Episode 12 (06/12/13): Hiring a New Physician

In this episode, we address questions raised on the SOAPM mailing list relating to a busy practice considering hiring a new doctor.

"I recently interviewed a potential MD candidate. She looks fine on paper and was nice enough in the interview. But how do you know if someone is going to be right for your practice? My practice is small so bringing in a bad apple would cause a huge problem. Plus, she is the only person I have interviewed. I would love to have more choices from which to select. How does everyone else go about recruiting? I can't exactly run a want ad in the local paper...
 
...since I have never done this before nor have I ever been solicited by a practice for employment, how do I structure a new MD package? Salary vs production? Salary for a while and then production? At what point? And how much? What benefits? How specific do I outline work hours, call duties, etc? What happens if I can't stand the person I hire after 3 months?
 
Finally, how do I even know if my practice is ready to bring in another MD? What numbers do you look at? Perhaps I should just get a scribe and bust my butt for the next 6-12 months to see if I can absorb the patient load myself without adding someone else right away?"

Whew, that was a lot to cover!

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