Hard for fellowships/practicing medicine?

[BrainWorks]

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Is it true that most Californian private practices (most specialties) like their own (some type of California affiliation - undergrad, med school, or residency) and is harder to get into private practice if you do your residency training in another state (Texas, Missouri, NC, etc.)? Or is this a myth?

Thanks!!

 

[Winged Scapula]

Mostly myth.

You can make some connections in the private practice world doing a residency or fellowship in California (mostly if you are at a community hospital or a program which rotates with private practice physicians rather than academics) but it doesn't make a significant difference in the job hunt.

Private practice is obviously dependent in many cases (depending on specialty) on referrals. I suppose you can make the case that the more people you meet when you are in training, the more referrals you might get once you start practice, but I'll bet its only a very small number. Most of your referrals will come from your marketing skills, and through the practice you join (presuming you aren't starting your own practice), as well as word of mouth once you start practicing.

Most people I know who took jobs in California trained elsewhere and wanted to be back home; the rest of us Californians were smart and decided on practice elsewhere because the pay is so much better than in Cali.

 

[BrainWorks]

Mostly myth.

You can make some connections in the private practice world doing a residency or fellowship in California (mostly if you are at a community hospital or a program which rotates with private practice physicians rather than academics) but it doesn't make a significant difference in the job hunt.

Private practice is obviously dependent in many cases (depending on specialty) on referrals. I suppose you can make the case that the more people you meet when you are in training, the more referrals you might get once you start practice, but I'll bet its only a very small number. Most of your referrals will come from your marketing skills, and through the practice you join (presuming you aren't starting your own practice), as well as word of mouth once you start practicing.

Most people I know who took jobs in California trained elsewhere and wanted to be back home; the rest of us Californians were smart and decided on practice elsewhere because the pay is so much better than in Cali.

Thanks for the info! My main question was do you think that if I did my residency training at a community program with university affiliation in another state AND have never had any Californian education (undergrad, residency, med school, etc.) would it be hard to later on 1)get a fellowship and/or 2)work in a private practice group in CA?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thanks for the info! My main question was do you think that if I did my residency training at a community program with university affiliation in another state AND have never had any Californian education (undergrad, residency, med school, etc.) would it be hard to later on 1)get a fellowship

I don't think so. None of the people I knew who did fellowship in California were from there or did residency there.

...and/or 2)work in a private practice group in CA?

Thanks! 🙂

Again, I don't think so. The thing I did notice about California more so was that recruiting (at least in my field) seemed to be regional, and a lot of word of mouth. That doesn't mean that jobs aren't out there, you just might have to look harder to find them. I interviewed at a few, but when the salaries in California are sooooo much lower than in nearby states, I figured I could just fly home and keep the extra dough.

IMHO, in the grand scheme of things unless you are training at a place with big time name recognition or trying to get into one of those places (ie, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) it really doesn't matter where you do your training. Jobs in California are not like getting into medical school where they do give an instate preference.