Dr Allen Menkin - The Business of Medicine
Dr Allen Menkin has spent decades in the medical field operating a successful practice. Most medical practices today are not successful in the sense that they don’t give the doctors what they thought they would get when they were in medical school. Most doctors who have their own practices do not have businesses. They have jobs and need to work a lot of hours to pay the bills and the salaries of the employees. Some can’t figure out how to make their practices run without them and that’s a big problem that prevents such doctors from going on vacations and having the lifestyle that they desire.
One of the biggest issues why doctors can’t transition from being practitioners to being business owners is that they don’t think about themselves as businesspeople. However, to own and operate a practice, a doctor also needs to become a business person and deal with things like managed care, insurance companies, and costs. The doctors know medicine, but they don’t know the business of medicine. They often believe that if they know how to do the work and if they are good at it, a business will appear that will do all the work without them, but that never happens on its own.
Knowing how to build and run a successful practice has very little to do with being a doctor. No matter how skilled a doctor is, none of that knowledge and expertise is sufficient for building a great business. The good news is that doctors, including Dr Allen Menkin, are fully equipped to avoid the typical pitfalls of building a successful practice.
Dr. Allen Menkin - Bipolar Disorder
Dr. Allen Menkin is not only a doctor, but he specializes in diagnosing and treating mental health and neurological disorders. He has worked with many people who suffer from Bipolar disorder, which is a mood disorder that causes people to have intense prolonged emotions that can negatively impact their mental well-being. In addition to the feeling of depression, people with bipolar disorder also have episodes that include manic episodes that include euphoria, extreme optimism, racing thoughts, feeling of grandeur, hyperactivity, increased irritability, impulsiveness and sometimes reckless behavior.
People who have bipolar disorder can experience a wide-range of different symptoms depending on where they fall on the scale. Plus, the type of episode and frequency can also vary greatly. Some people struggle with many depressive episodes and only a couple of manic episodes, while others have only a couple of episodes during their life. Menkin knows that this disorder can affect anyone, as there are many factors that are involved, from the environment, history, biology, life experiences, physical problems and personality.
Menkin understands that dealing with bipolar disorder can be challenging and that's why he created the St. Clare’s Mental Health Center. People in Denville now have a place to go and get help coping with the difficult feelings and symptoms.
Dr. Allen Menkin uses a type of counseling that relies on cognitive-behavioral therapy that works well for mood disorders. It helps a person with bipolar disorder understand how their behaviors, feeling and thoughts work together. The counseling also teaches important coping mechanisms, from managing stress to relaxation techniques.
Dr. Allen Menkin - developmental pediatrics
Dr. Allen Menkin completed his pediatric internship and residency at NYU/Bellevue Hospital, where he learned a lot about developmental pediatrics. He has the training and expertise to evaluate your child, no matter what the problem is, developmental, behavioral or learning. Menkin can assess and treat children from medical to psychosocial aspects of behavioral and developmental problems.
Not only did Menkin go through 4 years of medical school and years of residency training in pediatrics, but he is trained in developmental-behavioral pediatrics. After finishing his post graduate training served as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at New York University Medical Center.. Menkin was one of the first pediatricians in NJ that was trained to diagnose and treat both mental health and neurological disorders.
Developmental-behavioral pediatricians can evaluate treat a wide range of neurological and behavioral disorders likd dyslexia, learning disablities, ADHD or mood regulation problems and autistic spectrum disorders.
Dr. Allen Menkin opened the Plaza Medical Associates (now Plaza Family Care)n 1973 to provide pediatric care to families.. There are currently two offices at the clinic with three pediatrics and three internists. The team will work with your family, school and others to see the whole context of the problem, in order to provide the proper care and attention, from understanding the family's viewpoint to the effect on the child.
Dr. Allen Menkin - Childhood violence prevention
As the father of six children and grandfather to ten, Dr. Allen Menkin knows the importance of childhood violence prevention. There are many ways to prevent violence in a child’s life and Menkin suggests a few ways that parents, caregivers, teachers and physicians can reduce the harm and violence while providing easy alternatives or solutions.
The most important thing that people can do, is to model the appropriate behaviors, from how to manage different issues, conflict, anger and stress. Plus, they can also practice certain steps to prevent violent outbursts in children, from giving consistent attention and love to providing supervision and guidance. Just remember to never use physical punishment or verbal abuse to solve problems or deal with emotions. Make sure that you are consistent with your discipline and rules.
Menkin responded to the trauma that was caused by the shootings at Columbine High School and many others. In the aftermath, Menkin created the foundation – Stand Up For Children – that is dedicated to the prevention of childhood violence. He understands the importance of keeping firearms locked up and unloaded and far away from children. Parents should be proactive in teaching their children gun safety and the dangers involved.
Dr. Allen Menkin cautions people to ensure that children are not exposed to violence in the media, from TV shows to video games. Making sure that children understand the serious consequences of real life violence is vital to preventing shootings. Teach children how to avoid and recognize potential danger and how to avoid becoming a victim of a violent act is key to prevention.
Dr. Allen Menkin Works to Dispel Mental Health Stigma
Mental health support and practices have come a long way in the last century . While there are no more icepick lobotomies being done on patients, people who have mental health disorders still experience anachronistic stigmas. As the creator of projects like the Allocca Developmental Disability Center at St. Clare’s, Dr. Allen Menkin understands the causes, signs, symptoms, and treatments for mental and behavioral disorders, especially in children, as well as the need to provide a safe environment and proper resources for healing.
Stigma about mental illness is still an issue today, mostly because people don’t truly understand. They think of those with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia as “crazies,” they suggest that people with anxiety “just stop worrying so much,” and that people with depression just need to “cheer up already.” What people like this don’t understand is that oftentimes these problems are due to chemical imbalances in the brain. Maybe there is not enough of one thing, too much of another, or maybe everything is there but just not communicating properly. Other cases, like PTSD, happen because the person experiences something so horrific that their brain can’t process it. And for some, genetics jumps in and starts handing out predispositions to certain disorders to people that seem least likely to have them.
It is difficult enough to have people without mental disorders imposing the stigma, but it can be harmful when affected people are so afraid of stigma that they deny their symptoms and delay or reject treatment. If there is something wrong with your GI tract, you see a gastroenterologist. If you have heart problems, you find a cardiologist. Skin issues? Dermatologist. These are organs, and is good to take care of them and keep them in good health. The brain is also an organ, and there is nothing wrong with seeing a specialist like Dr. Allen Menkin to help get your brain in better health. Physicians like Dr. Menkin want to stop the stigma around mental health.
