Applying for a Hospitalist Job

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TimeMaster

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Probably a bad time to be posting this with the residency interviews going on but wondering about AFTER residency. I wanted pursue a hospitalist position for a year inbetween residency and fellowship. Specifically:

1. When do you start looking for openings

2. Do you let the job site know this will be for a year

3. Often what are employers looking for, ie, what should I prepare to make me a stronger application (apply for DEA?, Procedure Log actually signed off, do I need to actually get a signature for doing an NG tube placement or do they take that as a given after 3 years of residency)

Thanks in advance for any help!

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Probably a bad time to be posting this with the residency interviews going on but wondering about AFTER residency. I wanted pursue a hospitalist position for a year inbetween residency and fellowship. Specifically:

1. When do you start looking for openings

2. Do you let the job site know this will be for a year

3. Often what are employers looking for, ie, what should I prepare to make me a stronger application (apply for DEA?, Procedure Log actually signed off, do I need to actually get a signature for doing an NG tube placement or do they take that as a given after 3 years of residency)

Thanks in advance for any help!


1. You didn't post where you are in residency at the moment, but generally you want to start looking for a job around ~november or so of 3rd year. Getting through the credentialing process to get staff privileges can take up to 3 months at some hospitals, so you want a job offering ASAP - you dont want to get an offer in june and not be able to start for 3+ months. If you plan to take IM boards you would take it around this time as well.

2. Tricky question, and definitely depends on the position. I guarantee you any program WILL attempt to determine whether you want a position for a year or two or are looking for something long term. Although it is still doable, finding short term positions is becoming increasingly more difficult as more people enter hospital medicine.

3. I can't imagine any program ever asking about your procedure log. In general they would expect some competency with core IM procedures. The amount of procedural work also varies INCREDIBLY between positions. I've been an attending for 5 years, and in 2 different jobs I've had to do a total of 0 central lines myself. I've supervised maybe a half dozen lines with residents. I've done a fair amount of thora's, para's, and LP's but even those I don't do any more since we established an inpatient procedure service at my current job. my last job the IR department (since it was at a private hospital) would literally jump at the chance to do any procedure so I didn't ever need to bother doing them myself. I did discuss one position over the phone with one director and they were all doing their own swans and intubations - things I barely had to do as a resident and certainly did not want to be doing all the time as an attending.

When you need to get a DEA as a resident varies between programs I think. I was at a county program so did not need my own DEA as a resident, but I thought most needed it earlier? Regardless, you absolutely CAN NOT work as an attending without a DEA #, so you definitely want to get it taken care of.

I'm not entirely sure what you can do to make yourself look like a stronger candidate for a short term position since those people we often try to weed out. Although I guarantee if you wanted to be a nocturnist for a year I'm sure some program would love that. =p
 
1. You didn't post where you are in residency at the moment, but generally you want to start looking for a job around ~november or so of 3rd year. Getting through the credentialing process to get staff privileges can take up to 3 months at some hospitals, so you want a job offering ASAP - you dont want to get an offer in june and not be able to start for 3+ months. If you plan to take IM boards you would take it around this time as well.

2. Tricky question, and definitely depends on the position. I guarantee you any program WILL attempt to determine whether you want a position for a year or two or are looking for something long term. Although it is still doable, finding short term positions is becoming increasingly more difficult as more people enter hospital medicine.

3. I can't imagine any program ever asking about your procedure log. In general they would expect some competency with core IM procedures. The amount of procedural work also varies INCREDIBLY between positions. I've been an attending for 5 years, and in 2 different jobs I've had to do a total of 0 central lines myself. I've supervised maybe a half dozen lines with residents. I've done a fair amount of thora's, para's, and LP's but even those I don't do any more since we established an inpatient procedure service at my current job. my last job the IR department (since it was at a private hospital) would literally jump at the chance to do any procedure so I didn't ever need to bother doing them myself. I did discuss one position over the phone with one director and they were all doing their own swans and intubations - things I barely had to do as a resident and certainly did not want to be doing all the time as an attending.

When you need to get a DEA as a resident varies between programs I think. I was at a county program so did not need my own DEA as a resident, but I thought most needed it earlier? Regardless, you absolutely CAN NOT work as an attending without a DEA #, so you definitely want to get it taken care of.

I'm not entirely sure what you can do to make yourself look like a stronger candidate for a short term position since those people we often try to weed out. Although I guarantee if you wanted to be a nocturnist for a year I'm sure some program would love that. =p

Good question! Great answer! Thanks

Anyone else know what makes a good candidate for a certain job post residency?
What if one wants to be a hospitalist at a teaching hospital? Say Virginia Mason...

Thanks again.
 
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You absolutely should tell your potential employer that you will only be working there for a year. It's a personal and professional courtesy. You may have trouble finding a position now, as the previous poster noted, credentialing takes months.

You'll need to get your DEA number, which is rather easy. You'll also need to get your license. Most trainees work under a temporary license sponsored by the training program. Some states have their own controlled substance license as well. This process can take months as well depending on the state.

There are some academic hospitalist positions around. You just have to ask. Some of the larger hospital networks have academic positions as well. As this time it may be worth your while to contact some of the large chains and/or a headhunter as they can expedite the process and present options.
 
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I am a current short term (1 year) hospitalist. I stayed at the hospital I did my residency at; the application/interview for my was a formality for the most part as my division is a very busy one and as they already knew me there wasn't much hesitancy in the hiring decision. They knew ahead of time that I was only going to be there for 1 year before I left for fellowship. 5 of my residency classmates did the same track. Many programs I think are open to taking short term hospitalists, espically if they are busy, or if they need you to fill a specific niche like nocturnalist. I think in the near future, hospitalist divisions are going to be hiring more hospitalists as the practice model becomes more prevelant, and because with the way fellowship application timeline is changing, there are a lot fewer people who will be doing short term hospitalist jobs.
 
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