Conversely, candidates should be wary of any program that doesn’t in some degree include their hospitalists in the recruitment process. It could mean that the group is trying to hide something, or that morale is so low that the hospitalists don’t want to promote the program. “I personally would be very uncomfortable not knowing who my partners would be,” Dr. Schmidt says.
Other red flags to look out for are constant references to the job’s competitive salary, which could indicate problems in other areas that the hospitalist practice is trying to mask, and no references to challenging issues the group is facing. If the group appears too good to be true, it probably is, Dr. Simone says.
Recruitment = Leadership
Hospitalists who get involved in their group’s recruitment efforts show their employer and supervisor that they are team players and care about the group and its future. It shows they are willing to help the program beyond providing patient care, and it demonstrates to both current and future employers that they have valuable professional characteristics and skills.
“Hospitalists who are good at recruiting show that they are a leader, a good communicator, and a positive person,” Dr. Simone says. “They can put this on a resume and give examples of what they did to help bring a quality provider to the team.”
When recruiting, be honest about the program’s strengths and weaknesses. “You want to avoid telling a candidate something a program is not,” Dr. Schmidt says. “You should be open about the program’s goals, workload, and expectations.”
Hospitalists who help in recruiting can frame the challenges a program is facing in a positive light. If an HM program is having trouble with, for example, a pulmonology group that is understaffed, the hospitalist recruiting candidates could explain the program is temporarily cross-covering patients at night until a new specialist can be found, Dr. Simone explains. He also notes it’s always best to place negatives into a context that shows the hospitalist group is working on a solution.
Getting engaged in recruiting also helps a hospitalist improve their current job by strengthening their team with good doctors who care about doing quality work, Drs. Schmidt and Simone say.
And that is more important than building a resume. TH
Lisa Ryan is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.