Starting first attending cardiologist job soon, what advice do you all have?

[Shark7500]

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Graduating fellowship and starting as a general cardiologist soon. I'll be working in the community as part of a large hospital system. About 50% inpatient, 50% outpatient. Will be reading TTE, TEE, and nuclear . What tips or words of advice do you all have about transitioning to independent practice? Thanks!

 

[cards67]

Update your disability policy. Understand how you're being paid. Educate yourself on billing, coding, RVUs, etc. and stay on top of it. Hopefully you'll have solid colleague(s) who can answer questions, bounce ideas off of, etc. Otherwise a lot of it is just figuring things out yourself and learning how you want to practice. Be a team player but also learn when to say no, including to patients. 50% inpatient sure sounds like a lot though.

 

[winterwarlock88]

It takes time to build your clinic volume, so be patient. Clinic work will become a major source of your revenue in the future, so invest in it early. Meet the referring physicians in your community—introduce yourself and build relationships. Be personable and attentive with your patients; word of mouth is one of the most powerful referral sources.

 

[Sapien3]

Graduating fellowship and starting as a general cardiologist soon. I'll be working in the community as part of a large hospital system. About 50% inpatient, 50% outpatient. Will be reading TTE, TEE, and nuclear . What tips or words of advice do you all have about transitioning to independent practice? Thanks!

it could be unnerving to make decisions such as who needs cath, who to follow clinically, and ICU/acutely ill patient. Again depends on your training etc.
things that helped me
1) don’t be afraid to ask for advice when in “tricky” situation - identify some senior cardiologist you feel comfortable talking to and ask them. OpenAI is great resource too. But some clinical real life situations are different.
2) be professional with hospitalists and have good rapport. They can make your life hell or heaven.
3) communicate critical results and document
4) document everything
5) remember not all chest pain needs stress/ct. don’t believe what the hospitalist document. If you think CP is BS, call it so. You have earned it. 🙂
6) build good relationship with clinic staff, life saviors !

 

[cag & tavr]

Glad you posted this question. Very helpful replies. I thinking these suggestions will be helpful in the real-world. I am curious how to learn about billing and coding - what could be the good resources. Also, I am looking to be practice in the outpatient setting - building up my clinic volume. So looking for further suggestions. Any thoughts guys: