Kalispell, Montana, MD only

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periopdoc

periopdoc

Cardiac Anesthesiologist
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We have concluded negotiations with our hospital, and minted a new 5-year agreement, with 2.5 years guaranteed. Due to expansion, one partner quitting to do full time locums, and a few of us planning on going part time, we have space for up to 4 additional partners, including one BC/BE Pediatrics. We would also be interested in recruiting someone with OR management interest and experience. Open to hiring someone who is currently in training.

This is a great lifestyle practice, in a destination vacation area. Most of us are skiers, snowboarders, hikers, bikers, hunters, etc. Many of us work part time to provide maximum personal and group flexibility. Full timers tend to work 40 to 42 weeks per year. Income really depends on your motivation, but most full timers fall into the 480 to 560 range, total comp. 2 members broke the 600 mark, and a third was just over 590 last year. Group covers group expenses and malpractice.

1 year to partner, 10% buy in. Our income is production based, using a blended unit, and we have a fair distribution of work. There are no super partners or any of that kind of BS. We focus on ensuring that there is a market for every type of shift and call so that those who want more work can get it, and those that want more time off can get it.

We have the usual ortho, OB, gyn, neuro, ENT type cases, and no in-house call. Our open hearts go to the cardiac team, and most of the pediatrics work goes to the pediatrics team.

Feel free to drop a PM here, or email me at [email protected].
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Location is primo for the right person. Have a few frieds in this practice and they are definately outdoor oriented people.
 
IYKYK. Somebody please save me from this hell!

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This is somewhere I’d go on vacation, even spend a few months a year. It would be too isolating to be there year round for me though. Similar to the Grand Junction gig.
 
So isolating.

Not even sure why I keep my Seahawks season tickets anymore.

I mean, it takes a whole extra 30 minutes to get from my front door, to my seats at Lumen, over what it took when I lived in the Seattle area.

If only Kalispell had direct flights to Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.

No one should have to live here. Just awful.
 
Worst part is nothing to do, and too much time to do it...
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No nice cars to cruise with, or cool companies with awesome project cars to check out
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No good restaurants in the area. And the ones that are here only serve beef
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No good shows. Only three theater companies.
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Truly Miserable.
 
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Beach bum said:
I saw one partner leaving to do full time locums and kept walking.
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I'm genuinely curious why this is a red flag. The money in locums is at an all time high. She saw the opportunity to work less and make more, and was willing to trade the security of a permanent position for the flexibility and higher earnings of locums.

Outside of her we have had two partners that left, then returned to the practice within one year. One left for higher wages. one for a more urban lifestyle. Neither were happier elsewhere. We had another partner who moved to a different city so that his children could attend a specific religious school. We had one partner who moved at his wife's insistence. Finally we had one partner who left when her surgeon husband took a high powered academic position elsewhere. So, in my 13 years here, we have had 4 partners who left and didn't return, 2 who left and returned, 2 who retired from practice. For a practice of roughly 30 anesthesiologists, I think that's not too bad a ratio.
 
A few years back, we visited Missoula and Kalispell to see about moving to that area permanently when I got out of the Navy.

For a while it was #1 on our list.

Ultimately ... too cold in the winter for my thin southern California bred blood, and too far from where our two oldest kids settled.

Otherwise I too would have been knocking on periopdoc's PM box.
 
periopdoc said:
I'm genuinely curious why this is a red flag. The money in locums is at an all time high. She saw the opportunity to work less and make more, and was willing to trade the security of a permanent position for the flexibility and higher earnings of locums.

Outside of her we have had two partners that left, then returned to the practice within one year. One left for higher wages. one for a more urban lifestyle. Neither were happier elsewhere. We had another partner who moved to a different city so that his children could attend a specific religious school. We had one partner who moved at his wife's insistence. Finally we had one partner who left when her surgeon husband took a high powered academic position elsewhere. So, in my 13 years here, we have had 4 partners who left and didn't return, 2 who left and returned, 2 who retired from practice. For a practice of roughly 30 anesthesiologists, I think that's not too bad a ratio.
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Did “full time locums” and hated it! New group of people you are working with and don’t know. Never realized how valuable that was in the practice of anesthesia until I did Locums! Live out of a suitcase and live in hotels, etc. Who knows maybe she will love it and think the money is worth it. Haven’t heard of many in such a “dream job” leaving for full time locums, fwiw.
 
Ah
Beach bum said:
Did “full time locums” and hated it! New group of people you are working with and don’t know. Never realized how valuable that was in the practice of anesthesia until I did Locums! Live out of a suitcase and live in hotels, etc. Who knows maybe she will love it and think the money is worth it. Haven’t heard of many in such a “dream job” leaving for full time locums, fwiw.
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Ah, yes. I completely misunderstood what you were saying. I agree with your sentiment.

I thought you were saying it was a red flag on my group that one of our members decided to drink the full time locums Kool-Aid.

I love my locums gigs, but I love having a home base even more.
 
pgg said:
A few years back, we visited Missoula and Kalispell to see about moving to that area permanently when I got out of the Navy.

For a while it was #1 on our list.

Ultimately ... too cold in the winter for my thin southern California bred blood, and too far from where our two oldest kids settled.

Otherwise I too would have been knocking on periopdoc's PM box.
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Sunofabitch. Would have loved to have you join us.
 
periopdoc said:
Sunofabitch. Would have loved to have you join us.
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LOL in some ways I feel like you're my twin from another dimension. One of our kids even has the same (unusual) name as one of yours.

We visited in 2013? 2014? when I was mulling an early departure from the Navy then fellowship then PP - but ultimately decided to stick around for a few years, get a subsidized deferral for fellowship, and then claim the pension benefits. In the end fate settled us in a nice area of Virginia. The Shenandoah valley is not as beautiful as Glacier National Park but it is quite a bit warmer. 🙂
 
Keep living your dream, love the photos! Gotta be a tough sell since this is a perfect setup for a small percentage of us but I am jealous of all the outdoor activities you have at your fingertips. Instead I am stuck in central Ohio trying to figure out when I can go part time and then move to a sunnier, more outdoorsy part of the country. Good luck.
 
FWIW, i would 100% consider this practice if I was looking. We inherited one of their hepatobiliary surgeons and he still has his house there and goes back often.
Speaks volumes tbh.
 
nimbus said:
I spy spots on the neck. Maybe a GSP which is kinda like a lab on meth😉
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Winner winner chicken dinner! @nimbus

Spritz and Stella are indeed GSP’s.
And are indeed labs on meth.
I did 17 miles that day.
The dogs did twice that!
 
Gaseous Clay said:
Keep living your dream, love the photos! Gotta be a tough sell since this is a perfect setup for a small percentage of us but I am jealous of all the outdoor activities you have at your fingertips. Instead I am stuck in central Ohio trying to figure out when I can go part time and then move to a sunnier, more outdoorsy part of the country. Good luck.
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It's funny people think this would be a tough sell. First time in 13 years we've bothered to advertise, and it's starting to look like advertising was unnecessary. The place sells itself. The kind of people who want to work in a place like this tend to find us.

The only reason we are advertising is because multiple things hit at once, giving us a need to hire several people. Usually we trickle them in.
 
periopdoc said:
It's funny people think this would be a tough sell. First time in 13 years we've bothered to advertise, and it's starting to look like advertising was unnecessary. The place sells itself. The kind of people who want to work in a place like this tend to find us.

The only reason we are advertising is because multiple things hit at once, giving us a need to hire several people. Usually we trickle them in.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I didn't mean to imply that it was a tough sell for the right demographic. Just was commenting about my personal preferences.
 
Beach bum said:
Did “full time locums” and hated it! New group of people you are working with and don’t know. Never realized how valuable that was in the practice of anesthesia until I did Locums! Live out of a suitcase and live in hotels, etc. Who knows maybe she will love it and think the money is worth it. Haven’t heard of many in such a “dream job” leaving for full time locums, fwiw.
Click to expand...
I love locums! I won't ever go back to the old way of employed or private practice again. If I have to deal with chumps, a-holes and super partners who walk around and do squat behaving like they offer value to the group, I want the flexibility of locums to: 1) get paid a lot of $$$ for working with said people and 2) to be able to tell them to f*off and walk out today.
 
I went to Kalispell and interviewed with the group in 2016. Everything seemed fair, equitable and everyone was happy as far as I can tell. Living in Montana isn’t for everyone, but for the outdoor enthusiasts, there are few better places. I think this is a great job particularly if you like to ski.
 
Pharmado said:
I went to Kalispell and interviewed with the group in 2016. Everything seemed fair, equitable and everyone was happy as far as I can tell. Living in Montana isn’t for everyone, but for the outdoor enthusiasts, there are few better places. I think this is a great job particularly if you like to ski.
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Right now, Montana sounds great as I can only go outside for 15 minutes during the day. The Heat can be quite oppressive in the summer just as the winters in other locations are also oppressive. Pick your poison.
 
Schools are good. If you want private, it will be religious based, though.

Diversity - LOL it’s called NW(hite) Montana for a reason. The hospital and town are very welcoming, but it’s pretty white bread. LGB very accepted and common. T might be a bit more challenging.

Ethnic food - pretty much a cook it ourselves affair. I make a hell of a Pad Krapow. Seattle, Denver, and Salt Lake are quick flights away. Good for getting your fix. Calgary is a short, 5-hour drive. They have every ethnic food imaginable. Before Covid, I dated a girl from Calgary. I used to drive up to have lunch with her.

Just being brutally honest. If you want/ need the latter two, you won’t be happy here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
periopdoc said:
Schools are good. If you want private, it will be religious based, though.

Diversity - LOL it’s called NW(hite) Montana for a reason. The hospital and town are very welcoming, but it’s pretty white bread. LGB very accepted and common. T might be a bit more challenging.

Ethnic food - pretty much a cook it ourselves affair. I make a hell of a Pad Krapow. Seattle, Denver, and Salt Lake are quick flights away. Good for getting your fix. Calgary is a short, 5-hour drive. They have every ethnic food imaginable. Before Covid, I dated a girl from Calgary. I used to drive up to have lunch with her.

Just being brutally honest. If you want/ need the latter two, you won’t be happy here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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You used to drive five hours to have lunch? Oh wow. And then drive back? Or stay the weekend or something? That’s dedication.
 
Just for lunch. Once in a while I would stay the night or go up for the weekend.

What can I say, I truly enjoy driving. I still go to Spokane, 4 hours west of us, for the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten, and I usually bring some home for the kids.

Along the way, I met Marissa, and she became a side benefit to the trip. We would grab lunch, spend a couple of hours together, and then I would head back to Kalispell.

For some reason, Thai food and chill wasn’t a good enough excuse to get across the border during Covid, and we drifted apart. A couple of my favorite restaurants shut down too.

It’s been a couple of years, but I need to get back in the habit of making the Calgary trip.
 
periopdoc said:
Just for lunch. Once in a while I would stay the night or go up for the weekend.

What can I say, I truly enjoy driving. I still go to Spokane, 4 hours west of us, for the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten, and I usually bring some home for the kids.

Along the way, I met Marissa, and she became a side benefit to the trip. We would grab lunch, spend a couple of hours together, and then I would head back to Kalispell.

For some reason, Thai food and chill wasn’t a good enough excuse to get across the border during Covid, and we drifted apart. A couple of my favorite restaurants shut down too.

It’s been a couple of years, but I need to get back in the habit of making the Calgary trip.
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Dude are you married? You talking about a side piece or something?
 
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