Rheumatology Job Hunt Questions

[ProPropofol]

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Hello All!

My wife is a rheumatology fellow finishing July 1, 2026 and I was curious about job hunting process that is typical for rheumatology fellows. It's February and she hasn't had any solid interviews and no job offers. She plans on waiting until after her in-service exam in March 2026 to be more serious about the process. None of her co-fellows have signed for jobs either. Having gone through the process in the anesthesia world, this is quite different from the experience I had and that of my co-residents and co-fellows. So my questions for the group:

1. Is it typical for people to start to hunker down to get a position for rheumatology in February/March of their last year of fellowship?
2. What does the job market look like nationally? Major metropolitan areas?
3. Anyone know what the job market looks like in SW Florida? Haven't found much on my own cursory glances

We are certainly very fortunate as it is but I'm kinda scratching my head as it is very different from the anesthesia job search process.

Thank you in advance!

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Rheumatologist here.

The earlier, the better. I wouldn’t be waiting to nail down a job. Making sure you’ve secured a job is much more important than the ITE at this point.

I waited until late in the game to sign for my first job…I ended up having a two month gap between the end of fellowship and when the job started for credentialing (which was actually ok, because I was burned out and I needed a break).

Rheumatology job market is usually quite good. Rheumatologists are generally in high demand. Go for PP jobs over hospitals - pay can be much better. If you want a certain locale and don’t see much advertised, start cold calling.

Your wife really should start all this right now if she hasn’t done anything yet.

 

[ebmd2017]

I started looking starting July in the beginning of my last year and had interviews lined up by Fall and first offer in November. Some of my cofellows had offers pre-September. It is best to start early especially if you are looking for positions out-of-state. I had a cofellow who had a job lined up in the middle of their first year (was on two year track) in a rural area down south where he was from and got a signing bonus, which was pretty decent check every month throughout the rest of his fellowship on top of his fellowship salary. The job market is great for rheumatology in certain regions so might as well start early and weigh your options and leverage negotiation power. We are in a active workforce shortage and there are plenty of areas in the country where there is high demand for rheumatology specialists. And I agree about not having to worry about the ITE. The score does not mean anything in a practical sense, especially if she presumably will have recommendations lined up from her PD and other faculty before then (if that is the concern). Real boards studying doesnt start until after graduation and as you get closer to the exam in the Fall. Best use of time and energy is securing job offers, negotiating contract, completing credentialing, and securing a start date. All this would ideally be done BEFORE graduation.