Take a moment to answer the following questions.

• Do written position descriptions protect your employees more than they do you?
• How frequently should you evaluate your staff’s performance?
• If a staff person is “exempt,” does this mean he or she is exempt from certain federal regulations relating to discrimination in the workplace?
• Is it a good idea to enter into investment relationships with your senior-level staff?
• Should employed physicians be held to different behavior standards than nonphysicians?

You’ll find the answers to these and many other questions in the 2009 Human Resources (HR) Management Primer. The 10 sections cover issues such as the importance of HR, practice governance, hiring, position descriptions, performance evaluations, and HR-related regulations. A quiz, glossary, and list of additional resources round out the contents.

If you didn’t pick up a copy of the Primer at the 2009 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, you can download it from the online Practice Management Center (www.aaos.org/pracman). You’ll find additional information in the Center, including sample position descriptions and an evaluation form.

Developed by the AAOS Practice Management Committee in conjunction with staff in the Academy’s practice management group, this is the third in a series of practice management publications. Previous Primers covered electronic medical records and picture archive and communication systems and can be downloaded from the online Practice Management Center.

The Practice Management Committee plans to produce a Primer every year on a topic of interest and importance to Academy fellows. Contact committee chair Stephen P. Makk, MD, MBA, at smakk@lbjs.netn with your suggestions for possible future topics.

Steven E. Fisher, MBA, is manager of the AAOS practice management group. He can be reached at sfisher@aaos.org or (847) 384-4331.