Finding a job in eating disorders?

[Rihan]

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I'm a PGY-2 resident and just finished a 2 month eating disorder rotation (inpatient, PHP and IOP). I had no prior experience of eating disorders, but ended up really enjoying it, especially the medical-psychiatric complexity and acuity of the patient population, and it’s made me seriously consider eating disorder psychiatry as a career focus.

That said, I’m finding it surprisingly hard to get a clear sense of the job market for these roles, outside the larger private-equity backed ED treatment programs (e.g., ERC, Monte Nido), I’m not seeing many positions discussed or advertised.

Also to complicate matters, I'm an IMG doing residency on a J1 visa and which adds another big barrier for me since these roles seem to be hard to come by or at the very least, not advertised much and I would need a j1 waiver to continue working in the country.

But that aside, I'm curious what the reality of getting a job as a psychiatrist in eating disorders is as a new grad straight out of residency? Would appreciate any advice

 

[FlowRate]

Are you automatically writing off ERC? AFAIK they still have a good reputation, even if they are very corporate. On a visa, my understanding was that you usually want to go for large corporations (or academia) anyway, since they're more willing to sponsor.

 

[comp1]

I got to say, these jobs are kind of rare. I only know of one psychiatrist personally who treats ED primarily. Given your particular issue with a visa, I'd agree with the person above, stick with corporations or academia.

 

[mistafab]

I know of someone who graduated, and had a FT role at an academic institution while contracting 1099 for an ERC. They ended up really liking it and started their private practice focused on Eating Disorder clients. They charge 675 an hour now in their private practice which has been running very well and they are only 2 years out from residency.

It is easier to do the eating disorder route if you live in a major city. Many psychiatrists avoid EDs like the plague so families in large metros will often pay a premium to get good care in this area. You absolutely can work in eating disorders after graduating - but don't expect it to take up your 1 FTE right away. Residential programs usually only take a psychiatrist a few days a week, so you'll still need a day job.

 

[chicandtoughness]

Hi! Not a physician but have worked in ED treatment for a decade (mental health clinician) and can help. The big private equity owned companies (ERC, MN, CFD) hire contractors and use them in multiple facilities. It’s a great gig and most physicians maintain their hospital jobs or do private practice full time. There are also very few open positions, as these are cushy jobs that the physicians do not want to leave. The ones that got the positions in the first place usually had a connection. The medical leadership also never turns over (I think Dr. Perlman has been Medical Director at Monte for the past 15 years or something lol), so there’s no room for physicians to move up for younger physicians. A lot of them are also hiring NPs and just having the physicians consult.

Our field is also very small, uncomfortably so. It is very much who you know. (e.g. If I rattle off some names you should be able to tell me who they are and where they’re at). Networking will be key.

My recommendation is looking for academic medicine affiliated programs. A few off the top of my head - McLean Hospital (Klarman), Laureate in Oklahoma, UTHealth in Houston just opened one, UCSD, Stanford. The benefit of those programs is they can have you working the unit half time and then seeing outpatient folks the other half, and adjust accordingly depending on census and caseload.

PM me if you want contacts in the field, I have a ton who would probably be very happy to help or at least point the way.