South Texas jobs

[Aesculapius]

Moving to the promised land (i.e., Texas) this summer and would appreciate any thoughts on job leads, the Texas jurisprudence test and state licensing process, and so forth. I'll be relocating to McAllen. Thanks!

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[BoardingDoc]

Moving to the promised land (i.e., Texas) this summer and would appreciate any thoughts on job leads, the Texas jurisprudence test and state licensing process, and so forth. I'll be relocating to McAllen. Thanks!

You're moving there this summer (presumably after completing residency) but don't have a job or licence lined up yet? I don't have any firsthand experience here, but from talking to people in my program who are moving to Tx to practice this summer I feel like this is abnormal and very late in the game to be doing this.

 

[Arcan57]

You're moving there this summer (presumably after completing residency) but don't have a job or licence lined up yet? I don't have any firsthand experience here, but from talking to people in my program who are moving to Tx to practice this summer I feel like this is abnormal and very late in the game to be doing this.

If the stars line up just right he has a chance at getting a license +/- CSR by July. I suppose you may be able to find a hospital that will credential you pending state licensing, but the usual is that they won't present your packet without already having a license. The jurisprudence test is a pain but if there's an on-line course that's way too expensive that pretty much guarantees passing if you complete it.

 

[Groove]

I take the JP exam next month. I hired one of those licensing companies and paid them entirely too much to make the whole thing less painful.

 

[throckmortonDO]

I'm from the Rio Grande Valley, but left the area after high school there.
have you visited the area? yes there are high paying jobs there, but there is a reason for that.
are you single or married? kids?

it is a border town, and I promise it will be a significant culture shock for you if you are unfamiliar with the area.
it is not like other areas in texas, it is very much its own world.
are you fluent in spanish? when I was there it was extremely rare to go anywhere or do anything without being addressed in spanish.

 

[Aesculapius]

My fiancee just matched into a Texas residency program, which is why I'm a little behind time-wise. I am fluent in Spanish. I do have savings so starting work on July 1st is not crucial for me.

 

[jaeida8]

We're hiring in Harlingen. I believe our group is the only truly independent democratic group in the area. PM me if you are interested.

 

[deleted109597]

The entire Valley is hiring. I get daily emails about working in every city from Brownsville to Laredo.
The new medical school may make medical practice there stop sucking, in about a decade. Until then, get used to a paucity of referral choices.
If it's what you want, go for it. Just because other people think the city isn't their cup of tea doesn't mean it's not yours. I've had to explain so much about why I still live where I do that I've just given up.

 

[jaeida8]

Of course they're all hiring but it's mostly Emcare, Schumacher and other corporate groups. Down here that means they hire basically anyone. As a result, you see a lot of bad ED care.

Our group actually cares about the quality of physicians we hire and we are focused on hiring BCEM docs only going forward. I trust the other physicians in my group so if I refer a friend of family member I know they will be well taken care of and if I see someone's bounce back I know that more often than not, the patient was assessed and worked up well and it's a matter of something changing, an early presentation of something on the first visit, or a patient who just didn't have reasonable expectations rather than a flat out miss. Based on what I've seen in the Valley I doubt that's the case in most of the other hospitals.

We had a contract at another hospital in the Valley and the hospital decided to go with the lowest bidder. 3 months later, they are still heavily employing locums and the ED is floundering. Nurses are jumping ship all the time. Because we have such a great reputation we got interest from several valley hospitals and, interestingly the contract we signed is with the hospital that directly competes with the hospital we left.

I really haven't had a problem with getting specialty care and PCP followup for patients either. Actually at the previous hospital we only transferred out pelvic fractures (and at one point we had an ortho who did those), bad peds trauma and burns.

 

[devlyyn]

As someone not familiar with south texas, what's it like working in Harligen for a non-spanish speaker? Some of the south texas places are offering really good money.

 

[jaeida8]

The non Spanish speakers pull in a nurse or tech to help with translation. Just be careful. Places that offer crazy money may be bad work environments.

 

[throckmortonDO]

McNinja is correct. just because someone doesn't think an area is their cup of tea shouldn't be a reason for you to stay away.
I'll reiterate my point about visiting before you make your decision though.

The positives of the RGV are that there is great fishing, bird watching, south padre island can be really nice not in tourist season when there is trash everywhere on the beaches and overzealous partiers, some of the best mexican food I've ever eaten, some shopping/retail in McAllen and zoo in brownsville is good. the overall crime rate published is not bad when compared to say san antonio or houston. Traffic is pretty good especially if you are moving from a big city. McAllen is a fast growing area. Overall the area has a very low cost of living. theres lots of EM jobs paying huge money there.

Consider living in Rancho Viejo, Harlingen, north McAllen/sharyland or Mission. I would stay away from east McAllen/Alamo, and most of Brownsville. You can live on South padre if you can afford it but its not fun during tourist season. highly consider sending your kids to private schools.

the RGV is kind of like its own universe though, like I was saying it might be a culture shock. not bad/good, just different. if you want more information from someone who grew up there, feel free to PM me, I don't live there currently, or practice there for what it's worth so I can't give any job specifics.

 

[emergentmd]

I know a bunch of docs that works locums in S. Texas. They all seem to like doing it, pay is great. Problem is when you have a bunch of locums go to a hospital, it creates poor care with the medical staff. And its not just the ED. I hear the quality of the medical stall are not as good.

But that is why you get paid the big bucks. And as a locums with no vested interest, why would you really care? I do some locums and I can care less if things run well. I am there for only 1 reason and then I go back to my regular gig where I put in a great deal of effort to make the ED a good experience.

 

[micoyeh]

Hello, I am finishing my BCEM approved FM Emergency Medicine fellowship in October 2017. Thinking of doing full time block locum jobs in Texas (like 2 weeks, 12 hours shifts then 2 weeks off). I am in the process of getting my Texas license since I heard that Texas locums' compensation is great. I am fluent in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Just wandering what is the EM job market like for somebody like me, Family Medicine trained EM physician, in Texas. I understand that big cities ED most likely require ABEM. I don't mind if the location is rural or remote, as long as the pay is great. I don't plan to start a family there. Just to want work. Really appreciate any constructive feedback. Please don't turn this into a ABEM vs BCEM debate. Thank you.

 

[deleted109597]

I don't know of a bunch of non-ABEM guys flying in for locums, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. If the job will hire you, then you can do it.
14 shifts in a row is doable, for 1 month. If you do it every month it will really wear on you.

 

[DissocativFugue]

Seriously reconsider doing max and I mean MAX 5-7 shifts in a row unless in a real slow place that you can reliably sleep. Critical access hospitals can get hairy at times. If you do 14 shifts in a row you will not be cognitively sharp. High pay usually comes with terrible nursing to patient ratios, low physician staffing, terrible EMRs and (very infrequently) no shows due to difficulty with coverage. Make sure you talk to current workers and nursing at the place you are looking at. Don't just ask admin or directors about the place. Cant speak directly to non abem either. Good luck.


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[Makati2008]

I don't know of a bunch of non-ABEM guys flying in for locums, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. If the job will hire you, then you can do it.
14 shifts in a row is doable, for 1 month. If you do it every month it will really wear on you.

So what is the rate you are seeing advertised?


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[wysdoc]

Moving to the promised land (i.e., Texas) this summer and would appreciate any thoughts on job leads, the Texas jurisprudence test and state licensing process, and so forth. I'll be relocating to McAllen. Thanks!

Ask the TMB (Texas Medical Board) for a study guide for the jurisprudence exam. It is well written and helpful; if you read it with care you will have no trouble passing the exam.
For those who say it is too late to be trying for a Texas License - the process, though improved from past years, still takes several months to get through. After you are licensed you will have another process of several months to get your Medicare and Medicaid billing numbers. The billing numbers are specific to your job location so you can't get them until you have a job. See if someone from TMB will guide you through this as well.

 

[deleted109597]

So what is the rate you are seeing advertised?


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Strangely, the emails don't say it, and the voicemails (I never answer those calls) also don't. I know Laredo is close to $300, and I'm sure the rest are similar.

 

[Makati2008]

Strangely, the emails don't say it, and the voicemails (I never answer those calls) also don't. I know Laredo is close to $300, and I'm sure the rest are similar.

Interesting. El Paso supposedly is paying around $300-315 from one of the emails I got awhile back. I know one job in Abilene was paying 300 as well (I'm assuming the schools are much better there). The Texas rates are just so amazing to me. Thank you for the reply!


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[deleted109597]

There's a site in Midland/Odessa that's offering $325 for a SDG, as a partner is apparently being deployed.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Interesting. El Paso supposedly is paying around $300-315 from one of the emails I got awhile back. I know one job in Abilene was paying 300 as well (I'm assuming the schools are much better there). The Texas rates are just so amazing to me. Thank you for the reply!


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The rates are amazing now, so take advantage. Once the evil plan of the CMGs is complete in 5-10 years, they are all going to collude and we will be getting a max of $150/hour.

 

[OccupyTheED]

The rates are amazing now, so take advantage. Once the evil plan of the CMGs is complete in 5-10 years, they are all going to collude and we will be getting a max of $150/hour.

@GeneralVeers how do you see this playing out? Do you think it's something that we could combat by simply refusing to work for them?

 

[da8s0859q]

So, I work in a place where things are efficient, a majority of the consultants are a pleasure to talk to, the nursing staff is pretty solid overall, the hospital is fairly nice, and it's an SDG. I'm employed, not an IC. The hourly rate not inclusive of benefits is nowhere near the mystical "Texas numbers" we always talk about. Even after benefits, it's still not as high as what I see here. The productivity a bit into the group, and the partnership numbers, make it much more palatable -- but takes a few years to be fully realized.

Am I missing something? I always see threads like this and wonder what the catch is for the $300/hr jobs as far as whether there are any that are $250-300/hr and don't suck to work at, what these include, etc.

 

[GeneralVeers]

@GeneralVeers how do you see this playing out? Do you think it's something that we could combat by simply refusing to work for them?

Well their plan is complete consolidation of the physician contract industry into 2-3 mega groups. SDGs will be no more. At that point they will price-fix. There may be small regional/need modifiers that can bump salary a bit, but we will certainly have much decreased bargaining capability and decreased salary.

 

[uhhhh]

Strangely, the emails don't say it, and the voicemails (I never answer those calls) also don't. I know Laredo is close to $300, and I'm sure the rest are similar.

I don't currently work with this group but and I do occasionally look at their advertised numbers

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