When most start their first job?

[AFMD]

After residency, when do most family physicians start their first job? I've heard it can take months for licensure, privileging, and getting on insurance panels. What do you do in the meantime after residency to live off of? Is it easy to find locums for a few months?

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[deleted87716]

After residency, when do most family physicians start their first job? I've heard it can take months for licensure, privileging, and getting on insurance panels. What do you do in the meantime after residency to live off of? Is it easy to find locums for a few months?

Unless you're going into solo practice, you can work prior to being credentialed. Your employer simply bills your encounters under another physician until you're credentialed. It's completely legal, and we do it all the time. All. The. Time.

 

[smq123]

After residency, when do most family physicians start their first job? I've heard it can take months for licensure, privileging, and getting on insurance panels. What do you do in the meantime after residency to live off of? Is it easy to find locums for a few months?

I graduated at the end of June and started August 20th. (Yes, I still remember the exact day, 5 years later).

I lived off of savings and credit cards until my first paycheck at the end of August. I wasn't fully credentialed yet, but as Blue Dog said, I just billed my encounters under someone else.

 

[PlutoBoy]

I graduated at the end of June and started August 20th. (Yes, I still remember the exact day, 5 years later).

I lived off of savings and credit cards until my first paycheck at the end of August. I wasn't fully credentialed yet, but as Blue Dog said, I just billed my encounters under someone else.

It's nice to have a little break. I was working two days after completing residency!

 

[deleted87716]

Yes, a break is nice. After I finished residency, I took a couple of weeks off, then my wife and I went to Europe for ten days. I started working right after we returned home.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Finished residency June 30th, started work August 1.

 

[deleted87716]

Finished residency June 30th, started work August 1.

Month off. Nice. 😉

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Month off. Nice. 😉

That's what I'd hoped, but it turned out to be pretty stupid. Wife was still in residency so I got bored and restless within about a week since she was still working all day every day.

 

[Freezeout]

That's what I'd hoped, but it turned out to be pretty stupid. Wife was still in residency so I got bored and restless within about a week since she was still working all day every day.

I'm hoping for a month off as well. My wife works from home and we didn't have a chance to go on a honeymoon during residency so we'll probably work that in.

 

[PlutoBoy]

Month off. Nice. 😉

My wife took four months off after fellowship. A much needed sabbatical.

 

[cabinbuilder]

After residency, when do most family physicians start their first job? I've heard it can take months for licensure, privileging, and getting on insurance panels. What do you do in the meantime after residency to live off of? Is it easy to find locums for a few months?

I was hired for my first job in March before graduation so that gave the job time to get my license, etc. I already had a Texas license while in residency. I started my first job mid Aug, finished residency July 30th. You cannot do locums without a license in the state where you work unless you work on an Indian reservation or military base - those take any license. Need to look at where you are wanting to live/work. Licensing in Oregon, Texas, Nevada, Alaska can take up to 10 months. License in Wyoming takes 6 weeks. Many states in need with do a temp locums license in 2 weeks. All depends on the state.

 

[WantToBeFamMed]

I just graduated residency this summer. Last day was June 23rd. Start date of orientation was August 28th, or 9 weeks off. My 8 resident colleagues in my class all took off between about 3 to 10 weeks. My signing bonus was enough to put a 20% down payment on my house, plus about $60,000, left over, more than enough to live off of for 2 months. When I chose my health system to sign with, they asked me for a final start date to work into the finalized contract in preparation for signing, and it was really just left up to whatever I felt I needed. Two months gave us time to move, get settled, furnish our house, take a vacation, have a baby, take time to ourselves and relax, get used to the demands of yard upkeep with the new home, and enjoy our hobbies. If I'd known when I'd signed we'd be expecting a baby and what the due date would be (6 days before my start date), I would have taken about another 2 weeks off. For the colleagues of mine who had to start after just a few weeks it was mandatory as part of their loan repayment deal going into a federal underserved area.

 

[AFMD]

Thank you for the replies. Some time off would be nice, but I like to be busy. I also don't like missing the opportunity to make money, and won't have a huge signing bonus. I have a state license in the state where I'm doing residency. Maybe I'll look into something short term here.

 

[septoplasty]

Depends on if you've been pushing "things you've always wanted to when you graduate".

A colleague of mine has actually decided to take a significant time off and travel after finishing training. Granted they don't have Federal loans. Another colleague was working 2 jobs until the last day of residency. All variable.

 

[JonMonkey]

I worked on setting up locums work before I graduated and was able to get that going July 3rd.

 

[brianmartin]

I made sure I had a good amount of savings by the end of residency and I took 2 months off, then started working in late september. If you plan it right you can take a long vacation. Some people are paranoid about not having insurance for a month or whatever. I chanced it. It was fine.

 

[FrustratedFamDoc]

I took 2 weeks off after residency before starting my grown up job. My pt encounters were billed under another physician at the practice until my credentialling came through.