Ask the Expert

by Joel Schofer, MD FAAEM

LCDR MC USN, Naval Hospital

“Ask the Expert” is a Common Sense feature where subject matter experts provide answers to questions provided by AAEM & YPS members.  This edition features Dr. Wesley Curry, the President of California Emergency Physicians (CEP) America and Mr. John Gravette, the Director of Recruiting of CEP .

Question:  What type of extra ED or hospital duties and committees look good on a CV to a prospective employer?

Answer:

This is a pretty broad question…and the answer depends on what qualities the prospective employer is looking for in a candidate. It also depends on what type of practice the employer or group has available.

First, just being a good clinician is not enough.  Not all emergency physicians are equally capable in high volume and high acuity emergency department practices. It is important to know which practice is right for you and will meet your long-term expectations. Clinical knowledge, procedural ability, attention to chart documentation, risk management issues and productivity in terms of number of patients seen per hour, are key considerations for any ED group evaluating the likelihood a graduate emergency physician will succeed in their group practice. Any candidate should try to bring to the interview some quantitative or qualitative information on how he or she has performed in the past in a busy clinical practice. Also, the demonstrated ability to contribute to the team approach to patient care, and the ability to work with others, especially nurses, would be important to convey in the interview as well as in the application/references.  Happy nursing, medical staff, patients and administration makes for a long-term work opportunity for the potential candidate. The more ways a candidate can articulate how he/she can contribute to the financial and operational performance of the emergency medicine practice, the greater the interest a candidate will receive.

Board certification and/or residency training pending board certification, and published articles are pretty common now among emergency physicians applying for jobs. Unless the candidate wants to practice in a rural or difficult to recruit geographic area, think of these as the minimum credentials for the best jobs available. However, physicians who are highly productive, get few or no complaints, show up on time, don’t make the nurses mad and are willing to work nights are highly desirable to most emergency medicine practices.

In the end, the “culture” of the medical practice is perhaps the most important aspect of the job to consider. This aspect of the practice could be the most difficult to assess without having someone you know who already works at the emergency medicine practice you are interested in joining. Knowing someone in the practice who can “vouch” for your abilities is very helpful. A candidate must be able to embrace the culture of the prospective practice if he or she wants to find a good career fit and fit in with the other emergency physicians who work there.

If you have a question that you would like to have answered by an expert in a future issue of Common Sense, please send it to jschofer@gmail.com.

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government.