please advise

[Mangrad]

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Hi...
Finally I am on the verge of completing my residency. It was a rough one but finally got through it.
Now I have a job lined up- 120k, 4 weeks vacation, 20-25 patients /day, 8-6 pm, every 5th day call and contract for 2 yrs. Its a group practise. Hospital rotations almost every morning. This is located in downtown of a small city. I m not able to decide whether this is a good offer. what else should I look for ?
Please advise.

Regards,
MG

 

[medicineman1]

Sounds to me like this salary is well below the national average for FP physicians in a recently quoted journal which stated that 169,000 is the national ave. for FP

 

[FamilyMD]

10 hours a day is a bit long, IMO. If you're seeing 20 pts/day, thats 2 patients an hour????? Maybe you could get paid more AND work less hours if you saw more pts per hour. I assume $120k is base with productivity bonuses. Also ask for CME and re-location expenses.

 

[Faebinder]

The statistician in me (stupid engineering grad/undergrad) is taking over for this post...

First remember we are discussing average starting salary not average salary.

National Average Starting FP Salary: $125k (from ValueMD 2003-2005) range 90k-150k... same numbers reported by American Association of Family Practioners.

So 95% of starting salaries should be between 90k and 150k. So the next standard deviation down is $15k... therefore you need to start at $110 to be 1 standard deviation below the mean starting FP salary.

Take the offer unless you find something better.

 

[iatrosB]

Hi...
Finally I am on the verge of completing my residency. It was a rough one but finally got through it.
Now I have a job lined up- 120k, 4 weeks vacation, 20-25 patients /day, 8-6 pm, every 5th day call and contract for 2 yrs. Its a group practise. Hospital rotations almost every morning. This is located in downtown of a small city. I m not able to decide whether this is a good offer. what else should I look for ?
Please advise.

Regards,
MG

Did you ask for loan repayment? Small towns usually offer loan repayment either through the community, hospital, or the government.

 

[drwatson]

Have you done research on the doctors in the group? Talk to other docs in the area ask if they are good doctors and good people to work with. Talk to other doctors who have worked with the group, ask why they left. Will you have an opportunity at partnership after 2 years; what happens after your contract? What about working holidays and things of that nature; 4 weeks vacation is nice but not if you can't take it when you want.

I don't know how much this will apply but there was a good thread on Anesthesiology Forum about something similar to this. It is mainly for anesthesia but I'm sure that it would apply to any post-residency employment.

http://forums.gasforums.net/showthread.php?t=321509

 

[Mangrad]

Very interesting perspective from each of you. Thank you.

Productivity is after 1year. Other doctors in the group are quite older compared to me. On the positive side ,this means these guys have a lot of experience. They are planning on EMR but seems like the practise does not use technology much.

Do you guys have checklist which would help me cover all the bases before taking up the offer?

I have not started looking aggresively but this quote seems to be higher than others. Others have ranged from 90k onwards.
Thanks.

 

[deleted87716]

If you're doing hospital, I can virtually guarantee that your hours aren't going to be 8-6 every day. You need to ask some specific questions about how the hospital coverage works in order to figure out exactly how much time you'll be spending on that part of the job.

It sounds like you will have a 2-year contract for a fixed salary. Any bonus potential? There should be, IMO. What happens after the two years are up? Do you just renegotiate, or is there partnership potential? If so (there should be), find out the specifics. How is the group structured? Will you be an equal partner? What's the buy-in? Is this practice something you'd like to be a part-owner in, or do you just want to be a salaried employee? Are you building a practice from scratch, or taking over the practice of a retiring physician? Your needs/wants and the needs/wants of the practice need to mesh, else one or the other of you will probably wind up disappointed at some point.