Pros
- Mission-driven work in addiction medicine
- Opportunity to serve a high-need population
Cons
I worked as a provider in a Maine location and found the role to be operationally unsustainable.
There was no protected administrative time, yet providers were expected to manage full patient loads, admissions, and complex clinical care. Documentation and follow-up routinely extended beyond clinical hours.
Patient scheduling was inconsistent and, at times, unsafe. Some days were significantly underbooked (e.g., only a few patients scheduled), while other days involved excessive volume without additional support. This level of variability reflects a lack of effective operational oversight. The "oversight" that was on-site was reckless, inexperienced and immature.
The variability in scheduling and lack of support created conditions that did not consistently align with safe, high-quality patient care.
There is a VERY high provider turnover, contributing to ongoing instability and increased workload for remaining staff.
Communication pathways were deliberately tightly controlled in a way that limited direct collaboration between providers and support staff, introducing unnecessary friction into routine clinical care. At the same time, workflows were frequently changed without meaningful input from clinicians.
Concerns related to workload, safety, and operations were raised but not meaningfully addressed.
I ultimately left because the structure did not support safe or sustainable clinical practice.