Primary Care Career Session Handout

Special Thanks
How to Find a Job in
Primary Care
David Hong
Associate Program Director, Advising and Career Development
•  Our invited guests:
–  Carrie Loutit, MD
–  Charles Owyang, MD
–  Remington Fong, MD
–  Audrey Hall, MD
–  Christy Mulkerin, MD
LPCH
Kaiser Santa Clara
Menlo Medical
PAMF
SCVMC
LPCH/Stanford Pediatric Residency Program
October 29, 2013
Objectives
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Discuss the variety of primary care jobs
available
Understand the steps in searching for a
primary care position
Review CVs, cover letters, and references
Outline the components of the actual interview
day, including what questions to ask
Identify the potential benefits a job may offer
Recognize when to negotiate one’s contract
Resources
•  AAP Practice Management Online
(www.practice.aap.org):
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“Launching Your Career in Pediatrics”
“Finding the Job”
“Job Seeker: Tips on Interviewing”
“Negotiating an Agreement”
•  AAP CV Builder: www.pedjobs.org/cv.asp
•  AAP PedJobs: www.pedjobs.org
•  Abelson HT, Blewett L, Tunnessen Jr WW. Career
Planning for Pediatric Residents. Pediatrics, 107; e65,
2001.
•  Stanford Pediatric Career Development Website:
http://peds.stanford.edu/professional-development/
Resources: peds.stanford.edu website
Timeline For Seniors
Send
Cover
Letters
and CVs
Follow-Up
with
Phone Call
Interview
Receive &
Consider
Offers;
Possible
Negotiation
Decide
Fall-Winter
1-2
weeks
later
FallSpring
WinterSpring
WinterSpring
1
Primary Care Considerations
•  Academic vs. community setting
•  Clinical Work, Research, Education, Advocacy,
Policy
•  Patient population
•  Schedule
•  Call
•  Location
•  Ability to work part-time
Exposure to Different Jobs
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Continuity Clinic
Urgent Care
Electives
Informational Interviews/Shadowing
Career Panels
National Conferences
–  AAP National Conference - October
–  Pediatric Academic Societies - May
How to Find Out About Job
Opportunities
How to Find Out About Job
Opportunities (cont)
•  Job Market Reality: fewer jobs
available in some parts of the country
•  Many jobs are not listed
•  People learn about them by word of
mouth or networking
•  Many different choices (i.e., you can do
what you love most)
•  Word of Mouth: mentors, advisors, PD/APDs,
continuity clinic preceptors, residency alumni,
current residents, others in the community
•  Send out feelers
–  Mail/Email cover letters and CVs, even if a job
is not posted
•  Ask for an Informational Interview
•  Moonlighting
•  Alumni
Resources: peds.stanford.edu website
Preparing What You Will Need
•  Cover Letter
•  CV
•  References
2
Components of a CV
Cover Letters
•  Purposes of a Cover Letter
–  Introduces you to the employer
–  Identifies what type of job you are looking for
•  ie – primary care vs. urgent care vs. nursery vs. combination
•  Name
•  Contact Information: Home & Work Address, Email, Phone
•  Medical Training
–  Residency (Years attended)
–  Inpatient and outpatient rotations at Hospital X, Hospital Y, and
Clinic Z
–  Continuity clinic at:
–  Gives a few reasons why you would be an excellent
choice
•  One page maximum, to be sent along with your CV
•  The cover letter can be in the body of the email,
rather than an attachment, but don’t treat it less
formally – often this letter will be sent on to the rest
of the group you are applying to
•  Education (reverse chronological order)
•  Professional Experience (reverse chronological order)
–  List any related experience here (moonlighting, etc)
CV/Cover Letter Session – November 11, 2013 6-8pm
CV/Cover Letter Session – November 11, 2013 6-8pm
Components of a CV (cont)
Components of a CV (cont)
•  Honors and Awards (reverse chronological order)
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CV/Cover Letter Session – November 11, 2013 6-8pm
CV/Cover Letter Session – November 11, 2013 6-8pm
References
Scheduling Interviews
•  Licenses and Certification
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Pediatric Board Certification
Medical Board of California
DEA
PALS
NRP
•  Special Skills
–  Languages spoken
–  Ability to do special procedures: circumcision
•  3-4 Total
–  Program Director or Associate Program Director should
be one
–  References should know you well and preferably at
least 1-2 in primary care
•  When asking someone to be a reference, be sure to ask if
he/she can provide a strong recommendation on your
behalf
•  Provide references’ names, contact information (phone/
email/fax) and ensure accuracy at the same time as you
send your CV and cover letter
Teaching Experience
Research
Publications
Presentations
Professional Organizations
Volunteer Experience
International Experience
Special Interests/Hobbies (optional)
•  Be persistent
•  Sooner the better
•  Try to cluster interviews because the timing of interviews
at some places may overlap with offers from other
places
•  Preparation for interviews
–  Learn about the places you are going to visit
•  Read the website
•  Be familiar with the leadership structure
•  Why do you want to work there?
•  Why would you be a good fit?
–  Talk with others familiar with the group/practice
–  Practice answering interview questions
3
Academic Positions
•  Know the different academic tracks at the
institution (usually on the academic affairs
webpage)
•  Learn what is required to advance in the
given track (often on the Appointments and
Promotions Committee website)
Interview Day Questions
•  What will the actual duties involve?
–  Clinical sites and duties
–  Number of patients per day
–  Number of days/week
–  Number of call nights and weekends (and what
responsibilities you have during that time)
–  Dedicated administrative time (for returning calls,
finishing charting, making referrals, etc.)
–  Non-clinical expectations (Teaching,
administrative )
Interview Day Questions (cont)
•  How are young physicians mentored?
•  How is evaluation and promotion handled?
•  Are there partners? How does one advance
to partner?
•  How long do physicians typically stay in the
practice?
•  Are there any significant upcoming changes?
(People leaving, mergers, etc.)
•  What else should you know about the job?
Interview Day
•  Your goals:
–  To promote yourself
–  To evaluate the potential job and determine
if it fits what you are looking for
•  Number of people you will meet with varies
•  Types of interviews vary
•  Dress and act professionally
Interview Day Questions (cont)
•  Who are the other physicians? How long
have they been there and what are their
backgrounds?
•  What support staff is available?
–  RNs/PAs/MAs
–  Business manager
–  Case manager
–  Social worker
–  Subspecialists
–  Answering service
•  Is RN first-call or MD?
•  Is there an answering service during the day?
Interview Day Questions (cont)
•  Payer mix
•  What is the physician payment rate? What is the
basis of this scale (eg, salary, seniority,
productivity, patient load, call load,
combination)?
•  Benefits
4
Offers
After an Interview
•  Take detailed notes about what you did
and did not like and what you learned
•  Write a thank you note to your interviewers
Benefits
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Vacation
CME Time
Sabbatical
Health insurance
–  How much are you
expected to contribute?
•  Dental/vision insurance
•  Retirement plans
–  401K, 403b, Pension
Plans
–  Matching vs. non-matching
•  Benefits for Domestic Partner,
Spouse, Children
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Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Child care accounts
Reimbursement for
•  Boards
•  Medical License
•  DEA
CME/Education Stipend
Tuition Benefits for
Dependents
Housing Benefits
Other Benefits
Benefits (cont)
•  Benefits are very important – may represent
1/3 of your overall compensation
–  Example: If you are offered a salary of $140,000/
yr, often the benefits can be worth $50,000$70,000/yr
•  For part-time work, clarify what proportion of
benefits you will receive
•  Initially, may receive verbal contract
•  Ensure you get written contract shortly thereafter
•  Compensation = Salary + Bonuses + Benefits
–  Clarify what the salary will be
–  Clarify what bonuses depend on
•  Clarify job being offered
–  What will the job consist of?
–  Number of hours/week
–  Number and type of call
–  Expected non-clinical contributions
–  Dedicated administrative time
Benefits (cont)
•  Maternity/Paternity Policy
•  Loan Repayment
•  Malpractice Insurance
•  Insurance that covers you while you are at a
practice.
•  Tail Insurance
–  Malpractice insurance that covers you after you
leave the practice
–  Example: Tail insurance will cover you if a patient
you treated during your time at a practice sues you
and/or the practice 5 or 10 years after you actually
saw them
Part-Time Work
•  Very common, especially in pediatrics
•  FTE = Full-time Equivalent
–  Full-time is often considered 36-40 hours/week
•  Part-time = Anything less than full-time
–  Example: 0.5 FTE often 18-20 hours/week
•  Pay attention to how benefits are affected
by FTE status
–  Often you need to work > 50% time to get any benefits
at all
–  Benefits for 0.5 FTE vary from none to 50% to full
benefits
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After You Have Received an Offer
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Think about it
Talk about it with family and friends
Talk about it with a trusted mentor/advisor
Consider negotiating your contract
Consider having a lawyer review the contract
Contract Negotiation (cont)
•  When to negotiate?
•  Different organizations have different
expectations
–  Some places don’t do any negotiating
–  Others don’t take you seriously unless you try
to negotiate
Contract Negotiation
•  Fair Market Value
–  See what people in the area, in similar
practices, are paying for physicians coming
out of comparable residencies.
–  Ask alumni, colleagues, pediatricians in the
area about their compensation
Contract Negotiation (cont)
•  Things that are negotiable:
–  Job specifics (ie. % primary care vs. urgent care)
–  Percent FTE
–  Salary
–  Comparison with other offers you have received
–  Exit clauses
•  Usually Non-negotiable:
–  Non-compete clauses (where you can practice after
you leave)
–  Benefits
Contract Negotiation (cont)
•  Balance: Knowing your bottom line vs. you will
be working with these people in the future
•  Find right venue/person to negotiate with
•  If people say “best and final offer,” it is usually
true
•  You normally have at least 2 weeks to decide on
your offer
Ques%ons? 6