Michael P. Broxterman, Chief Operating Officer & Terry Lane, Editor/Staff Writer
You’ve made up your mind—its time for a change. Maybe you want less hours, more money or challenge, a change of scenery, or you want to be closer to family. How long will it take from the time you contact Pinnacle Health Group (PHG) to the day you sign a new employment contract?
“Typically,” says Michael P. Broxterman, Chief Operating Officer, PHG, “an experienced physician usually has the time to look at about three opportunities, and a resident will typically look at five to six opportunities. A resident usually has a little more time to job hunt. Experienced physicians tend to nail it down to three and make a decision. So that, from the time a physician faxes their CV to PHG, to the time they accept a position, on average that roughly takes three to six months.”
Broxterman explains that the time from interview to decision-making is generally shorter than a physician expects it will be. “The client has spent a lot of time and money bringing the candidate to the interview. They don’t want to take three more months to make a decision because they are losing money. They want the candidate placed yesterday.” The client is looking for a quick decision, and if the candidate takes a long time to make up his or her mind, the client is likely to move on to the next candidate.
Broxterman notes that while physicians can expect to wait up to six months to be placed in the right position, the process may take longer than needed in some instances. “The process may begin to feel sluggish during the contract review portion. The client may take a long time to get the contract to the candidate. The candidate may take a long time to get the contract to his or her attorney, who holds it up even longer. Then, it is returned to the client and it takes still more time for the final review,” says Broxterman, adding “The contract writing, review, and approval phase generally eats up a lot of time. We understand that contracts are important, we have seen that most of the time they lay on someone’s desk for weeks before they start moving again. Candidate’s need to keep the process moving so they are in the best position to negotiate before other candidates get presented to the client.”
Physicians can help move the process along by being accessible. “It’s very rare that the recruiter is hard to get a hold of,” explains Broxterman. “If the recruiter can reach the candidate when he or she needs to, the process can keep moving at a steady space. Also, when the candidate has all of his or her information gathered together and is forthright and open with the recruiter regarding potential snags, all of these things affect the timeframe,” says Broxterman.
Following is a checklist for physicians to help them through the recruiting process:
- Prepare your CV and fax it to 404-816-7853, email it to submit@phg.com, or submit it online at www.phg.com. Include references for your interview.
- A Pinnacle Recruiter will contact you.
- Name of your Recruiter: ____________________________
- Phone: _________________________________
- Email: ___________________@phg.com
- Be prepared to discuss your CV, skills and experience and what you are looking for: geographical region, region type (rural, metro), type of practice, type of work, etc.
- A PHG recruiter will call to talk with your spouse to learn about special needs of the family (education, religious needs, etc.).
- Our PHG recruiter will begin to search for opportunities that are a good match for you and your family.
- He or she will call you back (this may take anywhere from 1 day to two months) to discuss opportunities with you.
- When our recruiter finds an opportunity that you are interested in, an interview with the client is scheduled. The client may want to talk to you by phone prior to the in-person interview. The recruiter also is able to provide you with more details about the position and the community.
- If the contract is available, review contract BEFORE visiting facility.
- Attend interview, take your family to visit the community.
- After the interview, make your decision within 48 hours. Give feedback about the opportunity to the recruiter-what did you like, what didn’t you like, etc.
- If your decision is to accept the opportunity, salary and contract negotiations begin. If your decision is not to accept the opportunity, the recruiter continues to search for an opportunity for you. If your decision is yes but with certain considerations, what we call a “Yes-If” decision, your recruiter will mediate to help work through the concern or request as needed.
- Once the contract is signed, you can begin the process of moving to your new position. You may require licensure and credentialing services, and you need to begin the process of school and house hunting. If you need to be licensed in the state where you are planning to work, it could take anywhere from six weeks to three months to be licensed.
If you are a resident, you should begin your job search one-and-a-half to two years prior to graduation. Clients who are interested in hiring residents know that you begin your job search early. Sometimes clients wait for the right candidate to come along-they recognize a great fit and as long as the physician makes a commitment, they are willing to hold off filling the position with someone else.
It is important to keep in mind that typically, searches with a higher specialization take longer to fill. For example, while there may be 100,000 family practitioners available as potential candidates, finding an FP who is licensed in Mississippi and has special training in OB will almost definitely take longer. The more restrictive the client’s hiring parameters are, the longer the placement may take. Likewise, the broader your parameters are for where you will work, the more opportunities will be available to you, and the less time it will take for you to be placed. If you have many limitations or requirements concerning where you are willing to work, it will take longer to find the right position for you, and you will have fewer opportunities to choose from.