After your residency, how do you find a job?

[MedSchlHopeful]

I know that sounds stupid, but I'm serious. Do most people get offered positions as attendings at the hospital they do their residency at, or do you have to search out a job elsewhere? If so, how difficult is it to find a job? I'm interested in anesthesiology (not pain management), so I wouldn't have the option of opening my own practice... Just curious, thanks!

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[do2b2007]

During my June rotation, many of the graduating residents I worked with were basically applying for jobs/interviewing. One physician who was my preceptor actually posted his cv online and received offers, one of which he accepted and now enjoys. I also worked with another graduating resident who was asked to take over one of his retiring supervisor's practice.

So you have many ways how to go about it.

 

[elwademd]

in my experience (internal medicine), recruiters hit hard- snail mail to home and the hospital, e-mail, calling the hospital/dropping by the hospital and learning who the residents are in order to page them and talk, etc., ads are posted around the hospital, ads are sent to the residency, ads are sent to the program coordinator/secretary.

also, private attendings may approach you.

also, drug reps (whether you like them or hate them) keep their ears open and may inform you of local availabilities as well.

add to that, there are plenty of websites that you might find helpful, such as www.practicematch.com.

depending on how soon you want to start looking or how late, there are likely to be opportunities available.

personally, i've already started interviewing and have an offer to begin right out of residency. other residents wait later in the game.

 

[Winged Scapula]

As noted above, there are myriad ways of going about getting a job after residency/fellowship. Unfortunately, most training programs do not offer a lot of information on how to navigate this process.

Recruiters will often contact residents, even as early as the middle of their training (I started getting them as a 3rd year surgical resident), with offers. They are not your friend and generally are not looking out for your best interests, but they do have job opportunities which you may not hear about otherwise.

Trade journals and national organizations generally have ads for open positions.

Your PD may get letters from other programs looking for new faculty; these are generally limited to academic positions but some well funded private practices may also send out letters/flyers to residency programs.

My colleagues were a good source of information as well; they would hear about jobs that they thought I might be interested in and I would return the favor. Let people know what you are looking for and where and they will help you.

Finally, do not dismiss the idea of cold calling or simply asking a hospital or corporation to help you start a practice. My new partner did this...pretty ballsy, but it worked and she was successful in starting a practice in a community that she wanted to live in.

I encourage people to start looking early...a year before you finish training is not too soon. You would be suprised at how long the process takes, from application evaluation, interviews, second interviews, contract negotiations, etc. Then you have licensing, credentialing, etc. to consider if you are moving out of state

 

[RockfordWF]

I know that sounds stupid, but I'm serious. Do most people get offered positions as attendings at the hospital they do their residency at, or do you have to search out a job elsewhere? If so, how difficult is it to find a job? I'm interested in anesthesiology (not pain management), so I wouldn't have the option of opening my own practice... Just curious, thanks!

A combination of job offers and you searching out and interviewing with different places.

 

[PT PEDS MD]

My last job I found reading the back of NEJM! It was a Pediatric position.

 

[mdjobexchange]

People who have graduated from your program are your best bets. Friends of friends are next best. After that, start checking the various online job boards. Journals are OK, but some hospital systems are ditching print ads because of their cost and low efficacy. For anesthesia, gaswork.com is the dominant player. After that, try
practicematch.com
healthecareers.com
practicelink.com
medworking.com
doccafe.com

There are a bunch of other ones, but beware, many require you to register and they are owned by a recruiting agency. If you give them your usual email address, or cellphone it will blow up. Some recruiters are ethical and won't stalk you, but some can drive you crazy. Make a new hotmail/yahoo email and list a phone number at work.

Recruiters can be good, just be very clear about what your desires/needs are and maybe even send them in writing. These people deal with many doctors and it is easy to mix them up.

Whatever you do, be sure to ask many questions, especially the hard ones. These include, the financial health of the practice, income trends, medicare percentage, and current hospital politics. I just talked to an old friend of mine last nite who moved across the country for a job (where he knew somebody) and after he got there, he found out he was a pawn in a hospital political battle. He ended up leaving after 3 weeks because it was not what it had been advertised as.

Also, think about doing locum tenens after finishing. You can make some serious cash doing it (especially in anesthesia) and it will give you the lay of the land in a particular area, or even the whole state where you are thinking about working. It can also show you good areas that you had not considered before. One great thing about locums is that there is no malpractice tail to pay, so when you get tired of it, you can slide out of locums and into a permanent job with no baggage.

 

[JadeWell]

As noted above, there are myriad ways of going about getting a job after residency/fellowship. Unfortunately, most training programs do not offer a lot of information on how to navigate this process.

Recruiters will often contact residents, even as early as the middle of their training (I started getting them as a 3rd year surgical resident), with offers. They are not your friend and generally are not looking out for your best interests, but they do have job opportunities which you may not hear about otherwise.

Trade journals and national organizations generally have ads for open positions.

Your PD may get letters from other programs looking for new faculty; these are generally limited to academic positions but some well funded private practices may also send out letters/flyers to residency programs.

My colleagues were a good source of information as well; they would hear about jobs that they thought I might be interested in and I would return the favor. Let people know what you are looking for and where and they will help you.

Finally, do not dismiss the idea of cold calling or simply asking a hospital or corporation to help you start a practice. My new partner did this...pretty ballsy, but it worked and she was successful in starting a practice in a community that she wanted to live in.

I encourage people to start looking early...a year before you finish training is not too soon. You would be suprised at how long the process takes, from application evaluation, interviews, second interviews, contract negotiations, etc. Then you have licensing, credentialing, etc. to consider if you are moving out of state

Actually some recruiters are your friend if they are in life sciences than they are already connected to opportunities, it sure isn't going to hurt to reach out to a life science recruiter and have them looking!

 

[BoardingDoc]

Actually some recruiters are your friend if they are in life sciences than they are already connected to opportunities, it sure isn't going to hurt to reach out to a life science recruiter and have them looking!

Thank you for taking the time to respond to a comment made 10 years ago.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to a comment made 10 years ago.

At least it's to an active user...

 

[Raryn]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to a comment made 10 years ago.

99% sure that poster is a recruiter. This is their only other post on the forum.

 

[JadeWell]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to a comment made 10 years ago.[/QUOTE
Just inserting my opinion on an outdated post, thank you for noticing all my activity! Lets keep in touch.

 

[JadeWell]

These topics come up when you search, if they are too outdated to comment on, perhaps they should be deleted?

 

[JadeWell]

99% sure that poster is a recruiter. This is their only other post on the forum.

Riiiight Dr. House.