Bizarre interview - thoughts?

[Piebaldi]

Hey pain peeps.
So I recently had a phone screen with a "practice manager" for an interventional type position once I finish fellowship.
Person asked a lot of questions, which was fine, but didn't quite seem to know what the group was looking for in a new physician, or what the position involved. The person also kept arguing with me on things on my CV - asking me why did I choose now to do fellowship vs. general rehab (not sure why it would matter?), didn't really know the difference between general rehab and interventional pain, questioned my ties to the location despite me being a midwestener most of my life outside of training, questioned whether I had been in the area recently, what type of community did I want to be in, how manypeople were in my fellowship, why did I pick this fellowship, why i did this or that. Then this person spent like 10 minutes telling me about the area and this and that, and whether I knew the surrounding local communities, etc etc.

I let the recruiter know I had no interest in this. Is this me or does this sound bizarre? Why are practice managers "screening" physicians? shouldn't physicians discuss the position with a physician? This just seemed so odd and aggressive.

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[SommeRiver]

This should be fun.

 

[dc2md]

Maybe this practice has had turnover of interventional pain physicians. Maybe it's their first one and she doesn't know enough.

Is this an otherwise undesirable place in the Midwest? Bad schools? Violence? Declining economy/industry? Give us a state and city.

It is strange not to be speaking with the CEO though.

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[Piebaldi]

Maybe this practice has had turnover of interventional pain physicians. Maybe it's their first one and she doesn't know enough.

Is this an otherwise undesirable place in the Midwest? Bad schools? Violence? Declining economy/industry? Give us a state and city.

It is strange not to be speaking with the CEO though.

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The person mentioned they had several physicians who covered - I even asked so is the plan to have one full time physician and the other physicians won't be there anywhere? There wasn't a clear answer. When I asked things like what were they looking for the person seemed to not be clear and said they would ask the physicians how much interventional work they was needed, etc. It's a typical Midwest city, I have ties to the city and again have lived in the midwest most of my life, I think overall is a pretty nice community.
I would imagine that one of the physicians would do a screen. What is the point of speaking with a "manager" who really can't answer questions about the position, but rahter just give you information about the community? It's a massive waste of time for everyone.
And why would it matter how many people are in the fellowship? or why this fellowship was picked? These are not questions one asks a physician at this stage of the game. This person was asking me about internship!
I would imagine it would matter that the physician has the type of training they need (ie - i'm if a group is looking for. a Cardiologist, and someone with a Cardiology fellowship applies, there you go - why they picked that fellowship, or the number of ppl in the fellowship, why they picked that city for fellowship, etc) is completely and utterly irrelevant.

 

[dc2md]

Maybe they just wanted to weed out people that would be easily annoyed by basic questions. Honestly, I wouldn't want to work with someone that would be this annoyed by these questions.

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[Piebaldi]

Why does it matter where the fellowship was done, and the number of fellows?

 

[jsaul]

Yep peibaldi sorry to say but I think they just weeded you out.

 

[Piebaldi]

Yep peibaldi sorry to say but I think they just weeded you out.

I have 0 interest in this position. I just thought it was so odd. If they want something so specific, why don't they just say it and not waste everyone's time? For me it's concerning that they have several physicians that cover different days of the week, and that they couldn't tell me what the job was.

 

[jsaul]

I thank.you piebaldi for distracting us from doctodd shenanigans

 

[Piebaldi]

I don't know who that is, but I am glad to be of service!

 

[dc2md]

Why does it matter where the fellowship was done, and the number of fellows?

Dude, it's just small talk. It doesn't matter how good you are at your job, if you're annoyed by every little thing, the staff and admin and fellow physicians won't want to work with you.

This has given me a great idea for when we hire another interventional pain doc.

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[Piebaldi]

Dude, it's just small talk. It doesn't matter how good you are at your job, if you're annoyed by every little thing, the staff and admin and fellow physicians won't want to work with you.

This has given me a great idea for when we hire another interventional pain doc.

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No, it wasn't small talk. It was like an inquisition. There was a lot of "why would you ...."
I interviewed with a different group the previous week, also with a practice manager, and the practice manager was perfectly reasonable, to the point, knew what the group wanted, etc. It unfortunately did not work for when they wanted the coverage, but there was no inquisition. It was pleasant, polite, they knew what they were looking for.

Are you going to argue with your future pain physician candidates as to whether they really did this or that? Lol.

 

[lobelsteve]

Maybe they asked questions to see how you would respond and not to get any particular answer. I think he is saying you failed the interview because the practice manager got a rise out of you. It’s important to know how someone will handle pressure as in when things go wrong in the OR.

 

[Piebaldi]

Maybe they asked questions to see how you would respond and not to get any particular answer. I think he is saying you failed the interview because the practice manager got a rise out of you. It’s important to know how someone will handle pressure as in when things go wrong in the OR.

You still didn't answer my question about - if you really do live with your parents - how it works when mrs lobelsteve is present .... haha

 

[lobelsteve]

You still didn't answer my question about - if you really do live with your parents - how it works when mrs lobelsteve is present .... haha

Nope. Dad died 12 yrs ago. Mom is RN in NJ and not willing to move South.

 

[hyperalgesia]

Why does it matter where the fellowship was done, and the number of fellows?

It really sounds like they were trying to have a small talk conversation with you. This is a way to get to know someone. This is an invitation for you to let your guard down, go off script, and just be a friendly, normal person.

When someone gets defensive, it makes me think they are high maintenance. If their delicate sensibilities are offended or triggered, they will write up a formal complaint, file charges, and otherwise cause mayhem.

 

[DOctorJay]

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[paindoc007]

Hyperalgesia hit the nail on the end. The end of the day, asking Qs like “why did you choose fellowship now” is not grilling or pimping, but getting to know you, and seeing how you respond and getting to know your personality.

And if you got as defensive and upset as it seems by your initial post, it’s a red flag that you’re high maintenance and will b more drama than it’s worth for the practice.

One day, If you ever own your own practice, or are a director or some sort and have to interview someone for your faculty, I promise you, you’ll do the exact same thing. Ask questions, test the waters, and if you feel drama/diva/high maintenance/ or just flat out unlikable, you’ll pass on that candidate .

 

[Piebaldi]

Hyperalgesia hit the nail on the end. The end of the day, asking Qs like “why did you choose fellowship now” is not grilling or pimping, but getting to know you, and seeing how you respond and getting to know your personality.

And if you got as defensive and upset as it seems by your initial post, it’s a red flag that you’re high maintenance and will b more drama than it’s worth for the practice.

One day, If you ever own your own practice, or are a director or some sort and have to interview someone for your faculty, I promise you, you’ll do the exact same thing. Ask questions, test the waters, and if you feel drama/diva/high maintenance/ or just flat out unlikable, you’ll pass on that candidate .

I don't mind the questions, but it was a painful dissection of every word I said, every statement on my CV, going back like 10 + years, etc. Something didn't seem right. It seemed as though the person didnt trust anything I was saying to the point where i almost was going to be like ok i dont think this is working. As if they wanted to catch me on something and be like ha! It was more like an inquisition than anything. And given the terms - no partnership, it seemed to have a weird set up with physicians covering one day a week, and I was even told something along the lines of the surgeons didnt want to take their valuable time to see whether patients needed surgery but rather wanted to "operate" and that they were looking for someone to take care of patients "in a different way" it didn't seem like a place I'd want to be. Obviously I didn't talk to any of the physicians so I have no clue what the group is like, but I just didn't get a good vibe.

 

[Orin]

It's hard to say without listening in on things.

I would offer that no matter who is interviewing you, it is important to remember you're being interviewed no matter who you talk to or interact with. I learn a lot about applicants from talking to the secretaries or other staff they interact with. My security guard gives great evaluations based off of cars and how they enter the building. My NPs find out info about social lives/family better than I do. Every datapoint is taken into account eventually.

At the end of the day, if your gut said no, then go with it. Personally, I can tell you I have significant trust problems with certain types of leaders so I have to challenge my feelings about that based on what is factual and what is perception on a regular basis. Sometimes your gut is wrong. If over time you realize that your gut suffers from anxiety/paranoia, maybe address that with a therapist, but if it works out, then go with your gut.

 

[Piebaldi]

It's hard to say without listening in on things.

I would offer that no matter who is interviewing you, it is important to remember you're being interviewed no matter who you talk to or interact with. I learn a lot about applicants from talking to the secretaries or other staff they interact with. My security guard gives great evaluations based off of cars and how they enter the building. My NPs find out info about social lives/family better than I do. Every datapoint is taken into account eventually.

At the end of the day, if your gut said no, then go with it. Personally, I can tell you I have significant trust problems with certain types of leaders so I have to challenge my feelings about that based on what is factual and what is perception on a regular basis. Sometimes your gut is wrong. If over time you realize that your gut suffers from anxiety/paranoia, maybe address that with a therapist, but if it works out, then go with your gut.

Yes I think you bring up a valid point. I can totally understand people wanting to ask questions and find out stuff about candidates, without a doubt. But at the same time if everything that a candidate says is not trusted it becomes outright uncomfortable. I've had some interviews last hours and I have been asked everything under the sun. I don't mind that, but it's as if everythign said is taken as some sort of I'm going to question that, it's exhausting. No thanks.

 

[Orin]

Yes I think you bring up a valid point. I can totally understand people wanting to ask questions and find out stuff about candidates, without a doubt. But at the same time if everything that a candidate says is not trusted it becomes outright uncomfortable. I've had some interviews last hours and I have been asked everything under the sun. I don't mind that, but it's as if everythign said is taken as some sort of I'm going to question that, it's exhausting. No thanks.

Yeah, no one wants to be on the defensive the whole time. There are some specific interview techniques that call for being interrogative, but in general they're dumb. This may have been someone what was hoping to weed you out for someone else they already liked and just needed data to corroborate that. The simplest way to find out is to start asking in your answers follow on questions to them in the same vein.

i.e. So are you and most of the providers from the Midwest? What college did they go to? Are they involved in the local yahtzee club?

If they're looking for a connection, they'll generally bite and go through things, as they just want something more than just the stock filler.

 

[Piebaldi]

Yeah, no one wants to be on the defensive the whole time. There are some specific interview techniques that call for being interrogative, but in general they're dumb. This may have been someone what was hoping to weed you out for someone else they already liked and just needed data to corroborate that. The simplest way to find out is to start asking in your answers follow on questions to them in the same vein.

i.e. So are you and most of the providers from the Midwest? What college did they go to? Are they involved in the local yahtzee club?

If they're looking for a connection, they'll generally bite and go through things, as they just want something more than just the stock filler.

Well I can appreciate that they can hire whoever they want as it's their group, but given the current situation that they have based on what I was told, it seems peculiar to me. And if they are looking for a unicorn that's fine that's their right, but then just say so from the beginning and not waste the person's time. Again for me i have been a midwestener all my life, and have ties to the area. But the questions were so specific (ie - have u been here in the past x years? have you been to this specific city nearby? why would x be that way? why would u do that this way?) At one point I just didn't even know what to say.

It's as if you tell me, I went to Harvard. And I'm like - did you REALLY go to Harvard? And you are like oh yes definitely, it was a great experience. And I say - raelly? Was it TRULY a great experience? You -- umm yes, yes it was. Lol. That type of thing kept happening. I was like ok not sure whether I'm being sensitive or I'm just not what they are looking for or what.

 

[Laryngospasm]

Hey pain peeps.
So I recently had a phone screen with a "practice manager" for an interventional type position once I finish fellowship.
Person asked a lot of questions, which was fine, but didn't quite seem to know what the group was looking for in a new physician, or what the position involved. The person also kept arguing with me on things on my CV - asking me why did I choose now to do fellowship vs. general rehab (not sure why it would matter?), didn't really know the difference between general rehab and interventional pain, questioned my ties to the location despite me being a midwestener most of my life outside of training, questioned whether I had been in the area recently, what type of community did I want to be in, how manypeople were in my fellowship, why did I pick this fellowship, why i did this or that. Then this person spent like 10 minutes telling me about the area and this and that, and whether I knew the surrounding local communities, etc etc.

I let the recruiter know I had no interest in this. Is this me or does this sound bizarre? Why are practice managers "screening" physicians? shouldn't physicians discuss the position with a physician? This just seemed so odd and aggressive.

My perspective is this. Many places have had docs come and go and are quite Leary of training them and investing in them advertising and building a practice only to have them leave a year or two later. They could have just been genuinely inquisitive about what was drawing you there. Now if they were outright rude or inappropriate that’s A whole other deal. Also they may have been evaluating your personality before offering an interview to see if you had a holier than thou attitude which no one wants to deal with.

 

[Piebaldi]

My perspective is this. Many places have had docs come and go and are quite Leary of training them and investing in them advertising and building a practice only to have them leave a year or two later. They could have just been genuinely inquisitive about what was drawing you there. Now if they were outright rude or inappropriate that’s A whole other deal. Also they may have been evaluating your personality before offering an interview to see if you had a holier than thou attitude which no one wants to deal with.

Your statement regardingthe whole investing and training physicians, etc. is very valid - i did get the impression even though it was not said that they might have had a revolving type door, again which was not said specifically, but it just seemed odd to me that various physicians covered here and there, or once a week, or every few weeks, etc. i couldnt quite understand how that worked and seemed odd to me. so i don't know if they've had people leave or not and whether they wanted to make sure as you said that someone would stay there long term. the sad thing is that i was truly honestly interested, and even have a home in the city, even if it's a rental, and have significant other ties to the city, but the persistent questioning of what seemed like they didn't believe anything i said and it was dissected i felt was inappropriate and a waste of time. it was a huge turnoff. not sure if they are having difficulty recruiting but i couldn't iamgine most people would want to deal with that type of questioning.
i would imagine the average physician doesn't just fabricate a CV for the heck of it. so not sure where the mistrust comes from. it got old quick.

 

[Laryngospasm]

It might be worth it to you with that much interest in the area to find out more and get an interview: it could just be that the person was not a great person to talk to and had been given a list of questions to ask. Don’t let one dufus scare you off.. or it could also be a terrible job and that’s why they have a revolving door.

 

[Piebaldi]

It might be worth it to you with that much interest in the area to find out more and get an interview: it could just be that the person was not a great person to talk to and had been given a list of questions to ask. Don’t let one dufus scare you off.. or it could also be a terrible job and that’s why they have a revolving door.

No I already let them know I'm not interested. I really don't want or like drama. If there is so much combativeness, no thanks. i have no idea ifi t's a terrible job or not, but i didn't appreciate the whole thing about no partnership, and the notion of "our surgeons are too important to do anything other than operate" essence. no thanks. and again i felt the whole thing about various doctors covering here and there, once a week or something very odd. i want a group that will value me and where i will be able to grow with the group, not a group where i will be looked down upon, or be treated as a lesser physician bc im not a surgeon. i felt an air of arrogance too - and this wasjust the practice manager.

 

[callmeanesthesia]

Revolving door practice and micromanaging practice manager sound like red flags. “The surgeons just want to operate” is a great big red flag - they want to send their complications and failed surgeries to you to give them pills for the rest of their lives. The Midwest is, for the most part, not a highly impacted area. Jobs should be courting you. The place I ended up choosing interviewed me on Friday and took me wakeboarding on Saturday...

 

[deleted185747]

I’m bet the dr in charge said “go screen some new fellows and setup interviews with me with whoever seems good” the manager didn’t have a clue what to ask and did the best screen they could.
Think back when applying to residency and fellowship, remember you had to be nice to the secretary because she could veto your application / toss it in the trash? Same thing here. It’s the long game.

 

[Piebaldi]

I’m bet the dr in charge said “go screen some new fellows and setup interviews with me with whoever seems good” the manager didn’t have a clue what to ask and did the best screen they could.
Think back when applying to residency and fellowship, remember you had to be nice to the secretary because she could veto your application / toss it in the trash? Same thing here. It’s the long game.

This is no longer residency or medical school. It's not a game. The person had absolutely no clue in my view. It is what it is.

 

[SommeRiver]

This is no longer residency or medical school. It's not a game. The person had absolutely no clue in my view.

You're right...The game is different when you're hiring people who can legitimately hurt your brand and cost you everything including your practice...

I grew up in GA and did my fellowship on the opposite side of the country. Moved my family there and that made no sense...If someone asked me why I did that I'd consider it a fair question, as would further probing into how many other fellows were there, why did I choose that place, etc...If you are looking to join a small private practice but went to a giant Ivory Tower fellowship I would probably ask why...You've got some concerning behaviors IMO. They probably felt that coming off you and wanted to get you talking...

 

[Piebaldi]

You're right...The game is different when you're hiring people who can legitimately hurt your brand and cost you everything including your practice...

I grew up in GA and did my fellowship on the opposite side of the country. Moved my family there and that made no sense...If someone asked me why I did that I'd consider it a fair question, as would further probing into how many other fellows were there, why did I choose that place, etc...If you are looking to join a small private practice but went to a giant Ivory Tower fellowship I would probably ask why...You've got some concerning behaviors IMO. They probably felt that coming off you and wanted to get you talking...

People move, take jobs all over the place, as you did. I've had classmates who took jobs in parts of the country where they had 0 ties or connections. I had classmates from CA that ended up in IN, some from Utah who ended up in Tx, people from IL who ended up in KY and Nevada. It takes sense though for many if not most people to want to go back home to an area where they grew up by. Shocking I know!

 

[SommeRiver]

People move, take jobs all over the place, as you did. I've had classmates who took jobs in parts of the country where they had 0 ties or connections. I had classmates from CA that ended up in IN, some from Utah who ended up in Tx, people from IL who ended up in KY and Nevada. It takes sense though for many if not most people to want to go back home to an area where they grew up by. Shocking I know!

You know what else is shocking?

You're not the first person with classmates who moved all over the place in search of training and education...They're asking you general questions in an attempt to feel you out and get to know you.

When I interviewed in Virginia (Carilion Clinic in Roanoke was great and I sometimes wish I would have taken that job), I was asked all sorts of stuff. I had a guy ask me what my favorite meds are to Rx...I actually started rattling off random drugs and he was writing them down and asking about doses and frequency, and even indication..."So if you're inpt you'd go this way, and if in a clinic setting you'd prescribe this...Okay. What happens if you come here and the inpt pharmacy gives you a hard time bc you'd be the first person to do it that way..."

"You know what? That's a good question...I guess I'd go sit down with them and explain why I do x, y, and z."

This entire conversation is a mirror image of the discussion we all had about your previous fellowship - You still don't seem to understand what it means to build a reputation and keep it. Building your name and brand takes many years, a lot of money, sweat, risk...and you hire some petulant fellowship graduate and he/she comes in and totally undoes everything inside of 6 months.

Yes, I know what happens when you bring in a new doctor and it doesn't work out...My practice is dealing with that RIGHT NOW.

By the way, a doctor leaving a practice is actually a rather bulky process. In some cases that can totally rob the practice of manpower bc there's a little more to it than just someone not showing up at work on Tuesday.

If that practice builds a service line around you and 12 months in you start with some BS it can get very confusing and the rest of the practice gets strained trying to fix your clinic.

So chill out and give ppl the benefit of the doubt when it comes to hiring. Good faith goes a long way and you'll be happier in general.

 

[Doctodd]

Sounds like a reasonable interview the way you described it. Why would you do the interview if you weren’t interested? I personally don’t base my decision on whether I want to go somewhere solely based on the person asking me questions by phone. Unless the demand for your position is low, it’s usually a competitive market, and just like any other interview.

 

[Doctodd]

I don't know who that is, but I am glad to be of service!

when you have haters and stalkers like me, you know you’ve made it lmao

 

[Piebaldi]

Sounds like a reasonable interview the way you described it. Why would you do the interview if you weren’t interested? I personally don’t base my decision on whether I want to go somewhere solely based on the person asking me questions by phone. Unless the demand for your position is low, it’s usually a competitive market, and just like any other interview.

I WAS interested, I just found it super uncomfortable that every statement I made was made into something combative and interrogatory. As you mentioned, I wouldn't do an interview if I had no interest in the position. It's almost as if they didn't believe anything I said for whatever reason. I get contacted by recruiters daily for job positions, and I only inquire about the ones I'm interested about. Clearly I thought this might be a winner. Clearly it wasn't. Oh well. Hopefully they'll find their unicorn.

 

[Piebaldi]

when you have haters and stalkers like me, you know you’ve made it lmao

Please no hate and/or stalking. I've had enough of that recently.

 

[Doctodd]

I WAS interested, I just found it super uncomfortable that every statement I made was made into something combative and interrogatory. As you mentioned, I wouldn't do an interview if I had no interest in the position. It's almost as if they didn't believe anything I said for whatever reason. I get contacted by recruiters daily for job positions, and I only inquire about the ones I'm interested about. Clearly I thought this might be a winner. Clearly it wasn't. Oh well. Hopefully they'll find their unicorn.

dump the recruiters if u can

 

[Piebaldi]

dump the recruiters if u can

The recruiter wasn't the problem. The recruiter was perfectly nice and reasonable. And how do I find out about positions if not through recruiters? It's hard in certain tight markets.

 

[Doctodd]

The recruiter wasn't the problem. The recruiter was perfectly nice and reasonable. And how do I find out about positions if not through recruiters? It's hard in certain tight markets.

I narrowed it down to location and called offices. You can also try state pain organizations, example being FSIPP in Florida. But not sure these are normal times, so maybe you are right to use recruiter.

 

[hyperalgesia]

Let's look at this another way. You're in an anonymous forum. If a suspicious interviewer could talk privately to each of your bosses/coworkers from the past 5 years, what are you most afraid of them learning?

 

[Ducttape]

point of the thread - don't use recruiters.

reach out to the offices you are interested in and that you have vetted yourself. that's what I did.

second point - as phone screen, I'm guessing that the individual considered it a semi-formal interview. he is someone who most likely takes a lot from physical as opposed to verbal cues. due to his inexperience with a new format and not being able to see your reactions and react appropriately, he came across very poorly.

 

[Ferrismonk]

What they can't ask:

Illegal Interview Questions - What Not to Ask Candidates

Questions you should avoid asking in an interview.

www.betterteam.com

Everything else is on the table. Sounds like you had your preliminary interview. If that goes well (for both parties), you get a second interview, and so on. Since it sounds like you two didn't mesh well, interview is over and move on. That's normal.

Practically speaking, employers are primarily looking for people they can work with. As long as you've done a residency and fellowship, they know you should be able to do the work. Nobody wants to work with someone who causes drama.

 

[SSdoc33]

What they can't ask:

Illegal Interview Questions - What Not to Ask Candidates

Questions you should avoid asking in an interview.

www.betterteam.com

Everything else is on the table. Sounds like you had your preliminary interview. If that goes well (for both parties), you get a second interview, and so on. Since it sounds like you two didn't mesh well, interview is over and move on. That's normal.

Practically speaking, employers are primarily looking for people they can work with. As long as you've done a residency and fellowship, they know you should be able to do the work. Nobody wants to work with someone who causes drama.

take this advice humbly: at least for the interview process, try to conceal your personality (disorder). im really not trying cause trouble or ruffle your feathers, but it is clear from how your respond to these posts, as well as what we know of you that you tend to have some trouble getting along with people, especially men. it is difficult to change one's behavior, but at least for the interviewing process, try to be more agreeable. it will go a long way

 

[Painted]

Were they trying to find out why you changed fellowships part way through?

 

[Ligament]

Hey pain peeps.
So I recently had a phone screen with a "practice manager" for an interventional type position once I finish fellowship.
Person asked a lot of questions, which was fine, but didn't quite seem to know what the group was looking for in a new physician, or what the position involved. The person also kept arguing with me on things on my CV - asking me why did I choose now to do fellowship vs. general rehab (not sure why it would matter?), didn't really know the difference between general rehab and interventional pain, questioned my ties to the location despite me being a midwestener most of my life outside of training, questioned whether I had been in the area recently, what type of community did I want to be in, how manypeople were in my fellowship, why did I pick this fellowship, why i did this or that. Then this person spent like 10 minutes telling me about the area and this and that, and whether I knew the surrounding local communities, etc etc.

I let the recruiter know I had no interest in this. Is this me or does this sound bizarre? Why are practice managers "screening" physicians? shouldn't physicians discuss the position with a physician? This just seemed so odd and aggressive.

My practice managers have always been heavily involved in interviewing and hiring physicians. I trust their opinion. It is totally normal.

In fact, for my recently hired physician who is fantastic, my current and past two office managers all spoke to him as part of the interview process.

I don't have time to waste on physicians that are asshats or poor fits with my admin team and staff, some of whom have been with me 10 years. We need to establish they have a personality that will fit with my management team and staff before I make a hire decision. I may love a candidate, but if my management and staff don't get along or vice versa, its a big problem.

 

[deleted993114]

My practice managers have always been heavily involved in interviewing and hiring physicians. I trust their opinion. It is totally normal.

In fact, for my recently hired physician who is fantastic, my current and past two office managers all spoke to him as part of the interview process.

I don't have time to waste on physicians that are asshats or poor fits with my admin team and staff, some of whom have been with me 10 years. We need to establish they have a personality that will fit with my management team and staff before I make a hire decision. I may love a candidate, but if my management and staff don't get along or vice versa, its a big problem.

I agree- personality is HUGE in selecting new physicians. A bad physician can be corrosive to a practice, and God knows there are a lot of bad pennies out there. You can train damn near anyone to perform procedures; however, it is really hard to train someone not to be a jerk.

When patients are coming to a practice for pain relief, the last thing they need is to be treated poorly by someone.

I have found in the past that my long term nurses were the best judges of character when interviewing new physicians. I think that women in general have a better sense of things. I am too gullible and think that everyone is wonderful on initial contact and am thus a poor judge of character..... to begin with.