First attending job interview

[ResidentAnonymous001]

Hi guys, I am a 4th year psych resident scheduled to interview for my first attending psychiatrist position soon. I will be meeting with the medical director of the facility.

What should I expect in terms of what type of questions they might ask? Any other advice?

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[Celexa]

Advice: they will NEVER treat you better than they do when they're trying to hire you. If they're disorganized, not engaged, can't answer simple questions, slow to respond, and inconsistent during the process.... I promise you, it will only be worse after you're hired.

Advice: as a psychiatrist you are valuable so drop that residency attitude where everyone expects you to be grateful you have a position. They should be grateful you're considering them.

 

[Stagg737]

Agree with the above, unless you're trying to create a position or have a significant requirement (like a visa) you hold the power. This doesn't mean you should be unreasonable or expect them to meet all demands, but it does mean you should have leverage. Just be yourself and be confident knowing that if you don't get this job there's plenty more out there.

 

[Sushirolls]

They are going to ask all the same questions you've been asked before in all the interviews you've had before.

Except, they will truly care this time, why, why this job, why this location? If you have family or some tie to that area that is more likely to keep you anchored there that is gold in their eyes and raises people to top of the list most of the time, if there is a list.

Secondly, DEI has taken off like a cancer, and it might find its way into interview questions to ascertain how woke you are.

Thirdly, ARNPs are now an issue and whether you are some one who is willing to "supervise" and sign off on them and not give the Big Box shop a headache, or whether you are some one who simply won't supervise at all.

These are now the three meaty questions and issues to be aware of.

 

[comp1]

I get wanting anonymity, but could the OP give us a little more detail? I seriously can't tell if this is a county outpatient clinic, private inpatient, or even an ED or CL position. We can give a lot more advice if we know what the job actually is.

 

[ResidentAnonymous001]

I get wanting anonymity, but could the OP give us a little more detail? I seriously can't tell if this is a county outpatient clinic, private inpatient, or even an ED or CL position. We can give a lot more advice if we know what the job actually is.

Large outpatient group.

 

[Candidate2017]

It's a semi-social meeting.

In between chatting, ask simple questions about basics: intake/follow up times, pay/structure, call/coverage, patient pop, patient screening, building a panel (from scratch or transferred/inherited, i.e., getting dumped on), staff abilities, non-competes, contract length, midlevel supervision.

Ask to follow up and meet with psychiatrists who work there, and ask the same questions, and they'll fill in details. Pay attention because the people in the trenches will always communicate, verbally and nonverbally, what it's really like to work there.

If you really want the job, make pleasant facial expressions even when the med director tells you things you don't want to hear (i.e., "We're really excited about our plan to expand access by hiring 50 brand new NPs, and all our docs are excited about helping them out!"). Neutral/pleasant facial expressions shouldn't be too hard if you've had experience talking to rapists, murderers, pedophiles.

Secondly, DEI has taken off like a cancer, and it might find its way into interview questions to ascertain how woke you are.

Thirdly, ARNPs are now an issue and whether you are some one who is willing to "supervise" and sign off on them and not give the Big Box shop a headache, or whether you are some one who simply won't supervise at all.

In non-academic psychiatry, there's nothing more DEI than midlevels: when we include NPs and PAs, we give them equity in our field, and it helps increase diversity beyond oppressive MDs/DOs. So, maybe the acronym should be IED.

 

[Sushirolls]

IED or DIE is better than DEI, but it was likely with intention that DEI was defaulted to.

 

[psychaccount101]

Hi guys, I am a 4th year psych resident scheduled to interview for my first attending psychiatrist position soon. I will be meeting with the medical director of the facility.

What should I expect in terms of what type of questions they might ask? Any other advice?

Just curious, are you a graduating PGY4 (ie graduating this month) or a rising PGY4?

 

[Trismegistus4]

IED or DIE is better than DEI, but it was likely with intention that DEI was defaulted to.

Given the importance of educating people on the benefits of this philosophy starting at a young age, some have proposed Diversity, Inclusion, Equity Youth Training, or DIE-YT.

 

[DOswag]

They are going to ask all the same questions you've been asked before in all the interviews you've had before.

Except, they will truly care this time, why, why this job, why this location? If you have family or some tie to that area that is more likely to keep you anchored there that is gold in their eyes and raises people to top of the list most of the time, if there is a list.

Secondly, DEI has taken off like a cancer, and it might find its way into interview questions to ascertain how woke you are.

Thirdly, ARNPs are now an issue and whether you are some one who is willing to "supervise" and sign off on them and not give the Big Box shop a headache, or whether you are some one who simply won't supervise at all.

These are now the three meaty questions and issues to be aware of.

I interviewed for several jobs last summer in multiple states, VA jobs, outpatient jobs etc. I had not interviewed for positions since residency application as I was in the military for a few years after residency. I totally went into it as if I was a premed interviewing for med school or med student interviewing for residency. Only one of my interviews was even remotely close to that where a panel of people asked me scripted questions and it was very robotic, it was one of the VA’s I interviewed at and it was the first one I did. Every other interview was pretty chill, pretty much some simple questions about choosing the area and such but for the most part, they were trying to sell the job and area to me and genuinely seemed more interested that I was interested in the job. Be yourself and answer questions confidently and honestly. But for the most part you are wanted for your skills and training. It’s a much better feeling than when you’re trying to prove why they should want you.

 

[FlowRate]

Our organization wants us to keep questions relatively the same between candidates, especially if we have multiple candidates for the same position. It's not appropriate to like pimp or quiz on medical knowledge but we do try to ask a few questions about practice style to ensure you're not far outside of typical judicious prescribing practices around controlled substances, for example.

 

[psychiatree]

i did 3 interviews and it was very casual. they just wanted to know about me, my path to psychiatry, why this job/location. a lot of it will be them selling the job to you. make sure to ask tons of questions about the job responsibilities like what the hours are like, call, supervision, etc

 

[mistafab]

Most important thing for you to get them to answer is what are the actual roles they have need for, and can forseeably have need for when you're ready to start working.

Know in advance that any big institution (academia, VA) may promise you one job and when you show up try to get you a different one. Don't over-promise what you are willing to do and be absolutely clear with what roles you will NOT do.

 

[comp1]

The VA indeed has national standards on interviewing. It might seem a bit more like a residency or medical school interview than in private practice. Believe me, the VA interviewers would usually MUCH prefer to keep it chill, but if they didn't complete those interview forms, HR wouldn't let the person onboard. However, don't the format discourage you. The competition is not the same as residency or med school.

 

[ResidentAnonymous001]

Update: I got a job offer after my interview! I am seriously considering this position and it overall seems to be a good fit with a fair compensation package.

However, I am still in the midst of speaking with other positions in another location. I have a deadline to respond to this job offer, but I am also curious to see how the other interviews go.

Should I tell the other places I got an offer that I am seriously considering to help expedite the process? I am at a loss here..

 

[Sushirolls]

Jobs that have deadlines are not quite a red flag, but a flag of a different color.
Do not feel pressured.
But don't hesitate to convey to other prospects you are interested, and would like to speed up the process and things moving along.
Let this now #1 job know, you understand that they have a deadline but in order to make the best informed decision you will not rush, but will let them know once you complete your other interviews. This could be as soon as this day, or as late as this day. Convey to them they are your number 1 prospect.


Or do the newer approach... sign the starting offer letter - which isn't the contract. Don't cash their checks yet for any sign on bonus. Let them know if they happen to be fast with a contract you plan to have it reviewed by a lawyer. Do so. Even have the lawyer change things, all essentially being a delay tactic, to facilitate the time to interview with next options. And if your other job prospects are better, let them know you are accepting a better offer, backing out of theirs and not cashing the sign on bonus check.


Or do 3rd option, "Keep calm and chive on" sign and do whatever you need to with job #1, while still doing everything else for other jobs, and simple back out of job 1, even if it is after signing a contract, cashing a sign on bonus, and other onboarding paper work. Simple say, here's my notice, I won't be starting. Here's your sign on check back. You've likely not seen any patients, so don't have any real commitments.

I'm personally more of option 1 type of guy, but I've seen other execute option 2 and 3.

 

[Stagg737]

Wow, thank you for the detailed response! Agree with the option 1 approach. Out of curiosity, do options 2 & 3 typically lead to legal consequences?

As long as you don’t take their money or see patients worst that could happen is they try and enforce a non-compete. Would most likely just be a burnt bridge, so if it’s somewhere you would actually consider applying for later if you don’t take it now, best to stick with option 1.

 

[MusicDOc124]

If it's somewhere you legit may want to work, now may not be the time to interview. You have a whole year ahead of you, and as you get more comfortable as a 4, getting ready to transition, your mind may change about a few things with the return to the hospital from outpatient. As well, there is a lot of potential for negotiation, but you may pigeon-hole yourself by interviewing too soon for a place you may want as you decrease your potential leverage - meaning no other competing contracts/offers and the like.

^ I typed this before I saw your update comment, but still plays a role in other interviews as you're learning already!

I will also add that myself and a few others who interviewed throughout the year and/or later in the year and signed contracts later have obtained high comp than those who interviewed and signed earlier on. Some of this could be due to location, type of position, etc, but there are enough people where it's able to show some legit differences there.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Jobs that have deadlines are not quite a red flag, but a flag of a different color.
Do not feel pressured.
But don't hesitate to convey to other prospects you are interested, and would like to speed up the process and things moving along.
Let this now #1 job know, you understand that they have a deadline but in order to make the best informed decision you will not rush, but will let them know once you complete your other interviews. This could be as soon as this day, or as late as this day. Convey to them they are your number 1 prospect.


Or do the newer approach... sign the starting offer letter - which isn't the contract. Don't cash their checks yet for any sign on bonus. Let them know if they happen to be fast with a contract you plan to have it reviewed by a lawyer. Do so. Even have the lawyer change things, all essentially being a delay tactic, to facilitate the time to interview with next options. And if your other job prospects are better, let them know you are accepting a better offer, backing out of theirs and not cashing the sign on bonus check.


Or do 3rd option, "Keep calm and chive on" sign and do whatever you need to with job #1, while still doing everything else for other jobs, and simple back out of job 1, even if it is after signing a contract, cashing a sign on bonus, and other onboarding paper work. Simple say, here's my notice, I won't be starting. Here's your sign on check back. You've likely not seen any patients, so don't have any real commitments.

I'm personally more of option 1 type of guy, but I've seen other execute option 2 and 3.

^ this is great advice.

I'll give my example of #2. I was considering job A (low consideration, but wanted to use the comp to boost another contract), after an initial increase from the interview, I agreed to the terms (did not sign a contract), and used the agreement to negotiate job B, which then met the salary and increased the bonus and another thing or two. I was considering job B for a bit, but did not move forward with them for almost 2 months as I was still interviewing, they gave no deadline, etc. Once they reached out, I informed them the contract was being reviewed by an attorney, which was true as of that day. That process took about 6 weeks (a lot of back and forth as I wasn't very happy with the contract details). During this period, job C reached out directly (not a recruiter) with a position I was interested in. Their offer was already higher and came with a few other things I'd prefer. I used job Bs contract to negotiate job C which made the changes I requested. I went back to job B who would not budge, which was telling to me, and they gave me a final deadline to decide. I used the final deadline in the discussion with job C about moving the needle further on salary mentioning that I was still considering job B who I was already working with prior (I actually was to some degree). They moved further and I took job C. This was about 5 months in total. My comp went up 60k from my first offer with less clinical hours and more flexibility in general.

^ moral is don't rush. Make the decision that's best for you. While you don't want to make enemies, people looking to fill the job are just doing their job and there is reasonable expectation that the job may not be filled for some time, and people may back out which you're allowed to do.

 

[psychaccount101]

If it's somewhere you legit may want to work, now may not be the time to interview. You have a whole year ahead of you, and as you get more comfortable as a 4, getting ready to transition, your mind may change about a few things with the return to the hospital from outpatient. As well, there is a lot of potential for negotiation, but you may pigeon-hole yourself by interviewing too soon for a place you may want as you decrease your potential leverage - meaning no other competing contracts/offers and the like.

^ I typed this before I saw your update comment, but still plays a role in other interviews as you're learning already!

I will also add that myself and a few others who interviewed throughout the year and/or later in the year and signed contracts later have obtained high comp than those who interviewed and signed earlier on. Some of this could be due to location, type of position, etc, but there are enough people where it's able to show some legit differences there.

May I ask what time of the year you are referring to when you talk about you and your coresidents who interviewed and signed later on?

 

[MusicDOc124]

May I ask what time of the year you are referring to when you talk about you and your coresidents who interviewed and signed later on?

People signing in Aug/Sept/Oct/Nov (earlier months of final year) as opposed to Mar/Apr/May/June (leading up to graduation).

 

[psychiatree]

May I ask what time of the year you are referring to when you talk about you and your coresidents who interviewed and signed later on?

i interviewed Oct/Nov/Dec and got offers within 2-3 weeks from time of final interview. I tried reaching out to a few places in August & September but they said it was too early to know what was available so instead it felt like they wanted to retain me so they would have a psychiatrist ready to hire when they knew where the need was which wasnt until the spring.