On the second full day of the conference, there was a recruitment "fair." Job sites set up booths in a big conference hall, and you could go from table to table, gathering information and brochures. A lot of the sites were giving out freebies, like free tote bags, pens, notepads, etc.
There were some very very uncomfortable truths that came to light during the conference:
** If you are in Family Medicine, the world is your oyster. The VAST majority of physician jobs were for family medicine. I felt like the most beautiful person in the room - people are literally fawning over you when they see "Family Medicine" on your conference badge. I had never felt so desired in my entire life.
** If you are NOT in family medicine...things can be a little depressing. There were very very few jobs for OB/gyns, for example. After this conference, I would strongly urge anyone considering OB/gyn to avoid taking the scholarship - there were VERY FEW job openings.
** Midlevels really are at the mercy of the trends in any given year. A couple of the PA students were freaking out - there were a lot more PA students than there were job openings. I think, for instance, there were 20 PA students at the conference, but only 12 sites advertising openings at the job fair. The CNM students were REALLY freaking out, because there were NO job openings at the fair this year AT ALL.
** It is very clear that some sites are just looking for a warm body. One job "recruiter" told me that her particular job site had had 4 people quit over the past 18 months. When I asked her what they had done to fix the issue, she said, "Well...uh...I THINK they changed the call schedule? So I think that things...maybe...will be better next year." Uhhh...what?
Is that supposed to be reassuring?
** The NHSC really does not do a good job of updating their job listings website. One of the CNM students approached a job site that, based on the NHSC job listings, was looking for a nurse midwife. They responded that they had filled that job position nine months ago, and were surprised to hear that their site was still listed on the website.
** You really might not be able to be that picky about where you end up. This is something that, I think, a lot of NHSC scholars had a hard time with. For example, there were only a few job sites in California, but their tables were, literally, mobbed. There were a couple of urban job sites (mostly in Baltimore/DC), but nothing in New York, LA, Miami, and only one site in Philadelphia. Most sites were in rural Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, and Alaska. These were literally places that I had never heard of; and the job recruiters mentioned that they lived in places with only one or two roads, and one traffic light. I mean...RURAL.
That being said, don't be afraid to ask questions. I know that this is sort of a general theme when it comes to the NHSC, but you MUST be very aggressive and pro-active. One of the PA students was frustrated because very few sites were advertising for a PA, but a lot were advertising for NPs. So, finally, he asked a site if they would consider hiring a PA instead of an NP - they quickly replied that they absolutely would; they didn't see much advantage in hiring an NP over a PA.
Also, have copies of your CV and business cards to hand out. And be quick to seize opportunities that come your way - the recruiters will certainly not be shy, so there's no reason for you to be either. One of the physicians at that conference left with TWO job interviews lined up. He was certainly an exception, but it just goes to show you - BE READY to grab an opportunity that you see and make a sales pitch for yourself.