weekend needs when you are off? Do you ever have to buy gas or groceries on the weekend? Do you take your kid out to places on the weekends? Do you imagine that none of those workers have families or activities they would rather be doing?ReplyDelete
You chose to become a physician AND a mother. Figure out how to make it work.
BTW, I am an Ob/gyn 8 years out of residency who works many weekends.
First, I wish people would man up and attach a name to your comments. It's impossible to reply to all these Anonymous people. I understand that when you're being rude, you don't want me to know who you are, but at least give me something to call you.ReplyDelete
Second, I'm going to reiterate that I don't work weekends anymore. So it doesn't help to tell me to find a new job or "make it work."
Third, I *said* in my post that lots of people work weekends. Lots of people don't too. Also, in most fields, people don't work 27/31 days of the month like in residency. (or 31/31 days of the month, like some private attendings do)
I think I'm allowed to gripe about things that I've experienced but am not currently experiencing or plan to experience again. I think it sucks for other people and I like to speak my mind, at least on the internet. I've noticed that when I thought I was miserable alone, I later find out that everyone else was equally miserable. None of my opinions are unique. Lots of people hate being doctors and quit medicine, and these are some of the reasons why. If I can't give my opinions or vent, what should I talk about? You want to hear some cute things my daughter said?
Oooh, also: This is the first time I've gotten snipped at by an OB/GYN attending since med school! Brings back memories :)ReplyDelete
- Ob/gynMDNovember 11, 2010 at 9:16 PM
I have no problem with (wo)manning up. I wrote the last Anonymous comment.
I have no problem with you venting about your past problems. What I had a problem with was the tone of your vent. To me, it came across as a sense of entitlement that you be be expected to work weekends. Statements like "I suppose there are several jobs that also involve working weekends" or "it bothers me that becoming a physician requires this commitment of working weekends" do nothing to illicit sympathy or empathy from me.
My mom was a nurse who worked the 11-7 shift in order to make more money. And yes, she worked many weekends. My dad was a long distance truck driver who was often away from home for weeks at a time. In my first three years post residency, I made more money than both of my parents combined over their entire careers.
Again, I say vent away about whatever you feel. Just try to see another point of view. I have no great love of doing deliveries at 2AM, but I feel blessed to have a career that pays so well for doing something that I love.
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 9:18 PM
What field were you in first before switching? just curious.ReplyDelete
Ob/gynMD: I can't say I'm not grateful that I was allowed enough education that I don't have to drive a truck or pick up garbage or pump gas to make a living. That wasn't really my point. My issue is that with my college education, there were TONS of career paths I could have taken that would have had a more regular schedule and better lifestyle right off the bat. I could have easily taken a different path that would have allowed me a better lifestyle, and I was just musing whether I should have taken one of those paths. For example, my cousin is a teacher and gets a good salary (admittedly, far less than mine), two months off in the summer, no weekends, and lots of vacations. She has a good life. There was no barrier in my way of having a career like that.ReplyDelete
The philosophical question is that if you like some things about medicine but are someone who really hates the hours involved (and some people do more than others), is it better to avoid medicine? In the same vein, there were things I liked about ob/gyn, but would never have considered it because the hours would have made me miserable. But for you, it was worth it.
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 9:59 PM
Fizzy, are there any jobs which are "perfect"? If the job has good hours/lifestyle/etc. does it pay well? Is it fulfilling? Is there room for improvement?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 10:41 PM
I just have to say, the backlash to Fizzy's original post seems a little ridiculous. This is a blog, right? A place for people with similar lifestyles, interests, or at least an interest in reading this blog, to express themselves. Maybe the tone of Fizzy's blog wasn't entirely inscrutable, but I don't think that should be the point. I personally enjoy reading the 'real' stuff that these women feel. I prefer that to a sugar-coated/'I don't want to offend anyone who might read this' kind of post. That's just my opinion.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 11, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Oh, dear. If you complain on a blog you have no shoes, someone would write in saying how dare you complain, I have no feet. If you complain you have no feet, someone would say you over-indulged nincompoop, I have no limbs....and so on, and so on. We all have a right to vent, even if we have jobs/warm clothes/a house over our heads--luxuries half the world doesn't have. And I hate working weekends...even though I know I'm providing for the family. I work on weekends and have the satisfaction I could vent about it. It's therapeutic to vent. Vent away, Fizzy. I enjoy your posts. I don't have a google account so I will be one of the anonymouses. :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 12, 2010 at 12:23 AM
I totally agree. I hate working weekends especially now that I have a 6 month old. As a surgery resident, I leave work before he wakes up and come home after he sleeps. There have been weeks where I have not seen him awake during the weekday. I live for the weekends when I can just play with my baby and remind him what his mamma's face looks like. I now hate being on weekends more than ever. Just one more year and I will finish residency and have more control over my hours and not be at the beck of someone else! Thanks again for your posts. It makes me feel like I'm not alone as a mom in medicine.ReplyDelete
Another hater for the working weekend. I'm a resident with a 2 year old, married to another in medicine. In my past career in Epidemiology at least when I worked on the weekends it was my choice to write papers, do analysis, etc. Before that, when I worked in service jobs on the weekend, you would always get days off, even if they weren't Saturday and Sunday.ReplyDelete
It's so rare to get a weekend in which we are all home together just relaxing. No pager, no textbook, no night shift looming. I can't wait to finish residency and be my own boss for the weekend!
- AnonymousNovember 12, 2010 at 5:45 AM
I like mamadoc's early comment. She's worked weekends and hates them but it was part of the territory. Vent away Fizzy but it did not occur to you any time during your shadowing, premed, med school and first residency that this might be something that is part of what you do? I agree with OBGYN doc that it sounds a little self indulgent. My husband does get the pleasure of weekends but has longer much more stressful days also. I hate leav ing my kids everyday not just the weekends. But I chose my profession and my current job. I will not be driven to tears by my own choices.ReplyDelete
Sorry no Google account--Sunni
- OutriderNovember 12, 2010 at 6:03 AM
>>The philosophical question is that if you like some things about medicine but are someone who really hates the hours involved (and some people do more than others), is it better to avoid medicine?>>ReplyDelete
Short answer: yes, I think you should avoid medicine if you really hate the hours.
Long answer: I think it depends how much you hate the hours. As many have pointed out, most people don't love being on-call or working when their family and friends aren't.
Certainly, for myself, I don't love leaving my warm bed to drive out to a farm in the middle of the night, but I accept this as part of my job. Honestly, once I arrive at an emergency, I become involved with managing the patient and am happy as a clam... unless the client is stupid and has been watching the horse all day but decided it required my attention *right now*. This used to annoy me; now, it can provoke rage. When I hit that point, I realized I could not continue doing this indefinitely.
I've actually spent a lot of time analyzing what about my current work makes me miserable. There are plenty of minor negatives: the long/early hours, the salary, the danger, euthanasia. I can live with all that.
Now, what I really hate are unpredictable hours with no respite and dealing with clients, because they're never going to smarten up.
I think it's really a two-part question: what are the negatives of your job, and are those *major* negatives for you, personally? If the answer to the second question is yes, well, I think you need to consider a change, no matter the obstacles.
(LOL... word verification = pharrep - trying to tell me something?)
Well, I guess just as it's my right to complain, it's other people's right to tell me I should shut up. *shrug* I just didn't realize that not liking to work on weekends was so controversial. I've got a super controversial post coming up soon about the sky being blue.ReplyDelete
Also, maybe I'm an idiot, but I don't know what it means to be "self-indulgent." The only time I've ever heard that term is on American Idol when someone sings a song and Simon Cowell tells them they're being self-indulgent... never made much sense to me. So I finally googled it and it says "exhibiting excessive or immoderate indulgence of one's own personal desires and needs above all others." I still don't entirely get it. Am I self-indulgent because I want a better life than certain other people? Isn't everyone self-indulgent then?
- AnonymousNovember 12, 2010 at 7:51 AM
I think there is no controversy in hating the working weekend. Controversy arises when you state that your prior investment is forcing you to do it. Outrider has it that there is no easy or short answer. But I think the early posts expressing concern about your career choice reflect that your post had nothing of why you stay in medicine besides your past training. If you love what you do otherwise, you decide if the cost of the weekend is worth it. You are right, you had other choices and you still do. Good luck.ReplyDelete
Thank you for writing honestly about your feelings.ReplyDelete
I too, greatly dislike working weekends, I would say it's the worst aspect of a job I otherwise love. Yet, I picked this job and there are other trade-offs which make it worthwhile and satisfying enough for me in other ways that I suffer the weekends. As an internist, I could easily move into another job that would require less or no weekends. Easily. But those jobs have features about them that I wouldn't enjoy, probably more so than working weekends for me does now. I also am compensated well for working weekends, not that this makes up for time away from the whole family.
It's all a choice (well, after residency, that is). When I started this job, I worked a whole lot more weekends (and had no children), and now that I have 2.5, I am selecting a pathway that involves less weekends. The great thing about many academic jobs is the chance for flexiblity, taking on administrative roles, that changes job structure.
Fizzy, I was also surprised that this post turned out to be so controversial.ReplyDelete
I don't like working weekends, either, but I don't *hate* it. I knew it would part of my job for the long haul when I started in neurosurgery. We have a lot of emergencies, so weekend call has to be covered. I'm lucky to only be on one weekend out of four.
When I get aggravated with it, I think, "What if I were off on the weekend and saw a pedestrian get hit by a car? What would I do? I would put my plans on hold and stop to do everything I could to help the person. Taking care of an emergency on call is really no different, and I should be no less willing to set aside my plans to help that person." That helps me feel better about a busy call weekend.
My son often likes hearing the stories about what I saw and did on my call weekend.
That said, I often feel about sleep deprivation as you feel about working weekends. I love sleep. Love it! In residency, I sometimes thought getting away from the sleep deprivation would be worth switching careers. Of course, it wasn't worth it, and I didn't. But boy, sometimes it was tempting, especially at the end of a 36 hour shift. So I totally get where you're coming from.
I still sometimes say jokingly that I went into the wrong field because I hate losing sleep so much! :-)
- OutriderNovember 12, 2010 at 1:12 PM
>>I often feel about sleep deprivation as you feel about working weekends.>>ReplyDelete
I could ask, if you love sleep, why did you decide to have kids?, but I digress...
Ideally, one should be able to tolerate the less desirable aspects of one's job without becoming depressed or enraged. Reading Fizzy's original post, it sounded like working weekends is intolerable and makes her completely miserable. I found this puzzling, since the impression I got from past posts is that Fizzy works regular hours with few, if any, on-call committments. If this hasn't proved true six months into attending-land (residency was no doubt a different animal), why not consider other options?
Certainly you can ask, and I would say: because I love being a mom even more than sleeping. And I love operating more than sleeping. I suppose I should actually say that I hate sleep deprivation, not that I love sleeping.
We all make sacrifices to do the things we love. We just prioritize. If our priorities change over time, as yours evidently have, we change what we are doing, as you have quite sensibly done.
Wow, Fizzy, way to go with controversial blogs. 44 comments?! Anyway, thank you for stimulating discussion and contemplation!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 12, 2010 at 5:51 PM
Thanks to gcs15 for putting my thoughts into words. If I did not love what I do I would never leave my munchkins on a weekend to do it. May sound terrible, but in the midst of work I am not generally thinking about home but about how to do the work. In less busy moments of course I miss the sticky kisses and cute stories. But medicine for me is avocation. no I am not claiming sainthood, I just like what I do. So Fizzy's tears are hard for me to get *shrug*ReplyDelete
- OutriderNovember 12, 2010 at 6:18 PM
>>If our priorities change over time, as yours evidently have, we change what we are doing, as you have quite sensibly done.>>ReplyDelete
For me, it wasn't so much a shifting of priorities as a realization: this is NOT what I expected, I don't like it at all, and despite considerable effort, I can't figure out how to make it better.
Fizzy -- I love that your posts engender such rage from some people. It make me look forward to reading the posts, and all of the comments. Keep it up! I'm tired of reading drivel people write in order to make themselves be liked by everyone. This is so much more interesting!ReplyDelete
gsc15: I actually hate being sleep deprived too! Almost as much as working weekends.ReplyDelete
I feel like it's all about ratios. If you love your job more than you hate being sleep deprived or working weekends, then you're good. But when I was in college, there were many career paths I could have taken that would have allowed me lots of sleep and no weekends. So I do wonder if medicine was "worth it" in that regard. What if I could have been just as happy as, say, an actuary, yet been allowed to work regular hours? The ratios would have been much better.
I actually wouldn't say that I hate sleep deprivation.... I really love sleep. I would love to give up night call forever but since a significant portion of my practice is low-risk obs, I have to do a few nights a month (usually 2, which is pretty bearable).ReplyDelete
Like outrider mentioned, once I am actually at work delivering little bundles of joy and supporting labouring women and their families, I find myself snapping wide awake. If you ask me, was medicine "worth it", I would say yes, without a doubt.
I didn't find your post controversial but my theory is that some people take issue with doctors complaining at all. After all, we get good money and prestige, and on top of that, we get to help people. Sometimes I think that both doctors and non-doctors expect us to be superhuman, with no physical or emotional needs. We're not allowed to have any weaknesses, if that makes any sense.
That being said, doctors are certainly not the only ones who have to work weekends or odd hours. We do get paid way better though. And actually you might be surprised to know that many actuaries have to put in unpaid overtime hours.
- OutriderNovember 13, 2010 at 6:23 AM
>>some people take issue with doctors complaining at all. After all, we get good money and prestige, and on top of that, we get to help people.>>ReplyDelete
Money isn't a priority for me, as long as I can pay my bills. Veterinarians are also held in high esteem by most people. I care much more about helping horses than people, honestly, which is just one reason I'm a veterinarian, not a physician.
I simply don't think it's a big deal to work weekends. With that, I'm off to work now. My significant other already left.
Wow! What a conversation.ReplyDelete
For the record I love being a mum, I am happy in medicine and I too am often at the point of tears when I am sleep deprived and away from my babies. And a change of career is not what I want. Nor am I some blubbering mess of a woman.
Being a mum is hard...and oh so wonderful
Being a doctor is pretty bloody hard at times...but I wouldn't change it
This blog is a place where people doing both wax lyrical about the challenges and rewards of the combining of two hard wonderful jobs.
I often wonder momentarily if being a receptionist would have been better, working 9-5 Monday to Friday and leaving work at work...
then I think...Of course not!
And by the way..
Not sure about the states but there is nothing good about the money junior doctors get in Australia.
More than I hate working weekends, I hate working holidays. I hate driving to work on the completely empty streets, parking in the nearly empty parking lot, and hating everyone who is with their families.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 13, 2010 at 4:52 PM
Wow. What a thread. Balance of what you love and hate. For me currently the sacrifice is worth it. In spite of all the training and debt, if the ratio changes I am out.ReplyDelete
- OutriderNovember 13, 2010 at 5:56 PM
>>More than I hate working weekends, I hate working holidays.>>ReplyDelete
Coming up on my eighth consecutive Thanksgiving and tenth consecutive Christmas on-call. Working holidays doesn't bother me, as long as I have a little uninterrupted time for my loved ones. I usually get tired of eating and lounging and cut out to ride my horse at some point during the day, anyhow. My family understands.
- AnonymousNovember 18, 2010 at 2:50 PM
Sleep deprivation turns me into a miserable monster. It was my one doubt before going to medical school. I wish I'd listened.ReplyDelete
- tired, but mostly happyNovember 28, 2010 at 8:15 PM
I'm sorry that you are feeling bad. Truly, that is the thing that matters, and not comparing yourself to other people. I think it's helpful to be objective whenever I am on call and driving away from my family or answering a phone call instead of finishing the chapter I was in the middle of. Some physicians/nurses/phlebotomists/physical therapists etc. are working every weekend, and whenever one of my kids is sick on a weekend (or thanksgiving, as the case may be) I am always grateful that a competent and caring person is on the other end of the phone, in the ER, doing the x-ray, or doing the ID consult. I always express my appreciation to these folks because I know that on any given day it may be very hard for this person to be away from their family. I make no pretenses - I don't love being on call and woken up in the middle of the night and I don't look forward to periodic extra time away from my family. Yet, in my case, my doing this every 4-8 weeks means that the rest of the time, one of my colleagues takes care of my patients, whom I love - and in general with the same dedication they'd give to one of their own patients. So, unless the value of helping people had vanished for me altogether, call and weekend work is just part of the package. Perhaps actuaries don't work on weekends. But nurses, gas station attendants, shoe salesman, reporters, laboratory scientists, librarians, firemen, waitresses, electricians, the check-out person at target, snow plow drivers all do... and I'd be terrible at (and not love) most of those jobs. But you shouldn't beat yourself up for feeling sad on any given day.ReplyDelete
THANK YOU for your post. Gosh, I feel ya (quasi MS4, on a year of research before that dreaded year..). THANK you for being honest because come on, we're all human and you just admit it. I say write on because you make my day...ReplyDelete


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S Amdt 711 - Prohibits the Sale of Assault Weapons - National Key Vote
Tammy Baldwin voted Yea (Amendment Vote) on this Amendment.
Read statements Tammy Baldwin made in this general time period.
- Senate Amendment Rejected
- April 17, 2013
- Introduced
- April 17, 2013
Related Legislation
Related Issues
Stage Details
See How Your Politicians Voted
Title: Prohibits the Sale of Assault Weapons
Vote Smart's Synopsis:
Vote to adopt an amendment to S 649 that prohibits the import, sale, manufacture and possession of assault weapons.
- Prohibits an individual from importing, selling, manufacturing, transferring, or possessing a "semiautomatic assault weapon" (Sec. 403).
- Defines a "semiautomatic assault weapon" as a type of firearm including, but not limited to, the following characteristics (Sec. 402):
- a semiautomatic rifle or pistol with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds;
- a semiautomatic pistol that can accept a detachable magazine;
- a semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm;
- all AK and AK-47 types;
- all AR types;
- all Thompson rifles; and
- all UZI types.
- Prohibits an individual from importing, selling, manufacturing, transferring, or possessing a "large capacity ammunition feeding device" (Sec. 403).
- Defines "large capacity ammunition feeding device" as a magazine, belt, drum, or feed strip that has an overall capacity of or can be converted to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition (Sec. 403).
- Exempts certain entities and individuals from the provisions of this bill, including, but not limited to the following (Sec. 403):
- A department or agency of the United States;
- A department, agency, or political subdivision of a state;
- A qualified law enforcement officer employed by the United States or a state; and
- An individual who retired in good standing with from law enforcement and is not otherwise prohibited from receiving a firearm.
- Exempts certain categories of firearms from the provisions of this bill (Sec. 403):
- semiautomatic assault weapons and magazines that were legally owned before the enactment of the bill;
- firearms used for hunting and sporting activities.
- Requires the Attorney General to instruct the Director of the National Institutes of Justice to conduct a study of incidents of mass shootings in the United States, examining issues including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 406):
- Childhood abuse and bullying;
- Exposure to criminal acts;
- Mental Illness;
- The effectiveness and availability of mental health resources;
- The availability of firearms; and
- Depictions of violence in video games and entertainment.
- Requires the director to submit to Congress the results of the study no later than 1 year after the study begins (Sec. 406).
Title: Prohibits the Sale of Assault Weapons
- Richard 'Dick' Blumenthal (CT - D)
- Barbara Boxer (CA - D) (Out Of Office)
- Thomas Richard 'Tom' Carper (DE - D)
- William 'Mo' Cowan (MA - D) (Out Of Office)
- Richard J. 'Dick' Durbin (IL - D)
- Al Franken (MN - D) (Out Of Office)
- Kirsten E. Gillibrand (NY - D)
- Thomas 'Tom' Harkin (IA - D) (Out Of Office)
- Mazie K. Hirono (HI - D)
- Amy Jean Klobuchar (MN - D)
- Carl Levin (MI - D) (Out Of Office)
- Barbara A. Mikulski (MD - D) (Out Of Office)
- Christopher S. 'Chris' Murphy (CT - D)
- Patty Murray (WA - D)
- John Francis 'Jack' Reed (RI - D)
- John D. 'Jay' Rockefeller IV (WV - D) (Out Of Office)
- Brian Emmaneul Schatz (HI - D)
- Charles Ellis 'Chuck' Schumer (NY - D)
- Elizabeth Ann Warren (MA - D)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (RI - D)
More Info About this Vote

subset: commoncrawl


text:
As part of AdvisorOne-ActiFi's Pursuing Practice Excellence research on advisor practice management, on June 13 we gathered four industry leaders to explore the findings of the research. The August 2012 Investment Advisor cover story provided highlights of that conversation, and our three-part series of articles addressed the specific findings from 1) a survey of 954 advisors; 2) an online survey and telephone interviews with 52 executives and consultants from across the industry who run practice management programs, and 3) an analysis of the gaps between the advisor portion of the survey and the industry leaders.
To extend that conversation to advisors' benefit, on AdvisorOne we are providing transcripts of the roundtable, which was moderated by Jamie Green and John Sullivan of Investment Advisor and AdvisorOne, and Spenser Segal and Brian Stimpfl of ActiFi.
The four panelists at the in-person discussion in Chicago were David Patchen of Raymond James, Kim Dellarocca of Pershing, Kirk Hulett of Securities America and Jim Komoszewski of Investment Centers of America.
The focus of this article is on what the panelists believe actually works in practice management programs, specifically on how advisors can differentiate themselves, and the role of coaches in practice management success.
Jamie Green, Investment Advisor: One of the findings [from the industry leader part of the study] that I think is interesting is that these industry leaders say their firms are actually going to increase their budgets when it comes to practice management. Maybe customization is a better term for how you're delivering the services. Is it not so much that the solutions aren't there, but how do you get the advisors to buy into it?
David Patchen, Raymond James Financial Services: I'm surprised that [Jim Komoszewski] would think that people are leading with solutions. That's foreign to everything we know as salespeople, marketers, promoters. You want to ask and understand; seek first to understand and then be understood. When we started building these things, [we were] corporate guys and gals trying to give solutions to talented advisors. Who was signing up for that? Our top advisors weren't signing up nine years ago. So step one is you have to do some one-on-one work, which we do extensively similar to what you described, Jim. There are 41 offices that I coach one-on-one right now. It's been as high as 50.
I really like Jim's theme about how the corporate higher-ups struggle with coaching. Where we started was smaller advisors who said, "I need help. I don't want to pay for an outside coach. Would you help me?" And we have, all of us that do one-on-one work, we have a remarkable contingent of advisors [for whom] we've changed their lives.
Jamie attended our national conference in Orlando a couple of weeks ago, which is a pretty big production, much like Schwab's and TD Waterhouse's. We have top advisor sessions. These folks go into a room and they talk. A young man, John Vance in Valencia, California, is our first real early success story. [He went] from $100,000 to almost $1.2 million now, $10 million in assets to $120 million in assets. He is a machine. The beauty of coaching, where this all comes together, is there's a culture of sharing. They don't want the same stuff. The partner firms—we all love them, they're our partners, they're helpful—but that stuff is available to everybody. That's not unique. It doesn't differentiate your offering from other firms'. What differentiates your offering from other firms' from a tools and tactics standpoint is what your specific talented top advisors are doing that's working and that they are willing to share it. That's where we've seen the [Zen Advisor Program] blossom and spread.
Some people want the one-on-one, and some people do want just solutions. I argue with Dave Lee [director of practice management for RJFS] about this all the time: I'm such a believer that absent the one-on-one work, they're doing malpractice to themselves in some cases. But you know independence means, in some cases, "Leave me the heck alone!" If I can leave that person the heck alone knowing they have access to a repository of great tools, I'd rather give them the access and let them do what they want with it. Do I think it's less than what they could do in working with you or me? Yes, but nonetheless, I want to give them their freedom to choose.
Kim Dellarocca, Pershing: I wear two hats: the strategic marketing part of our organization and the practice management piece. It goes to the basics of giving people what they want and how they want it. I think the next generation actually are in favor of things like webinars. I hosted one recently on the topic of women in investing and felt for the first time like Oprah. I was taking questions all afternoon and it really rewarding. The point is that the information was spread. I asked every advisor on that call—there were about 300—to do one thing: to go back to their books and take a look and say, "If something happens to him, would she call you?" I guarantee you most of the 300 did that. That is good for their business, and it was an outcome that we achieved.
At Pershing, we shifted the whole organization of the firm to be a leader in practice management so it's not just the group that I manage that does this. The way we've achieved scale is, if the relationship managers at Pershing's Advisors Solutions do it, we focus their role. Relationship managers, day-in, day-out, are serving advisors in this kind of coaching capacity. Our technology people don't just deliver technology or mobile [applications] without thinking, "How can I make this actionable? How can I make this useful?" Prospective advisors are really good at sleuthing out when it's [a practice management program] about the custodian or the clearing firm, when it's about your wallet or there's some big check being waved around. The classic "you grow, we grow," that language makes my stomach curl because I've been serving advisors for 15 years and no firm looked the same to me. No broker-dealer looks the same to me, and we take every client seriously.
It alarms me the amount of people who want a seat at the table with the advisor who are all coming forth with the same types of programs. Similar to some of the remarks that David just made, there is no such thing as a commodity business because you always have the chance to differentiate based on the experience that is created and how people feel afterwards and the emotional connection that they have. Where there may be just so many ways of talking about good PR strategies, there are unlimited ways [of talking] about helping an advisor execute that in the fashion that's appropriate for their demographics, that's appropriate for their lifestyle, for their practice. We see that it's really important to have a seat at the table of our clients' businesses. If not, we're just one of the trades, and where's the value in that?
Patchen: Amen to that! This is job security for all of us. There are really two types of practice management people: There are people that are very conceptual and there are people that can sit down and talk some serious shop. Part of the reason I do the group work is the group work is designed to cause discomfort. I always have a smaller faction that is deeper into the material and sharing their successes. Then the newbies to the workshop are saying, "There might be something to this. Maybe I should engage Dave or other members of his team in one-on-one relationships." You do create the discomfort, create the need and that's how you continue to build the one-on-one stable moving forward.
Brian Stimpfl, ActiFi: You're in a unique vantage point in that so many broker-dealer clients will come to you and say "You know, Kim, we really don't have much in the way of practice management. We want to get something going." What advice do you give to the broker-dealer that maybe hasn't developed any sort of significant practice management capabilities as to how to approach it? How do you support them?
Dellarocca: That's a great question. We're really proud of the support that we offer our advisors. We deliver it for all of our clients so a large broker-dealer can white-label our offering. They can use it as a great starting point. We're not trying to be all things to all people, so we're focused on growth, organic and inorganic sources of growth, operational efficiency, human capital, [being a] great place to work and managing risk. That's kind of where we hang our hat. Many of our broker-dealers also have advisors who are struggling with those challenges, and they are able to white-label and use our offering. They are able to put their brand on it.
Stimpfl: What's your advice to them?
Patchen: And if I could layer a question on top of that, from your experience, which of those do you find the most challenging of the areas of expertise that you mentioned? Which are you finding advisors are having the most difficulty executing? There's one that you said that stands out in my mind as challenging, and I'd love to hear from Jim and Kirk as well.
Dellarocca: So I'm going to say it's around human capital.
Patchen: Thank you. Exactly.
Dellarocca: It's really the shift of getting advisors to think of themselves; to rebrand practice management as business management. We at Pershing believe this: We need to help advisors move from being great practitioners. The mentoring aspect isn't just to help more people in Raymond James or in your organization thrive, it would be to also give these folks some personal legacy. I think that the reason succession planning is still such an issue is that nobody wants to think about these things. Who wants to think about death and dying? We all carry around a certain amount of hubris. What people might want to think about instead is not retiring but rewiring. How can they rewire as a leader, as a mentor, as somebody who just doesn't close their laptop someday and walk out, or cut the cake and leave their clients and associates and a lot of other people in some pretty vulnerable situations? [How can they rewire] as somebody who can transition themselves to leadership? If when we talk about the future, we saw a [theme] emerge for us, it would be around management and leadership, which is an off-shoot of human capital. Advisors can't go it alone. They need great teams.
What stands out for me in the [Pursuing Practice Excellence] research is if you look at the gap analysis. What struck me here is that the gap for when the advisors have rated somebody at a higher level of importance than the industry leaders, it's usually around something that's a quick fix. It's something that's going to drive immediate revenue of the short term. What I think we all have an obligation to do is to help them see the longer term in becoming a good business person. These things aren't fun to do—client segmentation, efficiency, understanding benchmarks, succession planning—not fun at all and very long-term in nature, but it's our job as an industry to blow on the nerves of the advisors because these are things that are going to help their team and ultimately going to help the investors. The investor doesn't need another ding in confidence and in trust; and without advisors having these things baked and focusing on business continuity—not sales planning, not succession planning, but business continuity and growth planning—the investors ultimately are at risk.
The things that the advisors wanted to focus on were very short-term, had a higher revenue appeal, where what we want to do at Pershing is, we want that seat at the table. That seat at the table is our eyes and ears in what brokers-dealers need, what advisors needs and what investors need. We also think it's our obligation [to do these] kinds of things because we think supporting the industry is really important.
This is an important industry. Investors need help managing their finances. There's a little bit of a trend toward do-it-yourself [in investing] as you know some people were outdoing advisors in the recent market. But what we want to see is the succession, is the continuity of this profession. How do we attract great people…great young people into it? It's got to be more appealing than the eye-rolling that goes on around Wall Street and financial services right now. We've got to do something about that.
We're advocates for great business in America and around the globe. We're doing quite a bit of work globally, but supporting businesses, supporting job creation, it's all part of this. We try to take out that co-serving element. We don't wave big checks around; we just try to focus on what's good for the investor, what's good for the advisors and what good for our broker-dealers.
Green: Kirk, we have to have you weigh in.
Kirk Hulett, Securities America: There are a lot of threads to pick up on here. One, we do total diagnostics and I believe you have to customize it; you have to do the diagnostic. The reason to throw out the solutions is it's a hook. It's a hook to get the advisors interested, to have that conversation that leads to the diagnostic. That has some value [in] building credibility, especially with advisors. Throwing out those solutions builds up credibility, opens up the opportunity for conversation.
We try to get to a little bit of scalability by straddling both the customized and the programmatic. We have a very successful program that gets as good results as our customized one-on-one by saying, "Here's 30 tactics. Most of them are business management tactics." And they're standard business management tactics that a dentist office, a manufacturing plant and an advisor would find beneficial. And then we pair that with one-on-one coaching. So we go through the 30 tactics over a couple of workshops, but every two weeks they're working with their coach one-on-one. They can decide how to assemble those 30 tactics in cooperation with their coach that best fit the needs of their practice. They don't have to do every one of them. They don't have to do them in the order we prescribe because we don't prescribe an order. They can decide how to assemble those themselves. We found that as a way to scale.
We found that as a way to also get advisors in the room and hearing each other because the best advocates for practice management from the institution are the advisors who participated in the programs. When one advisor hears another advisor talking about it, versus me standing on the stage at our national conference last week talking about it, they're going to listen to that advisor before they listen to me.
Green: One of the gaps we saw was in how advisors and their partners see particularly the wholesalers. Advisors report that they have a very good and deep relationship with their wholesalers. Some of the rest of you, including third-party coaches, are seen as less valuable. Any thoughts on why this might be?
Jim Komoszewski, Investment Centers of America: I'm going to make a disparaging remark about [this finding]; just know that I was [a wholesaler] for 10 years, so it gives me license. This was disturbing to me, but I think it speaks volumes to my comment about leading with solutions. I don't think any of us are. I think generally the industry is and we get diluted in that system. When people hear "practice management," they don't think of the four of us who are doing things diagnostically, assessment evaluations, etc. They instead think I'm saying, "I've got a toolkit. Here's a link. Good luck."
Product wholesalers can only go in and say, "I have a 5% guaranteed income stream for life if you pick one of these six models," so many times before the rep says, "Come back when you have something interesting."
When it comes to the product wholesaler, I think it comes back to them delivering it because it's free—because the wholesaler is around consistently and it's not threatening. The wholesaler is not telling them, "You have to get your sales to this [level]."
Dellarocca: At Pershing, the fund partners are some of our most important clients and partners. [They are] great resources for advisors who are looking to go independent. Those leads, those tips come from those relationships that they have with the wholesaler. We see them as really important, and you saw the partnership that we provide with them at conferences and so on. We wouldn't be able to do it without them. We're building relationships with that influencer as another angle in terms of recruiting advisors and helping our broker-dealers do the same.
Patchen: And they are key. When we create our Practice Intelligence workshops, they [partners like wholesalers] are intimately involved in helping us with content, obviously providing talented, capable speakers, so I would agree they're invaluable in the process.
There are inconsistencies across the stable of wholesalers. There are some people that are really talented and are great at practice management—the people who grow up to be Jims {Komoszewski]. And then there are people who really just want to sell product. That inconsistency is challenging when they visit with us and we love something that they've developed; but in one marketplace there's really great penetration and results, and in the next marketplace they're not even talking about it.
I think they're offering two things. They're offering the sales idea that feels good to hear. It probably has a very low implementation rate, but it's a tasty little morsel—it's not really sustainable. The other thing I think they offer is that they're very much an informal network because as those wholesalers travel their circuit, they are sharing information about what they see at the other offices. So you get the "What's the guy down the street doing? What are other advisors talking about and doing right now?" It's their informal way of benchmarking, and I think advisors really like that. I would rather get the advisors in a room, in a structured session that has some accountability, that has some follow up and implementation to it, but I think that's part of why those product wholesalers are ranking so high.
Dellarocca: Do you think the product wholesalers have to watch their credibility issue? Something that we all have to be careful of is when we make product a bad word that we don't go too far with that. We all need really great investment strategies, and our advisors need access to the markets and access to markets in unique ways. On one hand, I want to tell them, "Don't go down this overly crowded path of talking about flat referrals and family governance. Don't forget to talk about why investing strategies in a low interest rate environment makes sense." At the end of the day, an advisor is graded by his clients. He's going to get more business based on how his performance is in terms of the investment portfolio, not because he's got the smoothest running practice.
I sat on a mutual fund panel a year or so ago. We had 15 top advisors on our Pershing Advisors Solutions Advisor Council, and I called them and said, "What would make you come out of your office?" They said "Tell me something I don't know. I'm not coming out of my office for a client referral seminar, but I'll come out of my office if you tell me about a hedge strategy that I know nothing about." There's an element, too, of being good at what you're good at. It's about focusing on where you can have competitive advantage. Any broker-dealer in the world, we want to help them take the cost out of their business. They don't have to build capacity for trading desks and clearing; there are all kinds of nuts and bolts on the solution side that we build. They can partner with us to do that on more variable levels. When broker-dealers develop a practice management program, it's one of the most important things they can do because of the touch and relationship that gets built with the advisor.
Patchen: As a clearing firm, I would think that's a very big value add. Now does the broker-dealer know this? Does the broker-dealer know that coming in? Jamie saw me do the presentation I did in the general session room in Orlando a couple of weeks ago. The title was "Why They Don't Know What They Don't Know." I geared that toward investor clients because my audience is financial advisors, but the same can be said for financial advisors and broker-dealers. How much information do you not even know you don't know when you're sitting down at the table? Do broker-dealers highly value practice management enough to be different, seeing your service and offering in that space as a differentiator versus other clearing firms?
Komoszewski: I think it boils down to another thing, too, which is the source of the practice management information. Our credibility is probably diminished somewhat in the industry because wholesalers are carrying practice management titles to a certain extent. When you ask an advisor, "What's your perception of practice management?" the advisor says, "I've been through this. I went through that. I got that binder," and the wholesaler comes in and says, "Here's a free ham sandwich and two hours of CE. By the way, here's a best practice strategy." It's far different from what we're doing.
One of the most critical things for us to do, particularly at broker-dealers, is to brand our programs very, very strongly. How I did that at NPC was to say, "I'm going to offer a program that's fully comprehensive and follow it from the assessment through the establishment of your individual goals through a custom process. We'll walk you through implementation. We'll get you through execution. We'll set up quarterly monitoring and adjustments. We'll adjust accordingly and we'll re-evaluate in one year from now as a continuum." That's why I call the program "Pursuit" because a best practice is an ongoing pursuit. When we're coming in as product wholesalers, we're just hitting one spot, one teeny, tiny spot. We're not really doing much good for practice management.
Another thing that I did when I was at NPC was I hired experts. My definition of an expert is someone who's been in that capacity in our industry for 20 years or more. I had a technology expert who used to be CIO at one of our competitors; did all the technology, Redtail [CRM software] implementation. Advisors knew that when they were talking to somebody on a particular topic, they were talking to a seasoned, experienced expert, not a wholesaler.
Dellarocca: This is what you're talking about here, the coaching relationship. Advisors are just going to say, "Give me the education and the coaching." I think about it like losing weight. Do you want to show up and go to Weight Watchers every week and fail? Jamie and I have really deep philosophical conversations and he says the best religious conversions aren't people that just read the Bible or know that the Bible is out there. It's the power of other people holding you accountable and having to show up. If you just show up every Wednesday with your Weight Watcher book and sit on that scale, you're not going to eat bagels for a week prior. You know you're going to stick to it.
Patchen: There's no magic bullet, and coaching is difficult. Coaching makes you uncomfortable; it asks you to take risks. It is hard to do, but when advisors come out the other side and see those results, we ask them, "What was the biggest benefit from a coaching relationship?" They'll have 35% to 40% increased revenue, and they're very thrilled about that. They'll say, "It was the accountability, accountability, accountability. I didn't have that before. I have it now. It allowed me to focus. It allowed me to pick high-priority activities, not things that were distracting."
One point real quick, and you can call me Captain Cliché, is what some call the downside of independence. Advisors in some cases going independent are moving away from something rather than moving toward something. Part of what they're moving away from is an onerous manager or supervisor and they don't want accountability for all the wrong reasons. They aren't tapping into so much of the coaching and accountability that's out there. Ideas are ideas. Execution is actually taking actions that are going to change the business and change the results.
Dellarocca: Advisors aren't losing the accountability function because we tooled our whole business around it. We're real clear on our value proposition. We only work with growth-minded firms. We expect our clients are going to have some skin in the game in order to take advantage of these programs. Obviously, they can quarterback the service solutions, but they're people who run RIA firms. The type of the person we hire is very different. You really have to be a firm that is committed to growth. Lifestyle firms, firms that just want to peter off into the sunset, are not for Pershing Advisors.
Patchen: To bean counters, revenue is revenue. I think it's a macro topic, this measurement thing. It's advisor count. In the nine years since we started the [Raymond James practice management] program, we've gone from 3,700 independent advisors to 3,200. We've doubled production, we've doubled assets, we've doubled revenue. But revenue is production. We've doubled advisor production per advisor. Obviously they're correlated. So is the firm more valuable now? You would think dramatically more valuable, right? Twice the output from the fewer people? But Wall Street analysts value broker-dealers primarily by headcount. So we need to help the industry help itself and start to really dig into productivity in order for our roles to be elevated and practice management to take on the same perceived impact as recruiting.
Spenser Segal, ActiFi: On the recruiting side, it's a pretty clearly defined, well-established formula. If I'm the CEO of XYZ broker-dealer, I know I put "X" dollars in, I get "Y" dollars out. I've got 10 years of data. It varies and so forth, but it's a proven, steady formula. That maturity doesn't exist in practice management.
If I'm a business-oriented, sales-oriented CEO who's accountable to a group of shareholders as to where I spend my money, if I've got certainty over my recruiting dollars and less certainty over here [in practice management], I'm going to take the path of least resistance. I think part of the role that you all play is being able to put some of those models in place and we want to capture that and prove it going forward.
Dellarocca: What makes me sad though, Spenser, is that I talk to lots of advisors contemplating meeting their broker-dealer to go independent, and they often say to me, "I really love my broker-dealer, I just don't know why I pay them $300,000 or $500,000 a year."
The conversation about changing your business model shouldn't impugn all the great things that a broker-dealer does. It shouldn't be when the advisor is at your door saying, "I'm thinking about going independent." They should know from the day they enter your firm all the great things that you do, and these programs would have more value if the connection was made sooner.
I do have a question for all of you. When we talk about accountability, what do you think about this cost, do we have to have – is it just really somebody ringing the phone and saying "Hey, did you do that this week?" Are they paying for it?
Patchen: We absolutely believe they have to be paying for coaching. Coaching has value so we do have fees for our coaching programs. We have given away the coaching for free in the past. The advice and support was valued at the amount they paid for it, and there was zero implementation. When we began charging a fee, a nominal fee, but a fee, we saw significant implementation.
Dellarocca: And the rest of the off-the-shelf type programs that are available?
Hulett: What do you mean off-the-shelf program?
Dellarocca: Guide books or toolkits.
Hulett: Those things are absolutely free. They can go on our internal website for advisors. They can get tools, templates, forms and all that, and that's all free, but we absolutely charge. I won't say what we charge [but it's] thousands of dollars. They get a custom, one-on-one coaching program for six months. It's very comprehensive. I believe also in accountability and it being inherent by working with a coach one-on-one. When I talk to them about how we've got to get your operations manager to finish their standard operations procedures manual, they know they're going to talk to me next Tuesday, so they have to have that done. What I won't do, even though they're paying me, is I won't say, "Did you get that done yet?"
When I'm dealing with people one-on-one, I have to be part coach, part consultant. That's where the accountability factor comes in. The consulting part says, "You should do this and these are the reasons why." The coach part says, "The reason why is because these were your goals you set out. I'm trying to keep you on track." Why am I working harder at your goals than you are at your own goals?
I had one of our largest reps come to me and say, "Why don't you go ahead and send me the paperwork? I'm 99% sure that I want to work with you." And I said "With all due respect, I won't work with you. I'm not going to be able to help you to the extent that I can because you have some uncertainty, albeit 1%. When you come back to me and say 'I'm 100% for sure' in this, then I'll do it," because that's where the accountability comes in. It's inherent. It's intrinsic; it has to come from them by saying "I believe 100% wholeheartedly in this program."
The other thing I do is start out every conversation by saying, "I will always be on time for everything we do. No. 2, I will never have my Blackberry on or emails or anything else. My cell phone, everything will be off. You will have 100% of my dedication and my focus. No. 3, I will always give you all of the follow-up items when we mutually agreed upon; you'll most likely get them earlier." And I go down the list. Then I tell them, "I'll give you a rounding error. Your clock is five minutes off; I'm on this phone waiting for you until five after. At six after, I'm hanging up. You forfeit the call. You just wasted X amount of dollars. I expect your Blackberry to be off, I expect you to be engaged." And I end it with "The reason for this is this is your practice. This is a partnership, but it is for your benefit. The second I'm working harder at your personal and professional goals than you are, I'm not helping you anymore. You don't get a refund." That accountability starts from that very, very first call because they realize that it's on them. I tell them, "You will benefit from this program to the extent that you choose to."
Dellarocca: I guess the question I asked was more about establishing willingness to pay for it, and once that's established, how do you find the best provider? Another flip question I'm going to ask is if this offering that used to make firms stand out is now as regular as having technology or anything else you could offer?
Komoszewski: Some of things that came to my mind when I was building my program at NPC were who's going to care to put more time, energy and sweat equity into an NTC rep? We have a very vested interest in their growth, in their relationship, the retention. We have an intimate understanding about the broker-dealer itself.
I'm amazed–and I hope you guys are too–at the thousands and thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars that our advisors pay to participate in coaching or consulting programs where they sit in a hotel lobby next to a dentist and a lawyer and a guy who owns a restaurant. Are you kidding me? This is a very specific industry and we need specific answers to specific problems, and they need to have solutions. Not only do we understand the industry really well, we understand our broker-dealer.
Lastly, if I have a rep who's struggling in an area and I have one that's really successful, I can either share those stories or set up a call and bring those two individuals together. I want to go on the record by saying I've never told anyone how to use me. I've encouraged many to use other programs. I can't remember [who], maybe all of you, have said that the most important thing [advisors can do] is to do something. Use us, use somebody else, but just do something. And that's really all ultimately what we're after.
Hulett: I can piggy-back on that. In the broker-dealer programs, not only can people liaison and understand the regulatory and compliance [issues] that others may not, but I feel that we can also take the technology tools that we offer and better integrate that into the workflow and operational processes of the advisors affiliated with us.
I think that's a distinct advantage. Same on the advisory side. What are the aspects of our advisory platform that we'll be able to consult on, be experts on that someone outside is not? We can offer success pricing so that as an advisor builds their business on the broker-dealer's advisory platform, we can actually provide a refund back on the subscription fees or the consulting fees that they pay us so it creates rewards that are beneficial to the advisor and beneficial to the broker-dealer at the same time.
Patchen: The question was how are we unique? Why are we different? Why should they use us?
Dellarocca: First, if they have the choice and we established that there's a willingness to pay, why you versus someone on the street?
Patchen: Well, a point of differentiation: We don't charge a fee for our program at present at Raymond James, so I couldn't answer the question in that context. I would tell you, though, we believe in fit. There are several factors to fit. One of them, certainly, is connection and communication, style of communication, ability to gain clarity, trust and strategy. If those five pillars are part of what's coming out of a coaching relationship, I think fit and connection are as important as anything else.
Visit our Pursuing Practice Excellence home page for additional reporting, data and insights into this study.
View our roundtable transcript on AdvisorOne on the leaders' roles in advisor sales and marketing.


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After a bit more cuddling and snuggling Meredith really went to sleep and when she woke up there was David, still naked however bring a tray with coffee and cookies. Obviously, she didn't think him-- she figured he planned to fuck her all over once again and as soon as they 'd had their light drink he showed her presumption to be proper.
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Meredith gasped and extending her arms out on the bed she sobbed and groaned as he drove it into her cunt quick and furious.
With their tongues laced they exchanged saliva up until he "unintentionally" provided her a little push and she fell back onto the bed and him on the top of her. She might feel his cock penetrating her through his trousers and as they continued kissing she pictured it extending the sides of her pussy.
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Welcome to the Istaria Forums.
Issue with Experience Potions...
June 13th, 2020, 07:48 AM
October 27th, 2020, 04:05 PM
From time to time the Virtrium team will be asking for feedback on a specific question or topic.
September 8th, 2020, 12:09 PM
October 23rd, 2020, 08:29 PM
Need help getting around or need to find that special mob? Ask it here
October 23rd, 2020, 06:16 AM
A place for getting to know Istarians, playing Istaria-themed mini-games, and other fun stuff.
October 26th, 2020, 11:51 PM
A place to welcome new friends and old, introduce your guild, and wish friends well as they leave Istaria.
June 7th, 2020, 02:13 AM
Post your guild introductions here. Recruitment info and guild formation info goes here as well. Be sure to say what server your guild is on.
Ethereal Thunder: RECRUITING...
June 5th, 2019, 11:46 AM
Time to leave Istaria? Just taking an extended leave but hope to return? Post here to give us somewhere to wish you well.
April 1st, 2020, 08:31 PM
June 6th, 2020, 09:49 PM
Forum for the discussion of all Istarian races that walk on two feet: Elf, Dryad, Fiend, Gnome, Half-Giant, Human, Saris, Satyr, and Sslik.
August 3rd, 2020, 12:32 PM
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Cannot read text in non chat...
June 7th, 2020, 02:52 AM
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Everyone needs to get things off their chest sometime. Here's the place to do so. Keep in mind, however, that the forum rules still do apply.
Ancient Dragons head bug and...
September 30th, 2019, 09:59 PM
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A place for linking to creative works (written, music, 2d and 3d artwork, etc.)
May 16th, 2019, 02:08 AM
There are currently 159 users online. 0 members and 159 guests
Most users ever online was 934, August 30th, 2020 at 12:19 AM.


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Act II, Scene 6
Near Misenum.
[Flourish. Enter POMPEY and MENAS at one door,] [p]with drum and trumpet: at another, OCTAVIUS CAESAR, [p]MARK ANTONY, LEPIDUS, DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS, MECAENAS, [p]with Soldiers marching]
[Exeunt all but MENAS and ENOBARBUS]
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Plays Sonnets Poems Concordance Character Search Advanced Search About OSS


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The alg.exe process is a Microsoft process and allows for various Internet connectivity functionality. It is responsible for the Application Layer Gateway or Application Level Gateway. It includes security components necessary for networking. It can allow or disallow various network protocols within the Windows Firewall as well.
Application: Application Layer Gateway Service
Publisher: Microsoft
Rating: based on 235 votes
File scan: Click here to run a file scan
Possible causes of Alg.exe errorsThese errors are frequently caused by conflicts with the file or installation profile, misuse of the file or respective directories, or a malicious attack on the system.
- When conflicts arise on the profile or with the file, the application may be unable to transmit data between the necessary files.
- When a file or directory is misused or damaged, the application as a whole may be unable to load.
- Malicious attacks or infections on the system may render the entire system frozen or unable to perform any necessary computing functions.
Is Alg.exe a dangerous file (virus, malware, spyware)?In most cases, the file is considered to be safe. However, files do become corrupt at times and some malicious files are disguised to represent known, secure system files. When that happens, they can be very difficult to detect and remove, but using a comprehensive system scan usually detects them and allows you to safely remove them.
Known Alg.exe error messages
- File not found: Alg.exe
- Cannot find file: Alg.exe
- Device not recognized missing Alg.exe file
Should I stop the Alg.exe task or process within the Task Manager?Unless you have experience managing the processes and tasks on your machine, it is best to allow a system scanner or registry scanner to handle those tasks. Many of the tasks are required for performing specific operations on your machine and removing them may cause your program or entire computer to malfunction or reboot.
Should I download a new copy of the Alg.exe file?The only time you should ever download a new version of a system file is when it comes through an application update or from the publisher directly. Be very cautious when downloading system files from third-party websites as they may contain additional software that you would install without knowing. This could cause an even larger issue than the error you are getting from this file!
Best way to fix Alg.exe errorsWhen these errors occur, verify if any new hardware or software has been added. If so, simply removing the new hardware or software may resolve the issue. If not, follow the steps below.
- Scan for any driver updates for new equipment. If new equipment or programs have been loaded, they may require updated drivers. Download new, secure drivers and perform a clean system restart.
- Download and install updates for the operating system. Regardless of the operating system version you are using, it is always considered good practice to install the latest security updates.
- Use anti-virus and anti-malware applications. Most virus scanners will protect your machine from basic threats. To increase your protection, use a malware scanner as well.
More information about Alg.exe
Since this is a Windows networking service process, the security implications should be taken very seriously. Most networking components have the ability to cause severe damage to the system or network as a whole when they are used improperly.
This file has not been shown to be a malicious file since it is installed with Microsoft Windows. However, it may become corrupt or display errors, as with any system file.
If this file begins displaying errors on your computer, other files, like the cmd.exe file, might become damaged or have errors as well.


text:
Delivery & Returns
UK Standard Delivery
- We ship our orders with Parcelforce - tracking reference can be followed here.
- Deliveries will usually be made within 3-5 working days after you place your order [excluding Weekends]
- UK Standard Delivery is FREE for all orders over £30 and your order will be sent out via the most suitable carrier, depending on size and weight.
- UK Standard Delivery is £1.99 for orders under £30
- Your order can be delivered anytime between 7am and 9pm and a signature may be required on receipt.
- If you are not around to take delivery of your parcel, the carrier will leave a calling card telling you how you can pick it up.
- Unfortunately we cannot deliver on a bank holiday. In this instance please expect your delivery on the next working day.
UK Next Day Delivery
- The cost of Next Day Delivery is £4.99
- If you require a specific delivery day (other than standard next day delivery) or have an urgent delivery requirement please contact our Customer Services team.
- The following are details of our UK Next Day Delivery (up to 2kg) service:
- If you order by 2pm, Monday to Thursday, you will receive your goods the next day.
- If you order by 2pm on Friday you will receive your goods on the following Monday.
- If you order anytime on Saturday or on Sunday, you will receive your goods on the Tuesday.
- Any orders placed on a Bank Holiday Weekend will be delivered 2 working days later.
- We do not deliver on a Bank Holiday so please be aware of any impending ones when you order.
- Our carrier will deliver your parcel between 7am and 9pm. A signature will be required on receipt. If you are not around to accept your parcel a calling card will be left.
- Next Day Delivery is not available to the following: Europe, Ireland and some parts of Scotland.
International Delivery Information
- International shipping is charged on a flat rate basis, regardless of the weight of your parcel - maximum weight 2kg
- Standard and Express delivery services are available for most of the countries that we ship to.
- Shipping will be automatically calculated at the checkout page when both the delivery destination and service option is selected.
- The summary of delivery timescales and cost are as follows:
Area Standard Delivery Times In Working Days (Monday - Friday) Standard Costs
- Rest of the World From 6 Days £20.00
- Europe From 5 Days £12.00
- Americas From 7 Days £20.00
- When you place an order, we suggest you have it delivered to a work address rather than a home address, as our couriers only deliver between 9am and 5pm, and will require a signature on receipt.
- Your order will be dispatched via the most suitable carrier, depending on size and weight.
- For orders being sent outside the EU, VAT is deducted from the price when a non-EU delivery address is selected.
- Any customs or import duties are charged once the parcel reaches its destination country. The recipient of the parcel must pay these charges. We have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country; you may want to contact your local customs office for further information.
- Once your parcel has arrived in your country, it will be passed on to an internal postal service, according to standard delivery procedures.
- If you aren't available when your parcel is delivered, the delivery driver will leave a calling card with instructions on how to pick it up.
- For legal reasons we cannot ship Patagonia to the United States
- For legal reasons we cannot ship Sherpa to Switzerland
Returns Information
Christmas Extended Returns: We're offering extended returns for the festive period, any item purchased from the 1st of October 2020 until the 31st of December 2020 can be returned up until the 31st of January 2021.
- Goods may be returned for refund or exchange within 30 days of receipt. Returned items must not be worn, soiled or damaged in any way, and must be 'as sold'. All of our stock items are dispatched with manufacturers labels/swing tags which for part of the manufacturer's warranty. This is checked before dispatch. Returns will not be accepted without these labels/tags attached. Goods returned after the returns period will not be refunded but may be credited at our discretion.Any postage charged is deemed to be separate to the contract for goods and will not be refundable.
- You do not need to contact us to notify us of your return, unless the item is faulty or is outside of our 30-day policy and you wish to confirm that we are prepared to credit you.
- Goods must be packaged securely to ensure they are not damaged in transit. The responsibility and liability of the goods remains with you until we are in receipt of the goods.
- Goods are returned to us at your cost. Please include a note to say whether you wish to have an exchange or refund.
- Customers exchanging goods will be charged the appropriate delivery charge on their new order.
- Please return goods to:
The Epicentre,
Compston Road,


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Toll Free (in Ohio) 1-800-772-5333
Elsewhere (740) 397-5333
Subscriptions (740) 397-5333 ext. 232, 231, 230
Fax Number (740) 397-1321
Mailing Address
PO Box 791
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
Street Address
18 East Vine Street
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
The Mount Vernon News welcomes your views on subjects of public interest.
Letters submitted for publication must be legible and bear the writer's signature, address and daytime telephone number for verification.
Letters must deal with issues and will be edited to 400 words. Thank-you letters will not be accepted. Neither will letters from declared candidates.
No letters will be accepted concerning pending court cases.
Letter writers are limited to one letter every 30 days.
Letters may be sent to:
Letters to the Editor
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Mount Vernon 43050
Fax: (740) 397-1321 E-mail: email@example.com
Please do not send as attachments.
If your paper is missing, please call our Service Department, at extension 233, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Published daily except Sunday and Christmas at P.O. Box 791, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050-0791
Report of babies born at hospitals other than Knox Community Hospital must be submitted in writing. Include parents' names, address, age, baby's sex, and date and place of birth. If either parent is under the age of 18, the signature of a parent or guardian is necessary for each of the baby's underage parents.
Announcements should include the signature, address and telephone number of the source. Announcements may be dropped off at 18 E. Vine St., or mailed to Mount Vernon News, P.O. Box 791, Mount Vernon 43050-0791.
Obituary and death notices can be e-mail or faxed into the Mount Vernon
News. E-mail
Fax: (740) 397-1321
Have an idea for a story or a question about one?Contact our sports department at 740-397-5333, ext. 247, E-mail or the sports desk at 740-397-5333, ext. 260. If you would like to submit a game result or statistics, E-mail or fax it to 740-397-1321; or call the numbers above. The sports desk is staffed Sunday through Friday from 7 to 11 p.m. Fax: (740) 397-1321
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Violation of any part of the above standards could result in comments being removed and the user being banned from making further comments.
These boundaries provide ample room for discussion among our readers. The News welcomes your comments, criticisms, and contributions to our content.


text:
Our statement hoops. Customisable and playfully versatile with any pendant charms. This earring set features our Siren Muse hoop earrings, each stacked with a Fiji Bud pendant charm hand set, with a rose-cut Aquamarine gemstone, the birthstone for March.
Siren Muse Large Hoop and Fiji Bud Earring Set-Aquamarine
3 pieces
Sterling Silver
In Stock
Delivery & Returns
Free delivery & easy extended 100 day returns
Import duty & taxes included in price
5-Year warranty & lifetime repair service
Order within 13 hours 24 minutes and select Click & Collect from Monica Vinader Boutique to receive your order on Thu 5 Nov
Our statement hoops. Customisable and playfully versatile with any pendant charms. This earring set features our Siren Muse hoop earrings, each stacked with a Fiji Bud pendant charm hand set, with a rose-cut Aquamarine gemstone, the birthstone for March.
Delivery & Returns
- Free delivery worldwide and a range of premium delivery
services. Minimum spend may apply
more details.
- Free returns to the UK & USA.
- Easy returns worldwide more details.
- 100 day returns + 5 year warranty
- import duties & VAT included
Our orders are sent via trackable courier and may require signature on receipt.
We will guarantee you a full money-back refund within 100 days of purchase on any item, as long as it is in the original condition. All products are guaranteed for 5 years. Engraved items are non-returnable/non-refundable.
Our 5-Year Warranty & Lifetime Repairs
Every hand-crafted Monica Vinader piece comes with our 5-Year Warranty & Lifetime Repairs. Whether you have accidentally scratched a pendant charm or want your ring resized or replated, we will repair your jewellery free of charge. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!
Our jewellery is hallmarked in the UK at the Assay Office, fulfilling the requirements established by law on Precious Metals. This is a guarantee of the purity and quality of the metals used.
Ethical Sourcing
We are committed to the ethical sourcing of our products and work closely with suppliers to ensure that they adhere to our code of conduct, which outlines strict standards of business behaviour.
Monica Vinader is a certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, which addresses human and labour rights, environmental impact and mining practices within the jewellery supply chain.
MV diamonds are sourced through suppliers that adhere to the Kimberley Process and the World Diamond Council's System of Warranties, preventing the distribution of conflict diamonds both in rough, cut and polished stones. Conflict diamonds are those smuggled by rebels to finance wars against legitimate governments. Our diamond suppliers are also compliant with United Nations resolutions.