Finding the right job after residency can be challenging. Make sure to ask these 13 questions during your interview that will help you understand the workplace expectations, culture and community. Ask about things that are important to you and will help you find fulfillment in both your work and your life for years to come.
| 1. | What is the group-at-large's philosophy on physician wellness and how is this realized to the individual practicing clinician? Does this vary group-to-group at the local level? |
| 2. | What amenities exist within the non-work related community that I'm practicing in? |
| 3. | What are the details of my total compensation package (deferred compensation, malpractice insurance, retirement, other benefits, etc) and how does that change over time? |
| 4. | Other than direct clinical service...what are other expectations or opportunities either now as a new hire or later as I mature in the group? How are these supported or decided upon? (teaching, leadership, hospital service, other) |
| 5. | What are the unique ways your group or department innovates or leads practice change in acute or emergent care? |
| 6. | What is the best way to understand patient volume or physician/mid-level staffing coverage in this group or at these hospitals (acuity, admission rate, length of stay, patients seen per hour or double or single coverage overnights)? |
| 7. | Do I function as an employee of the contract group or hospital or an independent contractor? If the latter is the case, why? How difficult is that to establish and manage? |
| 8. | What is the role of mid-levels in this group both at large or locally where I will work? What are the expectations with respect to supervision and acuity of patients seen? |
| 9. | If you could change something about your organization, what would you change? |
| 10. | Who is responsible for medical malpractice coverage and how and what occurs when physicians leave the group (tail insurance)?
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| 11. | Rank the following things in order of what causes the most frustration in day-to-day work in this particular practice setting: interaction with consultants, boarding/ED crowding, behavioral health challenges, medical record documentation demands? What things are being done to mitigate or address these common challenges? |
| 12. | Who is ultimately responsible for the contract to provide care? Who am I working for (Hospital, medical school or practice management group that contracts with the hospital) and how could this change over time? |
| 13. | How is physician performance and quality of care evaluated and what is the individual physicians due process options if performance does meet expectations? |
