To all the PGY3s and EM Attendings

[DrQuinn]

So, since we dont' have any PGY-3s at our program (me being the first class, and we're PGY-2s), I dont' have any of them to ask, so I thought I'd ask here.

When do we start looking for jobs and sending out our resumes? I remember when I was rotating at an EM residency in November of my M4 year, that the vast majority of the EM seniors had already signed their contracts!

Thanks for any advice.

Your 3000 post moderator,
Q

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[spyderdoc]

So, since we dont' have any PGY-3s at our program (me being the first class, and we're PGY-2s), I dont' have any of them to ask, so I thought I'd ask here.

When do we start looking for jobs and sending out our resumes? I remember when I was rotating at an EM residency in November of my M4 year, that the vast majority of the EM seniors had already signed their contracts!

Thanks for any advice.

Your 3000 post moderator,
Q

If you are going to do academics, better start early, like Oct or Nov before you graduate. Most of these places already know that they will have openings for the next academic year, and start advertising early...

For community jobs, I would say between Nov to Feb at the latest. Mainly because it can take a long time to get credentialled at the hospital that you will be working at. Even a giant place like Kaiser can take a few months just to get credentialled! If you are moving out of state, then you have to get licensed in that state as well, which can take a month or 2 as well...

So, start sending out the resumes as early as you can. I went community track. The job I took out of residency I interviewed at in late January, accepted the job in early February, and I still barely made it through credentialling before I started in mid July!
Hope this helps Quinn!
Congrats on your 3000th post....

Mark
Your lame 100+ post EM forum moderator!

 

[ERMudPhud]

What spyderdoc said

 

[Hornet871]

No offense, but for God's sake, why did you want to start working in mid-July? What, the previous seven years of med school and residency weren't work enough for you, so you had to jump immediately into the fray again?

My advice is not to worry about credentialling - to delay it, if possible - so if you end up not being eligible to work at Kaiser or Schmaiser till the fall, good for you! Sit on your arse, eat Doritos, travel, play golf, ski in the Southern Hemsiphere, or chase women in the meantime. Any of these activities are likely to compensate for the deficiencies we've built up in years of training to become doctors.

Again, this is only my (extreme and narrow) opinion, so you're free to go whichever route you want, but there may be unseen and untold benefits of starting your first attending job in September or October, or even a year later.

 

[spyderdoc]

No offense, but for God's sake, why did you want to start working in mid-July? What, the previous seven years of med school and residency weren't work enough for you, so you had to jump immediately into the fray again?

My advice is not to worry about credentialling - to delay it, if possible - so if you end up not being eligible to work at Kaiser or Schmaiser till the fall, good for you! Sit on your arse, eat Doritos, travel, play golf, ski in the Southern Hemsiphere, or chase women in the meantime. Any of these activities are likely to compensate for the deficiencies we've built up in years of training to become doctors.

Again, this is only my (extreme and narrow) opinion, so you're free to go whichever route you want, but there may be unseen and untold benefits of starting your first attending job in September or October, or even a year later.

You sit on your ass with $400k in med school loans, cost of living, etc. More power to you. (my wife is also a doc and we each have $200k in loans). I just can't sit around...Maybe it's the ADD that all EM docs seem to inherently have.... Maybe I actually enjoy the line of work that I chose, and actually don't mind going to work....I think 90% or more of grads start within the first month out of residency...Some take a bit of time off...but not too many.
Everyone has their own thing I guess...
Good luck, and enjoy your time off after residency.

 

[margaritaboy]

Mmmmm.....Doritos....

 

[docB]

Ditto what Spyder said about Dec. - Feb. to start looking for community jobs. Credentials does take time and is a hassel. You might not be able to work 'til August or so just for the credentials. Licensing can also be a pain. In NV you can't even apply until you've completed 3 years of training so it's a pain as well.

As for looking for jobs I had good luck cold calling ERs. You can find ER numbers on the web and call and ask for the number for the medical director or the group's office. They'll usually give you that because it's an office number. Then you call the group and say your a soon to be grad and will they be hiring. I had good luck doing this (got my current job). If they won't talk to you then screw 'em. It means they either aren't nice or won't be hiring or don't have their act together enough to return a phone call.

 

[Sessamoid]

Cold calls is how I found my last two jobs, almost precisely in the fashion that docB noted. Find the main ED number, call it and ask for the medical director. Go from there.

 

[docB]

I also sent out 174 million emails with the heading:
L00King t0 h1re and er d0ct0r???

That didn't go as well. But my natural male enhancement and pain med businesses are thriving.

 

[srlondon]

Good advice from the spiritual standpoint, but don't forget that the reason that there are often openings in July is that somebody on staff is leaving a hole on the schedule that the boss is eager to fill. If he/she can chose between a guy who's going to leave them short staffed over what can be the busiest season in many places, they might consider offering the job to someone else.

No offense, but for God's sake, why did you want to start working in mid-July? What, the previous seven years of med school and residency weren't work enough for you, so you had to jump immediately into the fray again?

My advice is not to worry about credentialling - to delay it, if possible - so if you end up not being eligible to work at Kaiser or Schmaiser till the fall, good for you! Sit on your arse, eat Doritos, travel, play golf, ski in the Southern Hemsiphere, or chase women in the meantime. Any of these activities are likely to compensate for the deficiencies we've built up in years of training to become doctors.

Again, this is only my (extreme and narrow) opinion, so you're free to go whichever route you want, but there may be unseen and untold benefits of starting your first attending job in September or October, or even a year later.