Questions to ask when interviewing for a job

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ERDude

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This question goes out to the attendings and/or senior residents who are currently interviewing for new positions (specifically community and not academic positions).

Do you guys have a standard set of questions that you feel are vital to ask any potential employer?

I plan on discussing a few basics such as:
Admitting
?Hospitalist service
What/who gets transferred, and if so, what agreements are in place?
In house anesthesia?
Radiology reads

What are some other key factors that you guys look at while evaluating a potential new position?

Thanks.

Members don't see this ad.
 
A bunch of the senior residents at my program got together and created a form we wanted to kind-of fill out for interviews or at least questions to think about. Here it is:

Practice Profile Info Sheet (Adapted) (Revised 9/10)

General
ED/Hospital name ___________________ Contact info:_________________________
Affiliations_________________________ ________________________
Location ___________________________ ________________________
ED director/chairman _________________ ________________________

Job Position
Work Site(s) ____________________________
Hours (annual) ___________________________
Shift length _____________________________

ED Group
Structure: □ Contract management □ Independent group □ Hospital Employee □ Other___________
__Equal partnership: __________________________________
__Limited partnership: _________________________________
__Solo contract holder

Duration of existence __________

Other sites staffed ________________________________________

Hospital contract: Last renewed_______ Duration_______ Next Renewal Date______

EP Staff
# Physicians FT______ / PT________ Avg RVU or pts/hr __________

Demographics: _____Male / _____ Female _____EM BC/BE ______Age (Avg and Range)

Avg Tenure ___________ Recent departures and hires: ____________________________
Disciplinary actions: __________________ ___________________________

ED Demographics
ED volume: Annual ______ Avg daily census_____ Daytime census_____ Night census_______

Admission rate __________ ICU admission rate ___________

Types of visits: Med ____ Surg____ Trauma____ Peds ____ Geriatric ____ OB ____ Psych____

Billing level distribution: 1____ 2____ 3____ 4_____ 5_____ CC_____

Triage Acuity: 1____ 2____ 3____ 4_____ 5_____

Insured ________

ED Staff
Physician coverage (hrs) _______ NP/PA _______________
RN ______________________ PCA _____________________
Unit clerk _________________ Nurse manager _____________

ED Resources
Emergency Radiology: Day reads_______ Night reads________
CT ________________ MRI__________________
Vascular___________ Nuclear medicine ___________
Discrepancy resolution method _______________________________________
Quality and timing of rad reads _______________________________________
PACS _____________________________
Lab Turnaround time: CBC_____ Chemistry_____ Tn______ Urine______ POC?__________

ED Pharmacy: ____________ ED Social work: _______________

Medical staff on-call /coverage:  Cardiology Gen Surg  Orthopedics  Hand  ENT  OB
Neurology Urology Vascular CT surg RT Anesthesia Face Peds
Plastics ENT Trauma

Airway adjuncts ___________________________ US machine ________________________

ED visit documentation ____________ EMR in ED ____________ Hospital EMR_________

ED Operations
Decision-making ___________________________________________

Triage processes __________________________ Avg wait time ___________
If not single coverage, patient distrib_____________________________

Nursing protocols _________________________

Admission process __________________________ EM holding or admission orders?________
Avg Hold time ____________ Who manages boarded pts? ___________________

Observation services ___________________

ED Plant
Beds ______ Divisions: □___ pods □ Minor care □ Critical care bays

Renovations _________ (last or planned)

EM Practice Patterns
EGDT ____________ CVP______ Alines_______
Therapeutic hypothermia ___________________
Lytics for stroke__________________________
Sign-out_______________________________
Transfers______________________________
Procedures: Chest tubes_________ ETT________ Lines_________

EM Activities
Hospital committees_____________
Dept meetings_________________
QA___________
Teaching __________

Hospital
Beds______ ICU____________ CCU__________ Other_________
Cath lab_______ Stroke center designation_______ Trauma level _________

Corporate structure:_______________

Teaching: Residents________________

Reputation ________________

Community
Population size: ___________ Demographics by race/ethnicity: __________________

Cultural institutions: ___________________________ Recreational/outdoors:___________________________

Dining scene:_________________________________ Korean restaurants/grocery stores: _________________

Economic base: _______________________________ Major businesses: ______________________________

Nearby cities and distance: _________________ _____ Airports and distance: ___________________________

Cost of living: ________________________________

ED Group Administrative
Scheduling: by whom __________ Requests?____ Backup staffing? ________________________

Distrib nights/weekends/holidays_______________________

Coding/Billing: By whom______ Available for review?_____ Feedback type ____________________

Benefits/Financial
Pay structure________________ Hourly Base ________
Malpractice Insurance Benefit (type)__________________ _________
Health Insurance Benefit _____________________________ _________
Disability Insurance Benefit __________________________ __________
Life Insurance Benefit _______________________________ __________
Retirement Benefits _________________________________ __________
Bonus ____________________________________________ __________
Profit sharing ______________________________________ __________
CME _____________________________________________ __________
Adjusted hourly rate = ________
Moving expenses _________
Dues ___________________
Vacation ________________
HSA ___________________
Loan repayment __________
Partnership buy-in _________

Contract
Restrictive clauses (during and after) _________________
 
Awesome form. Thanks a lot for sharing. I will definitely be using that.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Korean restaurants?

And find out who pays for your korean food - avoid the classic pitfall of leaving the job only to be stuck with the korean food bill years later!
 
great list!

The biggest things that impact my day to day are the following:
1. The political strength of the ED (do you have any members that sit on the exec committee? who's the CMO?)
2. Admissions: who writes orders? what do the bylaws say about time needed to see admitted patients?
3. How many hold hours are there in the ED? (do admitted patients park in the ED or move quickly to inpatient floors)
4. What are the availablitity of consultants? how receptive are they to ED issues?
5. patient population (i.e. low acuity, nursing home, peds, etc...)
 
great list!

The biggest things that impact my day to day are the following:
1. The political strength of the ED (do you have any members that sit on the exec committee? who's the CMO?)
2. Admissions: who writes orders? what do the bylaws say about time needed to see admitted patients?
3. How many hold hours are there in the ED? (do admitted patients park in the ED or move quickly to inpatient floors)
4. What are the availablitity of consultants? how receptive are they to ED issues?
5. patient population (i.e. low acuity, nursing home, peds, etc...)


Really helpful! Thanks. I've got an interview coming up Monday and I'm starting to get a bit nervous about it.
 
ask about the finances of the hospital. the joint i work in has like 300 mil in cash on hand. poor finances leads to possible sharks in the water, and job uncertainty.
 
This question goes out to the attendings and/or senior residents who are currently interviewing for new positions (specifically community and not academic positions).

Do you guys have a standard set of questions that you feel are vital to ask any potential employer?

I plan on discussing a few basics such as:
Admitting
?Hospitalist service
What/who gets transferred, and if so, what agreements are in place?
In house anesthesia?
Radiology reads

What are some other key factors that you guys look at while evaluating a potential new position?

Thanks.

Can you be terminated without cause? Is there an appeal process? If terminated is there severance? Restrictive covenant?
 
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