Blogging with The Doctor Job

At The Doctor Job, our goal is always to help physicians find the perfect job for them. We don’t expect doctors to settle for just any job in an area when there is a better position to be found.

However, sometimes it is important to have a career plan that includes both long term and short term career goals. In some cases, it is necessary to think about how realistic a physician’s long term career goals are right now and determine if there are intermediate steps that need to be taken in the mean time.

For example, many times doctors will tell us that they are looking for administrative positions instead of a clinical physician job. While The Doctor Job can definitely find administrative medical jobs, if a candidate is not properly qualified, we need to establish short term goals. Often times a doctor will have the additional education for an medical administrative position, but lack real world job experience. In these instances, The Doctor Job often recommends that the physician establishes a short term goal of finding a hybrid position in the location of their choice - a job that still requires clinic practice, but that will allow them to gain administrative experience at the same time. This makes it much easier - and more likely - that the physician will ultimately achieve their overall career goals.

Many times a physician will want to relocate to a more desirable location, and they are also hoping to earn a higher salary than their current job offers. If a doctor is looking for a job like Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York - or looking in a very limited geographic area like “10 miles from Denver, CO”, we recommend again that the physician looks at the overall career goals (making more money in a top market) and determines the BEST way to reach those goals. It may be more realistic for a physician to focus on finding a good job in their top location where they can work for two years, and build networking contacts in that area, with an overall plan of moving to a higher salaried position in that same location later.

The same can be said for doctors with licensing issues who are looking for a job. If a physician has previously surrendered their license, or had their license suspended and later reinstated, it can be difficult to immediately find a position that earns a high salary or offers hospital privileges right away. However, many groups will allow a doctor with past licensing problems to work with supervision or in an outpatient only job setting, allowing the doctor to work while rebuilding their career history and reputation. Often times these jobs with short term restrictions eventually lead to successful, satisfying physician careers!

When planning your physician job search - whether a doctor is relocating to another job market, looking for a job with a higher salary, wanting to advance into another area of practice such as a medical administration role, or returning to the workforce after an extended period of time - it is always smart to begin with long term career goals in mind. And be prepared to set short term career goals to help you get there!