Giving Thanks to Healthcare Employees

Giving thanks to healthcare employees should be as ingrained as saying thank you by rote. Your staff is invaluable: they can make or break your facility. On Thanksgiving, and all year long, institutions should work proactively to show gratitude for the people who make everything possible.

Tales from the Trenches: A True Urologic Emergency

As a second-year resident with only a few weeks of urology experience, I was used to introducing myself whenever entering the ER, hoping to summon a façade of expertise and bravado that was not entirely familiar to me. However, on this occasion, as soon as I passed through the double doors of the ER, I was summoned urgently to the first trauma bays by a frantic looking ER attending. I walked by a very uncomfortable looking police officer standing just outside before entering the trauma bay to find the entire trauma team assembled next to the patient.

6 Best Practices for Marketing a New Physician Practice

In competitive healthcare environments, building a new practice may feel like an uphill battle. Whether you are a provider starting out solo, or you are joining a group practice, it is not likely that patients will just show up knocking at the door. The reality is that in competitive marketplaces, patients today have a lot of options. Even with the support of a group or hospital practice, building a strong patient referral base can take an enormous amount of time and effort, and success rarely happens overnight.

Each practice is different, every market unique, and each specialty has its various challenges. There is not a “one size fits all” approach for how to successfully market a new physician practice. However, there are some basic strategies when implemented correctly that have proven effective…

The Most Important Questions Physicians Should Ask During a Job Interview

To paraphrase Tony Robbins, the quality of your questions determines the quality of your life.

Interviewing for a first attending job, considering a lateral move, or negotiating a contract all require poise, openness, and intuition to arrive at the desired end. 

As physicians, we are experts at teasing out the details necessary to make a diagnosis. Digging deeper is critical to saving lives. The same applies to our futures. 

Levity in Medicine

Is Medicine Fun? Does That Make It Funny?

Roller coasters are fun. Playing sports is fun. Neither is really funny. Like a roller coaster, the practice of medicine can be thrilling and unpredictable, rough or smooth. Like playing sports, to do it well, you have to know what you’re doing—be good at it.

Alternative Careers & Side Hustles for Physicians

To be clear, multiple streams of income does not necessarily mean multiple jobs. Your investment portfolio and real estate holdings may already serve as a great side gig. Rather, find opportunities that are enjoyable and do not usurp too much of your time, educational or financial resources. While stepping outside of clinical medicine may initially seem daunting, these side gigs not only boost income, but also offer leadership skills, increased work-life balance, a creative outlet and may even augment your ability to care for your patients.

Creative Solutions for Healthcare Recruiting

In a typical applicant market, recruiters need to adapt; in today’s applicant market, institutions need to adapt. The lowest unemployment rate in decades is forcing healthcare providers to shift the way they search for and acquire talent. Today’s tight candidate pool is changing the way we recruit, hire, and maintain staff to assure the highest quality of care and services. Some solutions might help in these challenging times, depending on your market conditions.

What Are the Biggest US Immigration Mistakes Made by Physicians?

The United States is a popular destination for physicians, thanks to its advanced healthcare system as well as an extremely high demand for medical professionals. Despite the shortage of trained and qualified physicians in the country, however, it isn’t easy for foreign medical school graduates to make it through the United States immigration system.

Here are 10 common mistakes made by physicians while immigrating to the U.S., and some tips on avoiding them…

Therapeutic Presence

Research shows that attitude and communication skills of the person delivering the bad news are important in determining the nature of a family’s grieving process, and in their ability to cope and recover.

Tips for Acing Your Residency Interview

You need to convince them that you appreciate these things—common to all programs or particular to this one specifically—and then you need to convince them that you can give more than you get—that they will benefit from selecting you.