Hospitalist Job Search......but I'm lazy....

[VentJockey]

So, I'm starting to get calls from recruiters, and I'm looking around for jobs, and the job market is super good. I like the numbers I'm hearing, and I'm learning all about how to negotiate a contract.

One thing I'm really not sure about is who to figure out how hard I'll have to work in a given job.

As an example, I know of a hospital in my area that hires locum hospitalists as "admitters" for various shifts, and when you work there, most of the time you admit only two or three patients for the shift, and spend the majority of time drinking coffee in the doctor's lounge. People like to pick up those shifts because its an easy $1,300 and you can catch up on some novels or write papers or whatever.

When I'm evaluating a job, I'm very interested in the ratio of work:sitting on my ass. So if two places offer me the same salary, but one place will let me sit on my ass more than another place, well, I'm lazy, so yeah.

But I can't just come out and ask: hey, how much of my shift can I spend in the doctor's lounge watching netflix on my laptop?

But I really want to know *exactly* this. I'd even take less money if it means more time doing nothing.

If I say this, they'll think I'm lazy and they won't want to hire me. So, what's a lazy doc to do!?!

Anyone have some tips on finding this out?

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[chessknt]

I would think asking how many admissions on average vs. max you would be expected to do (and same for census or crosscover) would give you a good idea. Asking for contact info of other hospitalists there and posing the question to them would probably be another way too.

 

[Gpan]

you gotta be kidding me. This is your mentality right after residency?????? DO not make us look bad. Go do clinic or something. It's super chill and you get to sit on your ass all day or at least some days. Or do some wound care clinic or VA or something. shhhhzzz

 

[bronx43]

I've never heard of DAY shifts at a respectable hospital in a livable city that pays you $1300 for admitting 2-3 people. Never. In any decent sized city, you're probably looking to admit anywhere from 8-12 on a given day.

 

[Nivakia]

Clinic is not easy. You still need to see 15 - 20 patient a day to do decent. The VA though is different, and yes it's chill

 

[DrDudeMD]

Sorry, don't really mean to hijack the thread, but I'm in the same position as OP (looking for a real job). I've done some work in researching hospitals in the areas I wouldn't mind working in. Then I go to their respective HR/career webpage to look for openings. More often than not, I find ZERO openings. I haven't called/emailed in-house recruiters or dept heads at these hospitals yet. Is there usually a discrepancy between what's listed on those webpages versus what's actually available?

If my search comes up empty, I may ultimately go to a recruiter to find something. I'm trying to avoid getting to that point. At the same time, I'm using recruiters to get a sense of what's available out there so I can tailor my search. Any other tips?

FYI I'm on the east coast looking for something in NJ, NY, CT, PA. Not exactly the best job market...

 

[efex101]

dudes you all better smart up, WTH? you have to CALL the department HEADS to find jobs or get chummy with a head hunter, there are TONS of jobs out there for hospitalists.

 

[Gpan]

dudes you all better smart up, WTH? you have to CALL the department HEADS to find jobs or get chummy with a head hunter, there are TONS of jobs out there for hospitalists.

he's too lazy to do that. Someone better helps him out geez

 

[drkristy85]

So, I'm starting to get calls from recruiters, and I'm looking around for jobs, and the job market is super good. I like the numbers I'm hearing, and I'm learning all about how to negotiate a contract.

One thing I'm really not sure about is who to figure out how hard I'll have to work in a given job.

As an example, I know of a hospital in my area that hires locum hospitalists as "admitters" for various shifts, and when you work there, most of the time you admit only two or three patients for the shift, and spend the majority of time drinking coffee in the doctor's lounge. People like to pick up those shifts because its an easy $1,300 and you can catch up on some novels or write papers or whatever.

When I'm evaluating a job, I'm very interested in the ratio of work:sitting on my ass. So if two places offer me the same salary, but one place will let me sit on my ass more than another place, well, I'm lazy, so yeah.

But I can't just come out and ask: hey, how much of my shift can I spend in the doctor's lounge watching netflix on my laptop?

But I really want to know *exactly* this. I'd even take less money if it means more time doing nothing.

If I say this, they'll think I'm lazy and they won't want to hire me. So, what's a lazy doc to do!?!

Anyone have some tips on finding this out?

You must be reading my mind----my thoughts exactly. Residency is hard, man....we could use a break. It's harder to get chill jobs on the Peds side (they expect u to see a lot of pts cuz u don't get much $ per pt), but I have been looking...

The way I usually phrase the question is:
1) What is the average daily census (for hospital)? how does that vary by season?
2) Am I cross-covering any services? ICU at night?
3) For clinic jobs I ask : how many average pts per day
4) and even better: how long are typical appointments?

unfortunately so far for outpatient they all do 15-minute appts. Too much running around. I could see pts that fast but I want to have time to finish all my notes by end of the day so I don't have to stay late or do them at home......I like to do the note after each patient

I dont think these questions make u seem lazy....but I could be wrong

 

[drkristy85]

regarding how to find jobs, its easy. the recruiters find u. they email me and I just call them back and tell them what I'm looking for. they find the jobs, set up the contact info, set up the interviews ,etc. I call them at work so I don't have to do it on my own free time

 

[drkristy85]

I would rather make less money and do less work but it's so hard to find a job like that! It's always the opposite: they want to work u hard and pay u a lot....arggggh