Q: Dear Dr. M i have read several questions regarding associate contracts on your website but i want to know if this one sounds fair to you. i have been practicing for 5 years but somewhat recently relocated to colorado from the midwest. i found a job posting on the internet and ended up taking the position. i think i am getting the short end of the deal though. i am an associate, my office hours are tues and thurs from 9:30-6:30 and sat from 8:30-1:00. to my understanding, i was originally going to be hired as an independent contractor but because my hours were set, i had to be an employee. anyway, i am in charge of getting all of my own patients and i am supposed to make 30% of my collections with no base salary. my boss strongly recommended that i play in a golf tournament, it ended up costing my $160 and i had to pay for it. he also wants me to join several leads groups which are several hundred dollars per year plus quarterly dues and he seem unwilling to pay for them. and to top it all off, he wants me to do ridiculous things such as random screenings in the middle of a sidewalk on a busy street such as in front of restaurants, etc. my contract does not specify what i need to do to bring patients in the door. i just dont think it is fair to have to do all of this, spend my own money on these leads groups and have to give him almost 3/4 of my collections. please let me know what you think. thankyou for your time. A: Thanks for the e-mail. The position you describe is not an IC but as an associate. The salary you describe is not as an associate but as an IC. So you are neither fish nor fowl. The doctor you work for is taking advantage of your hunger to work and you must be strong to either walk away, demand changes or accept the status quo. First of all, if you have set hours then you are no longer a "renter of space" or an IC but a paid associate. In fact, the IRS will back this up since you have set hours. Remember this is a job and you make little profit from it while feeling abused. Set hours have set fees. Associates either accept the salary and responsibilities or move on. A doctor interested in a happy staff member would pay for all events that require staff presence and also offer bonus incentives upon production such as either new patients or others programs. Comfort zones are difficult to penetrate. Random screenings that you describe are difficult to do but if successful may be worth a shot and will definitely break you of confrontation etc. But there are other ways to find new patients. Consider purchasing, or have the owner DC purchase my Marketing and Workshop Workbooks. You can order these on-line at my website: www.chirosmart.net/shop. Use this experience to gather strength to open on your own. In the meantime tweak the position by talking openly to the owner and make it workable for both Have a Great Day Dr. M