Episode 43 - Resident to DPC Owner: The Real Costs & Strategy with Dr. Claire Russell

Primary Care| DPC Podcast| DPC Marketing

June 17, 2026•2 min read

Today my guest is Dr. Claire Russell, a family medicine resident in Hendersonville, NC who is weeks away from graduation and getting ready to open Clinic by the Sea in Morehead City, NC. Dr. Russell is part of a growing wave of new physicians choosing to step straight from residency into DPC, and she's building her practice from the ground up in a small coastal community. We talk about her childhood dreams of being a country doc, why she chose a rural family medicine residency on purpose, the messaging she's writing for her clinic, and why one should do things even if you don’t feel ready. If you're a resident, a student, or anyone wondering whether you have to wait years before you start, this conversation is for you.

IN THIS EPISODE

Going straight from residency into DPC and why more new graduates are choosing this path

Why Claire picked a rural family medicine residency to get the broad scope DPC requires
The brand voice behind Clinic by the Sea: hanging your shingle and being a family doctor again
Enrollment fee or no enrollment fee, and the timing of opening the wait list
"Do it scared": why your landing page does not need to be perfect to go live

Practice: Clinic by the Sea (opening October 2026)

Location: Morehead City, NC (Carteret County)

Specialty: Family Medicine

Residency: MAHEC Hendersonville (graduating June 2026)

Wait List Opens: July 2026

CONNECT WITH DR. RUSSELL

Website: https://www.clinicbytheseadpc.com/ launching summer 2026

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clinicbytheseadpc/

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Anne Gonzalez

Dr. Gonzalez was born in NYC, but grew up in Virginia. She graduated from the University of Virginia and Eastern Virginia Medical School before completing her Family Medicine residency and Geriatrics Fellowship in 2002 at USC in Columbia, SC. She worked in Morganton, NC for 5 years at Burke Primary Care. After that, she headed the Primary Care Department at A Woman's View for 13 years and taught part time at the Geriatrics Fellowship in Morganton. She appreciates the privilege of working with her patients to improve their health, independence, and quality of life. She is Board Certified in Family Medicine and has a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatrics.

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