To the PP guys out there--what makes me hireable?

[Sammich81]

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Hi guys. New CA-3. Husband is graduating from a urology problem next June too. Looking at some competitive markets--DC, Chicago. These are my questions:

1. Is it better to live a little farther (maybe 1-1.5 hrs) outside the city and make 50-100K more, give the uncertainty of the health care system?
2. What makes a new grad hireable? I passed on being chief resident, but my attendings love me and I'll have great letters. I went to good schools and have good scores.
3. What's the best way to find and evaluate jobs?

 

[IceDoc]

1) Depends on what you value and how/where you want to live.
2) I would want to see a lack of behavioral issues or other evidence of a personality disorder, and I would like to know you have good judgment. If I was at a specialty center, then I would want to see evidence that you can apply yourself to the specialty.
3) I would want to see evidence that the group is equitable between the members. Basically, is everyone in the group part of the same 'system'? Or are there special people (or even just a special person) who runs the group and controls all the decisions (including, of course, the money). There are multiple threads on evaluating a group.

 

[gaspasser2004]

Hi guys. New CA-3. Husband is graduating from a urology problem next June too. Looking at some competitive markets--DC, Chicago. These are my questions:

1. Is it better to live a little farther (maybe 1-1.5 hrs) outside the city and make 50-100K more, give the uncertainty of the health care system?

You need to live where you are going to be happy. Living outside a major metro area means that you won't have access to all the shopping, restaurants, sports teams, etc. The basic laws of supply and demand reward someone who is willing to live in a less desirable area. The balance between lifestyle and income is a personal decision as there are no right or wrong answers.

I think you can generally count on a downward drift in physician income. I don't think it will be catastrophic, but you won't be living high off the hog like our older colleagues did in the 1980's.

2. What makes a new grad hireable? I passed on being chief resident, but my attendings love me and I'll have great letters. I went to good schools and have good scores.

Its not what you know, but who you know and how well those people know you. The people who interviewed you for medical school probably never had to interact with you once you got there. The people who interviewed you for residency were going to interact with you personally, but only for a defined period of time. The people interviewing you for a job are hoping that you become a lifetime employee and equal colleague - these decisions are not made lightly. It gives an employer much more confidence when a potential hire is recommended by people they know and trust. With that in mind, use your attendings/alumni connections to get your "in" for a job.

3. What's the best way to find and evaluate jobs?

The best way to find/get a job is word of mouth. Second best is cold-calling groups you are interested in. Third best is using a recruiter and/or going on gaswork (there is usually a reason these jobs aren't filled).

In evaluating jobs, talk to as many people as you can both inside and outside the group to get a feel for it. Unfortunately, you won't really know whether or not it is a good fit (or a good deal) until you actually show up for the first day of work.

 

[InductionAgent]

Hi guys. New CA-3. Husband is graduating from a urology problem next June too. Looking at some competitive markets--DC, Chicago. These are my questions:

1. Is it better to live a little farther (maybe 1-1.5 hrs) outside the city and make 50-100K more, give the uncertainty of the health care system?
2. What makes a new grad hireable? I passed on being chief resident, but my attendings love me and I'll have great letters. I went to good schools and have good scores.
3. What's the best way to find and evaluate jobs?

I'm going to (sort of) pass on making an inappropriate joke about exactly what it means for a man to "graduate from a urology problem."

1) is definitely a personal choice - are you a suburbanite or a city-dweller?

2) the most important thing is how well you get along with the group. I would be honest about whatever your expectations for lifestyle may be, so that there are no misunderstandings later on.

3) I found my job through gaswork and a recruiter. I am happy thus far. It's in a semi-rural area that does not have mass appeal. The income is satisfactory to me, but not competitvely high. So that explained why they needed to advertise and recruit. On the plus-side, it's a mostly-physician group and provides a decent amount of free time. My wife and I really liked the group and the community when we visited. I would also check out groups you learn about from word of mouth, but I think that advertising on gaswork is neither sensitive nor specific for being an undesireable position.