eMatchPhysicians is happy to report a positive trend in physician recruitment. According to Physician News Digest, first year enrollments in medical schools nationwide rose by 2 percent over 2008 to 18,400 students. While this looks good for the future in seeing more doctors, the same students may also face a shortage of residency training positions once they graduate.

This includes data from four brand new medical schools, which are:

- Texas Tech’s University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of  Medicine
- FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
- The Commonwealth Medical College
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine

These four centers account for half of the enrollment increase numbers. 12 existing medical schools expanded their class sizes by 7 percent or more for the 2009 season.

The recession does not appear to be having an effect on the number of enrollments in medical schools, according to the data which was provided by the American Association of Medical Colleges.

For more information please visit the online edition of Physicians News Digest.

There are two types of physicians practicing in today’s world: miserable physicians and proud physicians.  Everyone knows a miserable physician yet, thankfully, most of us also know and recognize proud physicians.  Proud physicians are happy in their practice, enjoy helping their patients and have a sense of accomplishment for their years of hard work.  The question is what kind of physician do YOU want to be?  The choice is yours but the key is knowing what you want so that you can recognize the right opportunity when you see it.  There is a major physician shortage in America and it is only getting worse.  Fortunately, many choices are now available due to that shortage.  So take your time and prioritize before you make a move.

Key ingredients for finding a long-term fit are location, practice and financials.  Know what type of practice you work best in, decide what type of community will meet your needs and then set realistic financial expectations.  Not one aspect is more important than another and confidence and certainty in all of these areas will best prepare you for your interviews.  You do not sit for an exam without studying so do not go out and make one of the most important decisions of your life, without first doing your homework.  You will reap the rewards in the end if you take the time now to focus on your destiny.

Know What You Want in a Community

Every community in America needs a physician and communities come in all shapes and sizes.  Your options are vast.  Study the various types of communities and what each can offer you and your family.  Learn the differences in income from a small, rural community to a major metropolitan area. Then decide what amenities you truly need in a community to be happy.  If you move to a place that does not meet your needs, you may end up making a lot of money, but your time there will be short-lived.  You do not want to move your family from place to place searching for happiness.

Location and income go hand in hand.  What you expect to earn will adjust depending on where you want to live.  Physicians in general can expect a much higher salary in rural areas than in metropolitan areas.  Rural hospitals and groups are willing and able to pay more to fill their positions because there are grants and government funding in place to help them meet the needs of their community.  Their residents may not have the time or the means to drive two hours to get medical care.  They need physicians who are in practice to serve them – physicians who know their name and their history.

Know What You Want in your Practice

Consider things like who and what type of physicians you want to work with, how many patients you want to see each day, and how much of the business function you want to take on.  Know your strengths and evaluate your skills versus your preferences.  You may have broad experience in your specialty but have a strong passion for one area in which you want to focus your practice.  Find out if there is a market for that and what areas are best for you to pursue that passion.  Evaluate your work habits. Do you work better in a team or solo?

Will this new job and location meet the needs of your family and lifestyle?  Will the salary be enough to sustain that lifestyle?  Will the practice and environment be compatible with your personality?  By knowing what you are good at and what your priorities are, you can focus on communities that meet your standards while working in a practice that allows you to fulfill your potential.

Know What They Want

When you go in for an interview, be prepared to talk about yourself and your ambitions.  The recruiter will want to know why you decided to go into medicine and where you attended medical school.  They will also be interested in knowing why you want to work for them and what you like most about their community.  This is why it’s good to have long-term goals in mind when choosing your job.  The organization that hires you will want to be confident that you are planning to settle into their community and practice there for many years to come.  Your future goals and ambitions will interest the recruiter just as much as your professional strengths.

What they want to know is that you know what you want and you have found it in their community!  The choice is yours of whether you are going to be a miserable physician or a proud physician.  Work hard to discover what you want and go after it.  You deserve to be proud.

eMatchPhysicians is the only website that offers practice and community matching, by match percentage.  Do your homework on the eMatchPhysicians website for free by viewing colorful profiles detailing each community and the financials associated with each position.   We can help you find that right practice and the right place while still maintaining your busy schedule.   Begin the matching process today! »

Physicians seeking jobs after coming out of residency programs will be happy to know that their starting salaries are not as fixed as they might have expected.  Statistics show that physician salaries are on the rise.  The Medical Group Management Association, or MGMA, conducted a survey with 3,520 physicians and discovered in 2008 starting salaries went up for several specialties from the year prior.  The following five specialties exhibited the biggest changes in starting salaries, these major increases being from 10%-15%:

• Neurology: $200,000 to $230,000 – up 15%
• Non-invasive cardiology: $350,000 to $400,000 – up 14.29%
• Anesthesiology: $275,000 to $312,500 – up 13.64%
• Emergency medicine: $192,000 to $215,040 – up 12%
• Internal medicine: $150,000 to $165,000 – up 10%

While these numbers do not reflect salary increases for all specialties, one cannot help but feel optimistic.  The 10% rise in Internal Medicine salaries is encouraging enough, indicating that there might be hope for physician salaries in specialties that are normally lower such as Family Practice, Geriatrics and Pediatrics.

An article from the Wall Street Journal Health blog by Jacob Goldstein stated that nearly half of the family medicine residency slots in the U.S. went to foreign medical students and American medical students who graduated in previous years, while only 42% went to American medical students graduating in 2008.  In fact 9% of the residency slots for this specialty went unfilled.  It’s clear from these numbers that there is a shortage of family practitioners in the U.S.   The article goes on to compare the statistic that 84% of anesthesiology residency slots were filled in 2008 by American medical students graduating that year, and 15% of anesthesiology residency slots were filled by American medical students graduating in previous years.  Only 1% of the residency slots were not filled for anesthesiology.

With a growing shortage of family practitioners and primary care providers, we are bound to see more increases in physician salaries in the coming years.  We remain hopeful that primary care physicians will start making the kind of money they deserve so that our medical students are, once again, encouraged to pursue an area of medicine that every person needs.

With the economy at an all time low, and unemployment now reaching nearly 10%, it seems as though ever industries has felt the impact.  However, not only has the healthcare industry maintained strong, it continues to grow.  Healthcare exhibited higher numbers of employed professionals last month than previous months and The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that more healthcare jobs were introduced in May than in any other market.  Not only were 23,500 jobs added, but the healthcare industry “stayed in line with its average monthly job growth for 2009″.  According to ModernHealthcare.com, “nearly every other sector of the economy lost jobs”.

With an aging population, the need and demand for healthcare professionals continues to rise.  We will always need medical attention for our illnesses and pains during the entire course of our lifetime.  Therefore, we will always turn to those with medical experience to treat those pains.  In order to accommodate the growing number of patients seeking medical attention, more jobs will open up not only for doctors but also on every level in healthcare to ensure efficient and quality care.  So it’s no wonder that the healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country.   Money is being allocated to healthcare research, services, and treatments to meet our needs, and the opportunities generated by this investment are numerous and expanding constantly.  And with more hospitals and medical groups competing for the best and most skilled health professionals, physicians are presented with more and more options to pursue the best path for their practice.

Although some physicians are in higher demand than others, depending upon their specialty, adjustments are made on all levels to relieve shortages to include residency program enrollment, government funding and recruitment budgets.  When more and more money is poured into one area of healthcare, physicians follow, and then there becomes a surplus of physicians causing the demand to lessen.  However, the good news still remains.  Every area of healthcare is growing and despite the specialty area you choose to practice, you can be sure that you will grow with it over time and benefit from such a strong and stable industry.

For Immediate Release.  Aliso Viejo, CA.  December 10, 2008.  MedMatcher, Inc. today announced a sweepstakes to kickoff the physician job search season for 2009.  eMatchPhysicians.com is hosting this contest to help physicians around the country get a jumpstart on their New Years resolutions of finding the physician job of their dreams.  What better incentive to start your physician job search than a chance to win fabulous prizes? 

The “Physician Job Search Kickoff” Sweepstakes runs through March 31, 2009 and is open to all physicians who are U.S. residents.  Physicians are invited to complete a free online registration at www.eMatchPhysicians.com for a chance to enter the sweepstakes.

Prizes include:

• One Grand Prize winner will receive a fabulous 5-Day/4-night Caribbean Cruise for Two;
• One First Place winner will win an Apple MacBook computer,
• One Second Place winner will receive an Apple iPod Touch,
• One Third Place winner will receive a $500.00 Target gift card, and
• One Fourth Place winner will receive a $100.00 Regal Entertainment gift card.

Pioneering a new and improved way for physicians and hiring organizations to connect, eMatchPhysicians has developed a sophisticated technology that allows physicians and hiring organizations to complete a confidential, online profile that conducts a comprehensive matching to quickly and confidentially take full control of the search process.
eMatchPhysicians.com works with hospitals, medical groups, private practices and healthcare systems that offer physician placement opportunities in various specialties, including Cardiology, Dermatology, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pediatrics, Radiology and many more physician jobs by specialty.
“We hope more people will learn first-hand how simple the eMatchPhysicians way of searching for a physician job is,” says Jessica Joseph, President and CEO of eMatchPhysicians.  “At eMatchPhysicians.com, physicians and hiring organizations can spend more time reviewing and contacting their best matches rather than searching through thousands of online job postings or sifting through hundreds of physician CVs.”

To register for the eMatchPhysicians service or enter the “Physician Job Search Kickoff” sweepstakes, please visit http://www.eMatchPhysicians.com/sweepstakes.  No purchase is necessary to win. 

About eMatchPhysicians.com:
Established in 2007, eMatchPhysicians was founded by Jessica Joseph, President and CEO, with the vision of providing the most comprehensive, virtual physician recruitment service. eMatchPhysicians.com is a revolutionary, online matching service that helps practice seeking physicians connect with hiring organizations and physician recruiters that have physician job opportunities. The eMatchPhysicians.com process is simple. Physicians and Hiring Organizations complete a simple registration page that collects basic information needed to get you started. You build a personal profile in minutes and let the advanced algorithms do the rest. Updated daily, matches appear on your homepage, highlighting your best prospects first.

If you’re a resident or fellow about to complete your training or an experienced physician who’s thinking of changing jobs, you may be wondering when is the best time to start your physician job search process.   Unlike many other careers where you can change jobs and find a new job opportunity in a matter of weeks, the process for finding the right physician job can take anywhere from 6 months to over a year.  That’s why, timing can be crucial in a successful physician job search. 

As we contact training programs in October and November, we often hear them say that it’s “recruiting” season.   Recruiters around the country are faxing job descriptions for residents and fellows who are completing their training in June.  While this may be a good time to learn about a variety of new physician job opportunities, the truth is… it’s ALWAYS recruiting season for hiring organizations.

Hospitals and medical groups throughout the country are hiring physicians all year round.  In some high-demand physician specialties, such as OB/GYN, emergency medicine and hematology and oncology, the job search process can begin even sooner, with some physicians securing jobs up to two years in advance.   

To help you formulate the best plan of action, we’ve put together some general guidelines to help you estimate the time involved with each stage of the physician job search process:

• The “Search & Discovery” Phase -   Before finding the right job to apply for, you may spend 3-4 weeks networking, viewing job postings, either online or on job boards, and talking with recruiters. 
• Talking to Future Employers – Once you have a good idea of some job opportunities that may interest you, you may spend another 2-3 weeks talking to potential employers and scheduling site visits to get more familiar with each individual practice setting.  Site visits may be scheduled anywhere from 2-3 weeks in advance to coordinate with everyone’s schedules.
• The Interview Phase – Congratulations!  You’ve secured your first interview.  This process may take 2-3 weeks, and then, if you’re lucky, you may be asked back for a second interview.  You can expect this to take another 2-3 weeks.  The good news is… many second interviews result in a job offer.
• Contract & Negotiation Phase – After you’ve been offered a job, typically, you will receive the first draft of your contract within a week or two.  Now, it’s negotation time, which can range from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending upon factors like lawyer involvement and priority of your negotiations with the lawyer. 
• Giving Notice -  If you’re currently employed as a physician, you will have to give notice.  The standard time for a practicing physician is 3 months, depending on the type of practice and speciality.
• Relocation -  If you’re new job, requires relocation, you’ll have to look for a new house, and possibly put your current house on the market to sell.  Given the current real estate market, this process may take anywhere from several weeks to several months.
• Obtaining a new license -  This last phase may not be required in all cases, however, if you are moving to a new state, you may be required to get new licencing and credentialing, which can take anywhere from 3 months to 8 months, depending on the state. 

So, as you can see, by adding the times in each of the phases above, a very conservative estimate for a typical physician job search process is between six months to one year.   That’s why we suggest physicians who are considering a new physician job opportunity to start the job search process between six and nine months from the date they want to begin their new job. 

You can start your physician job search immediately by registering for FREE at eMatchPhysicians.com.  You can complete a personalized profile that will help us find the best employer to match your practice and lifestyle preferences, so you don’t have to search through thousands of online jobs that are not right for you.  The best time to start your physician job search is now.  Join today!