Ep 234 When you can't stay and you can't move with Dr. Erin King-Mullins
Dr. Erin King Mullins is a double board-certified general and colorectal surgeon with 12 years in practice and founder of Colorectal Wellness Center in Metro Atlanta. In this episode, she shares the hard-won business lessons from a difficult exit from her fellowship practice, how she navigated a non-compete clause that left her unable to stay or relocate, and the step-by-step path to launching solo private practice — while pregnant with her second child. Dr. Mullins and host Dr. Amy Vertrees cover what every surgeon must know about physician employment contracts: why you should read your exit clause before your salary, the critical difference between radius-based and entity-based non-competes, and what at-will employment actually means for physicians. They also discuss the human side of running a medical practice — from firing employees the right way to separating friendship from business decisions. In the second half of the episode,
Dr. Mullins pulls back the curtain on her experience as a volunteer director with the American Board of Surgery (ABS) — including how complaint reviews actually work, what due process looks like for a surgeon facing a board action, and how the new Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) framework is transforming resident training and surgical education.
Whether you’re considering private practice, navigating a contract negotiation, or just want to understand what the ABS actually does for surgeons, this episode is required listening.
🎙️ Find Dr. King Mullins: @DrTushyTouchUp (IG/TikTok/FB) | colowellness.com 🎙️
Host: Dr. Amy Vertrees | bosssurgery.com ⭐
Timestamps:
0:00
Intro: Meet Dr. Erin King Mullins
1:00
12 Years in Colorectal Surgery
1:30
COVID, Maternity Leave & a Difficult Exit
3:30
Locums as a Bridge
4:00
Business Is the Third Person in the Room
5:00
Firing Employees: The Human vs. Business Side
7:00
Read Your Exit Clause First
7:30
At-Will Employment Law for Physicians
8:00
Non-Competes: Radius vs. Entity-Based
10:30
Why Locums Works for Some Physicians Permanently
11:00
Going Solo: One Person, Infrastructure for Two
12:00
Setting Culture from the Top Down
14:00
Biggest Challenges in Solo Practice
16:00
Business Resources That Helped
18:30
Joining the American Board of Surgery
19:30
The ABS Mission Statement
21:00
Who’s in the Room: Board Diversity
22:00
How the ABS Views Locums Physicians
23:30
What Happens When a Complaint Is Filed
26:00
The Standardized Complaint Review Process
28:30
EPAs: Entrustable Professional Activities
31:00
Get Involved with the ABS
33:30
How to Pivot When You’re Stuck
37:00
Going All In — With a Safety Net
38:00
Women’s Colorectal Health & New Focus
38:30
Where to Find Dr. King Mullins
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