interviewing for first attending position

[gman33]

Just started sending out my CV for first attending position.
Any tips on the interview process.
I was a manager in a previous career, have been on both sides of the hiring process many, many times.
I have some insight into what employers like to see in a candidate.

My guess what an ED wants in a doc:
see a lot of patients
don't complain about the schedule
don't piss off patients or consultants

Any particular questions I should be asking or be prepared to answer.

I've read most of the threads that discuss what to look for in particular jobs.
Just wanted to start a discussion more focused on the actual hiring process.

On a side note, if anyone knows about any opportunities in and around Philly, shoot me a PM.

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[Birdstrike]

Any tips on the interview process.
I was a manager in a previous career, have been on both sides of the hiring process many, many times.
I have some insight into what employers like to see in a candidate.

You should have no problem. It's no different than any other job interview process. What's more important is your interview of them, and finding out what job is the right fit for you. You would know as well as anyone, they're selling themselves, just as much as you are. Do as many interviews as you have time for and find the right fit. Rent year 1 if possible, so you can be mobile if it turns out not to be as advertised. My 2 ¢.

 

[tkim]

Present left or right wrist so they can check for a pulse.

You're hired!

 

[Groove]

Don't overanalyze it. Just remember that you're a valuable commodity and can essentially work anywhere in the country that you choose. There are hundreds of EDs that would count their lucky stars to have a newly trained and competent EP like yourself. You may not be at the peak of your experience, but you're at the peak of your formal education and raw (comprehensive) knowledge base and should certainly be solidly trained at this point. Relax. Positive thinking.

Put the onus on them to sell the position to you and exude confidence. People love to hire new grads and brainwash them into thinking they are so incredibly blessed to be working at (insert religious denomination, charity or university name) hospital. It's much easier to abuse someone who doesn't know any better.

-Rent for a year. It takes 6-8 months to get the "feel" and decide whether that is where you want to be long term or not.
-Don't sign anything more than a 2 year contract. All sign on bonuses are negotiable. You're fresh out of residency, likely in debt... Money talks.
-Get a lawyer to review your contract and do your due diligence. I had mine also research any lawsuits that had been filed against the ED in the last 5 years.
-Always have an exit strategy if things get hairy. Credential at other hospitals for occasional "PRN" work. +/- another state license. If you find a deal breaker in a few months, you can make a smooth transition without loss of income.
-If you have a sign on bonus, negotiate vesting language so you're not stuck paying the entire thing back if you land your dream job and have to leave 1 month prior to finishing your contract.
-Again, have your lawyer review your contract. Big items: Termination clauses. Compensation. Get a copy of the COI. Dispute Resolution (include a clause for arbitration). Vesting language if you have a sign on bonus, etc.. CMG contracts are more standard and SDG contracts have more bizarre language, I've found. You're lawyer will want to dissect the thing to pieces so you want to reign them back a bit and just identify the points that are important to you so that you're not "that guy" with a billion demands, half of which are really not that important.
-If you sign with an SDG with no sign on, lengthy and hefty buy in and promises of leprechauns, pots of gold and candlelit initiation ceremonies with "open books" that are more like open "tables of contents"... Caveat Emptor.

Good luck on your first job!

 

[deleted547339]

Present left or right wrist so they can check for a pulse.

You're hired!

Should I be concerned if they ask to check your femoral?

 

[Birdstrike]

Should I be concerned if they ask to check your femoral?

Yes. Especially if they linger.

 

[Alvarez13]

Should I be concerned if they ask to check your femoral?

Are they hott? Maybe not.

 

[gman33]

Any more thoughts on this topic?
Starting my first interviews this week.

 

[GoBuckeyes913]

They like you on paper, so they've invited you to their house to see if you like eachother in person. Kind of like dating! (Hello lingering fem artery.... Kidding. I've had a lot of caffeine tonight, apologies).

Don't sign any contract immediately in front of them. Lawyers and your ED chairman/attendings can help too if you don't have a lawyer.

You need to make a list of questions, or you can use my OCD list when I interviewed (I've kept it around to give to my residents). Most of these questions are going to get answered automatically during your interview day, but take a picture and put this on your phone and whip it out if you forget. They are not going to think you are weird. Also, ask for a copy of the most recent schedule, that will give you a gist on what your life will be like.

 

[FutureInternist]

Just say you love Pres-Ganey !!

 

[Birdstrike]

Also, ask for a copy of the most recent schedule

Yes!

Hmm...They told me I'd be working 140 hr per month, yet there's not a single person on this schedule working less than 200, with routine 24 hr night-to-day turn arounds. Hmm...

 

[trkd]

I agree with the others. I think we spent years trying to get interviews and impress at interviews. Yet, after residency or fellowship, it suddenly flipped and EDs were more trying to impress the applicant and get you to work there. This seems to be the case in all but the most competitive markets and programs (I say that because San Diego can be a bit tough when people are looking for a full-time gig so there are many working per diem at multiple spots which is easy to do). Don't worry about the interviews too much. Most likely they will be trying harder to impress you than the other way around.

 

[trkd]

To add onto GoBuckeyes913's question #40, ask how many people have become partner in the past 5 years. I say this because there is a group in town (with a terrible retention rate and always looking to hire) that has not accepted a partner in over 10 years. The partners work the daytime and weekday shifts. Per diems work everything else and never make partner. I imagine this is unusual but worth asking.

 

[gman33]

They like you on paper, so they've invited you to their house to see if you like eachother in person. Kind of like dating! (Hello lingering fem artery.... Kidding. I've had a lot of caffeine tonight, apologies).

Don't sign any contract immediately in front of them. Lawyers and your ED chairman/attendings can help too if you don't have a lawyer.

You need to make a list of questions, or you can use my OCD list when I interviewed (I've kept it around to give to my residents). Most of these questions are going to get answered automatically during your interview day, but take a picture and put this on your phone and whip it out if you forget. They are not going to think you are weird. Also, ask for a copy of the most recent schedule, that will give you a gist on what your life will be like.

Thanks so much for the helpful list of questions.

 

[Jamers]

Present left or right wrist so they can check for a pulse.

You're hired!

That's how my interview was. But you forgot "pee in the cup."

 

[tkim]

That's how my interview was. But you forgot "pee in the cup."

I didn't have to, and am not sure I would in order to get a job.

 

[EctopicFetus]

As someone involved with hiring docs I think it goes without saying but

1) Be professional all the time and this does involve the secretary and any other office staff
2) Dont pretend your $h-t dont stink
3) Be humble

Ill just say this, at a crappy job they probably dont care. Do you want that job? At a good job we look for any reason to narrow our options. Being a prick or unprofessional is a quick way to help us make our decision.

The good jobs care about your behavior and professionalism because while you may be a hot commodity for a "regular" job the best jobs out there have momre candidates than they can handle.

 

[gman33]

This is a little off the first topic, but what are some things to look out for in your first job?

Single coverage is a little scary to me.
The unexpected surge of sicks patients or ones that need procedures that take time.
Beyond that component, I also like having other physicians around.
Not so much for the occasional question, more for the social component.
I think it might feel isolating to work as the only doc.

 

[Arcan57]

To the OP:
Have at least a vague understanding of the importance of patient satisfaction to most directors. Being able to toss out buzzwords like AIDET or Studer training makes them feel less like they're going to spend the majority of their time dealing with patients you've pissed off.

This is a little off the first topic, but what are some things to look out for in your first job?

Single coverage is a little scary to me.
The unexpected surge of sicks patients or ones that need procedures that take time.
Beyond that component, I also like having other physicians around.
Not so much for the occasional question, more for the social component.
I think it might feel isolating to work as the only doc.

It is isolating, but so is double coverage. In some set-ups you'll be in completely separate geographic areas and in others you'll both be so busy that you may only exchange a handful of words during a shift. You'll actually end up knowing much more about the midlevels and the nurses then you will your fellow docs.

In terms of things to look for, you want reasonably high acuity and something that encompasses a pretty broad swathe of the practice of EM. If you don't do it in your first 5 years out, you'll probably never be comfortable doing it. My first job had pretty much everything (gomers, organ transplant, ESRD, pacemaker/LVAD/AICD, cancer, ob/gyn, occasional penetrating trauma) except we never saw kids. Moving to my current job it had been 3 years since I had done anything other than tube a crashing neonate for the pediatrician and it took a board-review style effort to get comfortable with seeing peds again. If you're at a shop where nobody is sick or where you're expected to make a dispo decision based on first impression and let the doc upstairs sort it out, then you're instincts are going to be blunted and it's going to be tough to move to a more challenging environment.

 

[Birdstrike]

Single coverage is a little scary to me.
The unexpected surge of sicks patients or ones that need procedures that take time.
.

Single coverage is kind of where you earn your stripes, a little bit. It can test you sometimes. Unless it's a tiny ED, most shifts at most EDs won't be single coverage anyways, accept maybe at night. I agree, though, it's definitely a lot more fun to work with more people around. But in a busy slammed-all-the-time ED, there's not much time to be joking around or talking much if people are buried in patients constantly.