What Interviewers Look For
Because its essential to find a good personality fit for a group, allow decision-makers to get a sense of who you are during the interview phase.
“It’s important to be honest about your values and about who you are,” says Dr. Harris. She believes that most hospital medicine directors look for candidates who are “actively interested in being a hospitalist—preferably for a long time,” for physicians who are team players, and for traits that include flexibility and responsibility.
“I look for someone who’s outgoing,” adds Dr. Mark Williams. “ I want a nice person—someone who’s willing to bend over backward to help others. I appreciate people who’ve won humanitarian awards in residency.”
There are also more basic traits you should display. “General etiquette is important,” stresses Dr. Harris. “Be prompt in your responses when using phone and e-mail. If you’re interested in the position, be engaged in the process. After you come in to the hospital, send a brief letter or a quick e-mail thanking the person and expressing your interest—or your lack of interest. This doesn’t have to be very formal.”
When interviewing candidates for academic hospitalist positions, Dr. Mark Williams says, “I look for residents who have won awards, who have laudatory letters of recommendation from their program director. I love letters that say this resident was in the top of their class, or the best we’ve seen in five years. I look for those who have done research, and those who published case report abstracts, which shows they’re industrious.”
Dr. Mark Williams also asks questions of candidates early in the process and listens carefully to their responses. “I especially look for good communication skills, which are so critical for hospitalists,” he says. “If someone has poor communication skills, they’ll have a tough time on the job.”
To determine their skills, “I’ll ask about their goals, and ask what they see as their weakness,” he says. “It’s very positive to see someone articulate their weaknesses.”
Before You Sign
When you’re presented with a contract, it’s time to take a close look at what’s being offered. “Before you sign anything, you need to come to an agreement with the other party in the contract that this is exactly what we agreed to. Otherwise, it’s no deal,” says Fred A. McCurdy, MD, PhD, MBA, FAAP, FACPE, professor and regional chairman of pediatrics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo. “Everything needs to be really specific in the offer letter or the contract—their duties, expectations—all clarified up front.”
Examine the benefits, including retirement and insurance. Ideally, you want disability insurance—and malpractice insurance with tail coverage is essential. (Tail coverage, also called extended reporting coverage, covers you after you leave a group in case a patient files a lawsuit years after the fact.)
Make sure you understand what the contract says, and make sure your employer doesn’t hold too much power. “Check to see if you can be assigned to areas of work that would be a deal-breaker—if you can be sent to another city or state to work, for example,” says Dr. McCurdy.
As a new physician, you do have some leverage to negotiate for better compensation or schedule. Dr. McCurdy says of recent residents, “The two biggest benefits they bring to the table are their youth and the fact that they’re current and up to date on what’s going on in [internal medicine]. They have energy, and they’ll bring energy to the program; and they’ve spent three years in intense study and have the most up-to-date knowledge of anyone you can hire.”