Career Planning
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Preparing for Your Interview
Know What To Expect
Hiring a new physician into an established practice can be an important decision for a practice and will have a lasting impact on the group.
It requires a substantial amount of due diligence and planning on their part to be fully prepared.
Hiring a new physician into an established practice can be an important decision for a practice and will have a lasting impact on the group.
It requires a substantial amount of due diligence and planning on their part to be fully prepared.
Practice preparation is important for making the right candidate selection and to ensure a successful onboarding process for the new hire.
What Does Practice Preparation Involve?
As a job applicant, it is important for you to evaluate the group’s general preparedness and resource planning to ensure the right amount of due diligence has been completed to ensure your smooth and successful integration into the practice.
There should have been deliberate discussions, planning sessions, and agreements on resource need, experience level, and staffing/scheduling prior to the practice even posting a job opportunity, and certainly prior to you showing up for your interview.
Review the following areas of planning and due diligence that should have been completed, along with potential red flags to be mindful of as you evaluate the practice.
Understanding the Group Resource Needs
There should be a cohesive plan and full agreement on resource needs and rationale for bringing on a new a provider. It is fair to ask practice partners if they support the decision to hire a new partner.
Potential Red Flags:
- Lack of understanding and agreement from partners as to why the position is open.
- Inconsistent rationale for why the new resource is needed.
- Uncertainty on how the position will fill in current resource gaps.
Clear Understanding of the Ideal Candidate
Having a complete understanding of the ideal candidate ensures the experience level, specialization needs, required skills, and clinical background have been clearly identified, discussed, and agreed upon from the practice partners.
An important factor in the hiring process is to ensure all clinical duties, practice functions, and resource requirements for the group have been outlined in order to identify the right candidate to fill the position.
A very organized practice may even have a written list of hiring priorities the group has contributed to and will be looking for specifically in their new hire. As they begin the candidate interview process, there should be cohesiveness and consensus on who they are seeking.
Potential Red Flags:
- Disagreement in experience level needed for the practice.
- Unknown clinical duties, practice specialization, or specific functions required.
- Lack of consistent answers around experience or skill level.
Plans for Staffing and Scheduling
The group should have solid plan on how and where the new physician will fill in on the schedule, call shifts, and any specific hospital coverage needed.
A well thought plan for staffing and scheduling is an indication that the group has completed the due diligence process and have clearly identified a true need.
Potential Red Flags:
- Lack of plan for staffing or shift coverage.
- Unknown staffing model or available open shifts.
- No plans for integration into the call schedule or delineation of coverage.
Known Infrastructure Plans and Details
An area of preparation includes where and how the group can scale in terms of infrastructure, office space, clinical equipment, and other aspects the adding another physician to the group.
Ideally, the group will have a well-documented checklist for new hires, but this might not be the case depending on the size or maturity of the group. At the very least, some basic questions should be answered as a part of their plan to hire and integrate a new physician.
Potential Red Flags:
- Unknown requirements to basic equipment needs.
- Uncertainty or lack of details around office space, computer needs, or basic equipment.
- Lack of training plans or integration details during the onboarding phase.
Identified Resource and Plan for Onboarding
As a new hire, you should not be expected to know the full checklist of how and what to become trained on, acquainted with, or provided with practice operations and details.
There should be a solid plan for the post hire and onboarding aspects for a new physician joining the group.
Potential Red Flags:
- Unknown mentor or support role.
- Lack of onboarding plans or details.
- Inconsistent answers or responses on how a new physician will onboard.
