Staff

Your Future Colleagues

You will join a tight-knit team of four otolaryngologists who have deliberately structured their practice to maintain clinical autonomy while benefiting from the stability of the larger Sacramento ENT organization. This represents the ideal middle ground between solo practice isolation and large corporate groups where individual physicians become interchangeable cogs in a machine. Your colleagues operate with the entrepreneurial mindset of practice owners who control their schedules, shape clinical protocols, and make staffing decisions, but they share the administrative infrastructure and resources that make solo practice increasingly difficult in contemporary healthcare.

Ronald G. Dong, MD

Dr. Dong serves as your primary contact during the recruitment process and represents the full-time presence in the practice. His wife works as a physician with Kaiser, giving him unique insight into both private practice and corporate employment models. This dual perspective shapes his understanding of what motivates physicians choosing between different practice settings. During your interview process, he will provide straightforward information about the financial realities of the practice, the patient volume expectations, and the work-life balance that the group has achieved. His direct communication style reflects the practical, no-nonsense approach that the group takes toward building a sustainable practice in an underserved market.

Kristin M. Bennett, MD

Dr. Bennett brings expertise in managing the full spectrum of general ENT cases while maintaining particular focus on procedures that many community practices refer out. Her clinical interests align well with the comprehensive care model that serves the Stockton patient population. She understands the balance required when practicing as the primary ENT resource in a community where patients have limited alternatives for specialty care. Her presence in the practice provides continuity for established patients and contributes to the group's reputation for accessible, competent care that keeps cases local rather than forcing families to drive to Sacramento or the Bay Area for routine ENT services.

Susan Cordes, MD

Dr. Cordes approaches ENT practice with the clinical breadth that comes from managing diverse patient populations across age spectrums. Her experience encompasses both pediatric and adult care, allowing her to provide family-centered practice where children and parents might see the same otolaryngologist for their respective ENT needs. This continuity appeals to families in communities like Stockton, where healthcare often feels fragmented and specialists frequently limit their scope to narrow age ranges or specific subspecialties. Her commitment to comprehensive care reflects the group's practical philosophy that successful community ENT practice requires willingness to manage the full range of conditions that present rather than cherry-picking preferred cases.

Josephine H. Nguyen, MD

Dr. Nguyen brings board certification and particular clinical interest in addressing nasal obstruction from various causes, including both structural and inflammatory conditions. She enjoys the variety that comes from treating patients across the age spectrum with ear, nose, and throat conditions. Her practice encompasses snoring management, voice conditions, and evaluation of head and neck growths and lesions. Her approach balances subspecialty interest in specific areas like rhinology with the practical need to maintain general ENT capabilities that serve community patients effectively. This combination of focused expertise and broad competence characterizes the entire Stockton team.

Practice Culture and Partnership Structure

The Stockton physicians function as immediate equal partners from day one, a structure that eliminates the prolonged probationary periods and byzantine buy-in formulas that plague many group practices. You will participate equally in decision-making, vote on practice matters with the same weight as colleagues who have been with the group for years, and share in practice expenses and revenues according to production rather than seniority. This partnership model rejects the hierarchical structures where junior physicians spend years earning the right to influence practice direction or benefit fully from their productivity.

The group has intentionally avoided formal buy-in requirements, recognizing that large upfront capital contributions create financial barriers that discourage talented physicians from joining underserved communities. Instead, you contribute to shared practice expenses as they occur and benefit immediately from revenue you generate. When the practice makes equipment purchases or facility improvements, costs are divided equally among partners. This approach creates alignment between personal financial interest and practice investment decisions without the artificial wealth transfer that traditional buy-in models create.

You should understand that partnership in this context does not guarantee equal compensation. The practice operates on an eat-what-you-kill model where your income correlates directly with your clinical productivity. This means physicians working different schedules or maintaining different patient loads earn accordingly. Some partners work part-time schedules that align with family commitments or personal preferences. Others maintain full-time clinical volume that drives higher personal income. The group respects these choices without judgment, understanding that physicians at different career stages have different priorities.

Support Staff and Operations

The practice employs dedicated support staff including medical assistants, front desk personnel, and administrative coordinators who understand ENT workflows and have developed efficient systems for managing the high patient volumes that underscore the community need for your services. Stephanie Almond serves as the office manager, handling day-to-day operations and serving as your resource for practice management questions. She coordinates between the Stockton operation and the Sacramento administrative offices, ensuring that the Stockton team maintains operational independence while accessing centralized resources for payroll, benefits administration, and larger infrastructure needs.

The audiology team includes Sarah Garvey, AuD, who provides comprehensive hearing evaluations and diagnostic testing that keeps workups efficient and coordinated within the practice. Her presence eliminates the delays and patient frustration that occur when hearing assessment requires separate appointments at external facilities. The deliberate decision not to sell hearing aids directly keeps the audiology function focused on diagnosis rather than sales, preserving the clinical relationship without retail pressure that can complicate patient interactions.

Team Stability and Professional Environment

The group has avoided the revolving-door physician turnover that plagued some community practices, though you should understand that the departure of the previous colleague whose position you would fill reflects the natural evolution of career interests rather than practice dissatisfaction. The remaining physicians have demonstrated longevity that suggests satisfaction with the work environment, patient population, and financial arrangements. When physicians choose to remain in a practice setting for years rather than constantly seeking better opportunities elsewhere, this signals something working correctly in the practice culture and structure.

Your colleagues function as genuine partners in the clinical sense, providing thorough sign-out when handing off call coverage, minimizing unnecessary interruptions during off-time, and sharing the less desirable aspects of practice without attempting to push unpleasant work onto newer members. This collegiality matters enormously in small groups where personality conflicts or professional resentments can poison the work environment. The Stockton physicians have developed working relationships characterized by mutual respect and practical cooperation rather than the forced camaraderie or underlying tension that sometimes develops in physician groups.

The practice has also cultivated strong relationships with referring primary care physicians and other specialists in the region who appreciate having competent, accessible ENT care available locally. You will inherit these referral relationships, building on the group's reputation for responsive consultation, clear communication, and follow-through on patient care. The six-month wait for appointments demonstrates that demand exceeds supply, but it also reflects referring physicians' willingness to wait for your evaluation rather than sending patients to alternative providers, indicating confidence in the care quality you will provide as part of this team.

You will find colleagues who understand the realities of community practice in an underserved market. They recognize that serving as the primary ENT resource for over 300,000 residents creates different pressures and satisfactions than practicing in saturated urban markets. You will not compete with partners for referrals or surgical volume. Instead, you will collaborate to manage more patients than the current group can see, knowing that your arrival improves access for a community that genuinely needs another skilled otolaryngologist.