Hi All!
I just thought I'd add a few thoughts about interview preparation. I have 13 years experience on the hiring side of healthcare, interviewing more than my share of physician candidates. For the last six years I've been studying the art of interviewing as an executive and physician search consultant. I've noticed this trend.
Physicians are some of the brightest people on the planet, but as such they usually believe they can get a handle on most anything easily - and it is true they can. However, interviewing well requires preparation. Most physician interviewees are not prepared for the interview and most physician interviewers aren't well prepared either.
It is proven that hiring mistakes can be avoided by using a definitive interviewing process - one that is consistent across candidates and behaviorally oriented, but that is another posting. With that said - preparing for an interview requires really thinking about career goals and accomplishments. Being able to answer the "tell me about yourself" question is one of the most important things that a physician candidate can learn and practice.
The best answer to the "tell me about yourself" question is a three part response.*
1) Summarize your career in one sentence.
For example someone completing a fellowship in infectious disease medicine might say, "Ever since I was a kid, I always had a keen fascination with solving problems which led me to specialize in infectious disease medicine, because I love the science of the specialty combined with the detective/sleuth problem solving." Someone who has been in practice might have a different message, "My 20 year infectious disease private practice has been characterized by treating some of the nastiest bugs on the planet and I've seen the full gamut ranging from plague to ........."
2) Give a one to two sentence example demonstrating your accomplishments.
Be sure the accomplishments are relevant to the position you are seeking; have the description be easily understood, indicate an impact on the bottom line by enhancing patient care or by being cost effective.
For example, "I have always had a very busy practice. It was important to have a high patient volume but to maximize the efficiency of my office. I had a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner who worked with me getting the number of patients seen each day up to 30-40."
3) End your answer to this question with a one sentence statement about what you want to do next in your career and HINT the statement should match with the purpose and intent of the position for which you are interviewing.
Every harried physician practice manager, physician hiring committee member, hospital or physician executive asks some version of the "tell me about yourself" question.
As a candidate you will stand head and shoulders above the others if you take the time to frame the answer to this question well and practice it so that it rolls out of you spontaneously and easily.
Have a great interview.
Lynden Kidd
Next Iteration
215-579-1751
lynden@nextiteration.net
www.nextiteration.net
*The three part answer format is credited to Jeff Skrentny of Jefferson Group Consulting. Jeff can be reached at AskJeff@JeffersonInc.com or at 312.474.6076
Aah...the last days of summer. The locusts are singing their swan song, things are going to seed, and the wildflowers are starting to shrivel and brown from the bottom up. While all of nature is preparing for its oncoming rest, we humans feel both a sense of loss and a stirring burst of energy. School is starting - that alone creates a multitude of tasks, commotion (and emotion) if we have children. If you have moved over the summer to start a new opportunity this fall, the activity level is just coming to a crescendo. For others, September begins the activity of finding and evaluating opportunities, and making decisions about where to live and practice a year from now.
Just as the changing seasons create changing concerns and emotions, making life changes creates multiple concerns and emotions within families. Each family member is likely to have similar concerns, as well as issues specific to their age and family role.
If you are the physician of the family, you not only have all the concerns of your new practice or position, partners, employees, new patients, and how you will fit in to the larger medical and social community, but the concern of what effects this decision will have on your spouse and children, not to mention relationships with parents, siblings and cultivtated friendships.
Your husband or wife may have a very satisfying career, and be reluctant to start anew somewhere else. Children of every age group have special concerns and needs when it comes to moving away from school, friends and close relatives.
I'm adding a link under "Relocation Resources" to Beverly Roman's website BR Anchor Publishing. There you will find excellent books for children geared to different age groups. These books prepare and involve children in the moving process in a positive way.
I will be writing in more depth on these subjects, particularly on the issue of spousal careers, elementary school-age children, and teenagers, citing some of the studies and works by Beverly Roman and others. More to come soon. Enjoy what's left of summer, and look forward to fall with new expectancy!
The telltale date on my last post shows how long I have been immersed in multiple work projects and a number of family dramas. Tonight I have launched the search by state function on physician-central, so now I can devote more time to practice makes perfect.
The directions to take these posts are many, but I would really like to pursue getting some expertise on Practice Economics and financing, and also spotlighting some interesting areas of the country and its cities.
I would also like to feature some books and guest authors, so I will be sending out some invitations soon. Check back soon, and I promise to have some more material here!
I'm adding a few resource links to both blogs that provide a wealth of information that could play into your decision on where to practice. There are so many things to consider when making a life-altering and financial decision simultaneously, and one can have a direct effect on the other.
The first site link is to the U.S. Census Bureau's official census regions and divisions of the United States, prepared by the Geography Division of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Not only is each region divided into divisions, but both regions and divisions have had some name changes over the years. The Midwest Region used to be called the North Central Region, and the East North Central division is what we used to affectionately call the Great Lakes Region. Be careful helping your elementary school student with their geography homework! At least they haven't changed the state capital names - yet.
Once you've located some areas of interest, you can go to Sperling's Best Places and pull-up detailed information on any area. You can even create multiple side-by-side comparisons on topics as varied as: people, crime, economy, health, housing, transportation, education and climate. The 'general' link gives you a high-level overview, including the most important stat - the number of Starbuck's locations? Yes, that's right, the number of Starbuck's locations, or how far to the next caffiene fix. Seriously, though, there is a lot of detailed stats here, including per capita figures for the number of physicians, healthcare costs, illnesses, air and water quality, even the number of Superfund sites.
True cost of living considerations such as housing, food and education costs can make a big difference over the years in your disposable income, savings rate, and general quality of life. Many out of the way locations offer bright prospects for future economic and population growth, while offering a wonderful quality of life for a growing family.
We are truly blessed to live in a country of such vast diversity in geography, climate, cuisine and culture.
In this age of technology, a little online research can make the process of making your medical practice and lifestyle choices easier.