Finding a Community Job in Emergency Medicine: Advice for Residents

R esident ’ s S ection Finding a Community Job in Emergency Medicine: Advice for Residents Sharon Lee MD, MS University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, CA A new academic year has begun, and with it, residents are becoming used to their new roles and responsibilities in the hospital. Those of us in our last year of residency have an added responsibility this year: finding a job. My e-mail inbox is already filled with invitations to apply for emergency medicine positions from different groups around the country, but I feel I needed a crash course before starting the job hunting process. I spoke with two established emergency medicine physicians working in California: Dan Culhane, MD (DC), and Michael Ritter, MD (MR), who have been involved in the hiring process. I asked them their advice to residents looking for a job. Dr. Culhane is Divisional Vice President of Central California, Texas, Illinois at CEP-America. He is also the Chair of the Department of Medicine at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo. Dr. Ritter is the Assistant Director of Emergency Medicine at Mission Hospital and CHOC Children’s Hospital at Mission. He is also the past Chief of the Medical Staff at Mission Hospital. What are emergency departments and emergency medicine groups looking for when hiring new graduates? DC: If a person is from a good program, it is a given that the person has been exposed to enough clinical challenges. Everyone who graduates from a good program is pretty smart. Clinical competence is usually not the issue. I look for someone who has good communication skills, a person that connects well with the patients and their families, and has good teamwork skills. The applicant should work well with the nurses, clinical staff, techs, consultants, etc. This skill takes some time to develop. People do not always come out of residency completely facile at that, but you can tell who has the potential to be a good team player. It is important for us at CEP. We have a unique structure: we are all partners of the organization and equity holders. There is a certain way you treat a practice when you are an owner. We are looking for people who are stewards that are willing to invest in the practice and are willing to grow and are willing to see the other members grow from the benefits of the partnership. We are looking for people who want to participate in the Volume XI, no . 2 : May 2010 practice. I think that a practice of emergency medicine is the most successful and fulfilling when everyone in the group is engaged. We want everyone to contribute at any level whether coding, reimbursement, EMS. It helps engage members with the medical staff and the hospital. MR: The majority of emergency medicine residencies are producing quality graduates that have a solid background in clinical emergency medicine. The rest of the qualities are the same that any employer looks for in a good employee. Personally, I like great teachers and specifically doctors who have won teaching awards. A great teacher has the patience to explain complicated medical information to our patients and their families, the paramedics, the nursing staff, etc. Communication skills are essential for emergency physicians. The ability to get along and be a team player is also critical. A physician that angers the medical staff, patients, nurses, families, paramedics, etc. will have a difficult time lasting in emergency medicine. Unfortunately, disruptive behavior is a habit this is almost impossible to correct. Punctuality is essential. Doctors that are late disrupt care in a busy ED, and anger their EM colleagues who are waiting for their shift relief to arrive. Does the physician keep the place moving, or do their patients get a stage 4 decubitus from prolonged time on the ED gurney? It is very easy to find out about the aforementioned traits. It requires a two-minute call at 3 a.m. to the charge nurse at any ED where the applicant has worked. Why 3 a.m.?It is like truth serum. Plus, most night shift nurses do not beat around the bush. This is what I ask: 1. Is the nursing staff happy or sad when they see that Dr. X is on the schedule? 2. Is Dr. X a good teacher? 3. Does Dr. X have any behavior problems? Do they regularly anger the medical staff or patients? 4. Does Dr. X move the patients in the ED? Are they punctual? To quote my favorite internist that manages a group with hundred of employees and almost 100 physicians, “Nice CAL/AAEM Newsletter