How to Find the Right Job!

In this episode of BackTable ENT, Dr. Gopi Shah and Dr. Varun Varadarajan discuss tips for finding the right physician job.

First, Dr. Varadarajan shares his personal journey to finding his job as a neurotologist and skull base surgeon in a private practice located in Denver, Colorado. He started to job hunt for a private practice position after matching to fellowship, which was two years before finishing his training. However, he notes that this timeline may be too early for jobs in academic medicine. Although physicians can apply for jobs through word of mouth and job postings, he and Dr. Shah note that cold calling can also be effective.

Next, the doctors discuss the changes in job hunting that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, some job opportunities vanished because of decreased funding and patient volume in clinics. Dr. Varadarajan and Dr. Shah also summarize the types of questions that should be asked during and after a private practice interview. Some red flags are: multiple associates who never made partner, high turnover rates, big buy-in amounts for partnership, and non-transparency with finances. Dr. Varadarajan also shares the resources he used during the employment process; he had a local lawyer with experience who reviewed his contract beforehand and received mentorship from academic faculty and his former co-residents.

Finally, Dr. Shah discusses tips for academic job hunting. One difference between private practice and academic job hunting is that in the latter, the consideration of how much research time and clinical time doctors want to prioritize becomes an important decision. Dr. Shah also took into consideration her family life, and ultimately decided on a job at UT Southwestern because of the great ENT department faculty and mentors.