Jobs / cold calling?

[Deckard]

I'm in the beginning of a one year fellowship but thinking ahead about job prospects in California. From what I read on SDN, the coasts are more difficult. I plan on taking the orals in Nov in SF and was hoping to get interviews near the exam date to maximize the trip. I haven't seen any recent postings in AAO. Some of my peers have received jobs by word of mouth. I haven't had such luck. Would it be bad form to cold call some private practices to see if they would want to bring on an associate? Any other suggestions?

I'm in Peds Optho if that makes a difference.

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[Eyefixer]

In my opinion, you in a better position as a pediatric ophthalmologist than other specialities. Your speciality will be increasing in demand, especially as baby boomer pediatric ophthalmologists retire. I don't know about calling practices cold; with peds there must be a special niche to make it worth while for a private practice. If you would like to be in Nor Cal, have you considered Kaiser? There were recently 2 openings for Peds Ophtho in the Bay Area (unfortunately both were filled). Within Kaiser system your salary will be higher than general ophthalmology since you are considered a sub-specialist. In private practice, peds ophtho usually make less than general, but it depends on your surgical volume and if you do cataracts, etc.

I'm in the beginning of a one year fellowship but thinking ahead about job prospects in California. From what I read on SDN, the coasts are more difficult. I plan on taking the orals in Nov in SF and was hoping to get interviews near the exam date to maximize the trip. I haven't seen any recent postings in AAO. Some of my peers have received jobs by word of mouth. I haven't had such luck. Would it be bad form to cold call some private practices to see if they would want to bring on an associate? Any other suggestions?

I'm in Peds Optho if that makes a difference.

 

[Deckard]

Eyefixer thanks for the reply. I would not mind at all to work at Kaiser. But as you said (and I've also checked) it does not appear that Kaiser has any openings. Hence my thinking was cold calling private Peds practices but I am not sure if the prospective employer would frown upon this.

Is it unheard of for a non Peds practice to hire a Peds?

 

[Visionary]

Eyefixer thanks for the reply. I would not mind at all to work at Kaiser. But as you said (and I've also checked) it does not appear that Kaiser has any openings. Hence my thinking was cold calling private Peds practices but I am not sure if the prospective employer would frown upon this.

Is it unheard of for a non Peds practice to hire a Peds?

Cold calling is definitely a good option for competitive areas. The reason you aren't seeing a lot of jobs advertised is because they don't have to. They have people beating down their doors. Just be professional in your approach. Lay out what you have to offer to the practice. The worst they can say is "no." Some practices may not have really thought about imminently bringing someone on until you contact them (that's how I landed my job).

One caveat re your last question, though. As you know, Peds is pretty specialized. Not only are there some different equipment needs, but the lanes tend to be set up differently. You will likely have the best luck looking for a group that already has Peds--either multispecialty or all-Peds. Not that comprehensive practices wouldn't necessarily be interested.

I would definitely start poking around now. Optimally, you want to have something lined up by year's end. That will give you a 6 month buffer for licensing/credentialing.

 

[Deckard]

Thank you Visionary. Sound advice.

 

[OphthoBean]

How about opening your own practice? If you plan to settle in an area where there are a lot of children and not many peds ophthos, there might be a lot of business for you. I happily send most kids on to the peds ophtho because I don't do strabismus sx (by choice). Just a thought.

 

[Deckard]

How about opening your own practice? If you plan to settle in an area where there are a lot of children and not many peds ophthos, there might be a lot of business for you. I happily send most kids on to the peds ophtho because I don't do strabismus sx (by choice). Just a thought.

OphthoBean, I'm definitely not ruling it out but so far my preference has been to focus more on patient care and not have to worry so much about starting a new business which I frankly have less knowledge of (typical right?). My thinking was that I could learn the business skills from an existing practice.