The Medical
School Graduate:
How to launch your
new career by Tom Ellis III
B
It’s on the horizon: You’re about to graduate from medical school. Resident or Fellow, years of
dedication, hard work, and study are about to be rewarded. You’ve qualified yourself to take on
one of the most valuable and interpersonal roles in society: That of caring for patients’ health and
well-being. It’s been said that only a maternal or paternal relationship with a child is closer.
Congratulations are in order.
ut are you ready for the
other side of medicine—
the business side that
will impact you almost
every day as you start a
new career?
Before we even get to that topic,
let’s look at some of the realities of the
job market for physicians.
According to a 2018 report from a
leading recruitment firm, more than
50% of graduating residents will field
more than 50 job offers. Additionally,
the recruitment cost for a physician
employer is more than $40K. New hire
signing bonuses average more than
$33K, and relocation bonuses average
just more than $9K. All of that bodes
well for you.
And with significant physician
shortages predicted over the next
decade, you have more negotiating
leverage than ever before.
At this time in your career it’s time
you use it.
My experience has been that most
med school grads are a bit like the
proverbial “deer in headlights” when
they start fielding the interest of and
offers from recruiters. They want to
know about the money, the clinical
environment, and often act as if they
aren’t in the driver’s seat when it
comes to negotiating a new job. They
have no entrance strategy which is a
major mistake (see my article in the
January 2018 Dallas Medical Journal
for more on this). You’ll find many
matching offers when it comes to cash
up front. The bigger question is how
to analyze and evaluate these offers
and your prospective employers to
find the one that provides you with
the kind of business fit that enhances
your chances for success in your first
practice/job?
Obviously, the clinical fit has to
come before anything. But it’s been my
18 Dallas Medical Journal June 2019