Shortage of Pathologists?

[Whiskeyjack]

What exactly is a 'good candidate'? I seen it bandied about on this forum regarding getting jobs but no one's actually given any particular traits of such an individual and how this will come across in either a CV or interview.

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[deleted314957]

AP/CP boarded, English FLUENT (generally AMG), post training experience ( and I don't count a fellowship/continuation of hand-holding) and an affable personality.
You may want to ask LaDoc opinion as he is closer to these employment issues than I am not in the game.

In my PERSONAL experience, the above trump where you went to med school (assuming AMG) and your residency/fellowship.

It is assumed that you have a license.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Haha. Its ironic- in order to be a good candidate to get a job you must somehow have been a good candidate to get a previous job (post training experience)!!

 

[Tissue issue]

What exactly is a 'good candidate'? I seen it bandied about on this forum regarding getting jobs but no one's actually given any particular traits of such an individual and how this will come across in either a CV or interview.

The answer to your good candidate question is entirely dependent on each specific job. Academic vs. private vs. corporate may have different things they're looking for. Regarding private groups, recently I have seen examples of a group wanting younger pathologists just out of fellowship and other groups want someone with experience. One group might prefer a man and another might prefer a woman for some particular job.
My advice is try to work on what you can control, such as your training, your competence and your demeanor. Those offering a job in pathology can be very particular about who they want. As I'm sure you've figured out, that means lots of effort (and perhaps some luck) on your part.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The answer to your good candidate question is entirely dependent on each specific job. Academic vs. private vs. corporate may have different things they're looking for. Regarding private groups, recently I have seen examples of a group wanting younger pathologists just out of fellowship and other groups want someone with experience. One group might prefer a man and another might prefer a woman for some particular job.
My advice is try to work on what you can control, such as your training, your competence and your demeanor. Those offering a job in pathology can be very particular about who they want. As I'm sure you've figured out, that means lots of effort (and perhaps some luck) on your part.

Thanks for the reply. But say I can control my training and competence... how do potential employers evaluate these variables? Sorry to be finicky and I'm not asking out of laziness and I'm pretty confident of my CV, I'm really just curious abt the process. Usually, i try to put myself in an employers shoes but short of a mini board exam at the interview or a one day real life trial as an attending at the practice those qualities seem pretty tough to judge. In that event it really is just having enough connections or luck to get through the door and then smiling and laughing at enough jokes to prove how affable you are.

 

[Tissue issue]

Thanks for the reply. But say I can control my training and competence... how do potential employers evaluate these variables? Sorry to be finicky and I'm not asking out of laziness and I'm pretty confident of my CV, I'm really just curious abt the process. Usually, i try to put myself in an employers shoes but short of a mini board exam at the interview or a one day real life trial as an attending at the practice those qualities seem pretty tough to judge. In that event it really is just having enough connections or luck to get through the door and then smiling and laughing at enough jokes to prove how affable you are.

Most of the time, the ideal situation for the employer is that someone already in the department/practice knows you and can vouch for your abilities/work ethic and lack of being a "problem" to get along with. Given our oversupply, most employers can identify or wait for such an individual. There is a small pool of jobs left without a candidate preselected. Within this small pool, it just comes down to whatever the specific employer wants. A group of experienced pathologists without a crushing workload may not care if a new grad will be showing lots of cases and their criteria will differ from another employer who needs someone who can immediately sign out a lot of cases without much help.
Hope this helps some.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

It does. Thanks.

 

[1 Path]

Usually, i try to put myself in an employers shoes but short of a mini board exam at the interview or a one day real life trial as an attending at the practice those qualities seem pretty tough to judge.

This is why many of the better positions are never broadly advertised, go to candidates with inside connections, etc-In pathology it tends to be hard to judge the quality of a candidate unless you personally know and trust someone who has direct experience with the candidate. My own experience when my practice was looking for a new hire is that almost anyone can manage to scrounge several glowing letters of reference, even those applicants for whom just a brief phone interview is sufficient to reveal that verbal communication is an esoteric and challenging endeavor....or who are grossly incompetent as reported by more reliable sources.

 

[KCShaw]

I think employers generally want the same 'kind' of person that you would want as a co- or immediately junior resident/fellow -- independent and confident enough to efficiently do their job without bothering you but communicative enough that you know what they're up to, knows their limitations but doesn't have many of them to worry about or that you need to help with, you kinda enjoy bumping into them in the hall and may even seek them out for lunch, and they know enough about certain things that you might actually learn something from them too. That, only at attending level, and unfortunately independence, confidence, and few limitations mostly comes with real world sign-out experience -- ergo, that's a big thing many employers look for, although a few still like the idea of "molding" younger pathologists into their kind of pathologist, as well as the idea that they are generally cheaper.

 

[leu345]

AP/CP boarded, English FLUENT (generally AMG), post training experience ( and I don't count a fellowship/continuation of hand-holding) and an affable personality.
You may want to ask LaDoc opinion as he is closer to these employment issues than I am not in the game.

In my PERSONAL experience, the above trump where you went to med school (assuming AMG) and your residency/fellowship.

It is assumed that you have a license.

Wow, it seems that most IMGs will never be a GOOD candidate, ha?

 

[deleted314957]

Wow, it seems that most IMGs will never be a GOOD candidate, ha?

Not at all. I've known many who were very fluent and possessed the other attributes I mentioned. Lets face it, good communication skills are essential and there are a lot of people who don't possess them, but it is disproportionately IMGs for whom English is not their native language.