Beyond the Salary
Evaluating the Group
- Where did everyone do their residency?
- Is everyone in the group board certified in EM?
- What is the rate of physician turnover in the group?
- What do you do if someone is ill or injured?
- What is your maternity/paternity leave policy?
- What are the pathways for career development?
- How do you identify future leaders?
- Does the group have a strategic plan for growth/development?
- What leadership positions do your members hold in the hospital? Have any been chief of staff?
- What is the greatest weakness of the group?
- What is the professional liability climate in your area? What is the liability history of the group?
Evaluating the Job
- What are the partnership options?
- Tell me about the benefits package: health care, retirement?
- What type of professional liability insurance does the group provide?
- Do your physicians have the right to review what is billed in their name?
- Do you have a billing compliance and audit plan?
- Will I have a non-compete clause? What about due process for termination?
- How do you handle vacation time? Who does the scheduling?
- Do you pay for professional memberships? Which ones?
Evaluating the Department
- Who is the competition and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
- If you could change one thing in the department, what would it be?
- How many agency nurses does your ED use on any given shift?
- What is your payer mix: Medicare, Medicaid, self-pay, PPO? What is the collection rate?
- What technological innovations will you put into place in the next two years?
- What is your mechanism for identifying and solving departmental problems?
- How are you dealing with the problems of ED crowding?
- How do you disposition patients seeking psychiatric care?
- Does the ED director supervise the nursing and ancillary staff?
- What is the availability of labs and radiographic studies? After-hours too?
- How do you handle your MI's? Cath vs. Lytics. What is the response time?
Evaluating the Hospital
- What is the bond rating of the hospital? What is the financial support of the ED?
- How is your on-call panel handled? Do you pay doctors to take call?
- What specialities are not on call for the hospital?
- To whom does the ED director report to in the organization?
People you may want to talk to
- The night shift doc and the newest hire.
- The last person to leave the group.
- The nurse manager for the department.
- The spouses of group members.
- The hospital administration. VP-Medical Affairs
- Take control of the interview - you have a right to know! There is more to a position than the salary!
Edited September 2003 by John Milne, MD
Thanks to Susan M. Nedza, MD, MBA, John Skiendzielewski, MD, and Joseph P. Wood, MD, JD, for their assistance.