Right now senior podiatric residents around the country are in the middle of their job search. Some have already begun to review and compare contracts while others are just getting things into gear. Some will be moving cross country and others will be finding opportunity right in the back yard of their residency program. Here are some tips and thoughts that I have accumulated from many recent graduates who have discussed their experiences with me in recent years:

1. Don’t be fixated on the base salary: The practice you join should be willing to give you a fair and livable base salary, but the more important part of the contract is the percentage arrangement. Within reason you should push for the higher percentage, even if it comes at the expense of the base salary.
    

2. If it doesn’t feel right, then it isn’t: Trust your instincts. If you think you have found the perfect practice with the perfect financial package, but you just don’t seem to mesh with the other DPM, you need to walk away.
    

3. Get the facts: If a practice is truly ready to bring in a new associate, then there should be no concern in showing the books and laying out all the numbers. As someone who is interviewing, you should not feel that you need to hold back any questions, especially the financial ones. Blind faith is not part of the deal. If the practice doesn’t have the patient volume for you to see, then the high percentage agreement that you negotiated is meaningless.
    

4. Realize that this must be mutually beneficial: The practice is not hiring you to do you a favor. They certainly stand to make a profit on you, but make sure your interests are represented first. Consider spending the $500 to $1000 to have a professional health advisor guide you through the process and review your contact for you. They may know to ask for things that you never even thought about.
    

5. Don’t be fooled into a long term associate position: If you are truly looking to settle down for the long term, then you want a practice that will have an option to allow you to become a partner sooner rather than later. You should look for a contract that allows a beginning partnership buy-in by the 24 month mark of your practice.

These are some random points that I have heard repeatedly from those who have been through this process. I think you’ll agree that they just make good sense…

Please send in your experiences and thoughts on job searching as a podiatric resident to editor@podiatry.com and I will compile these and share them in a future edition of the Residency Insight…

 

With less than a week to go before the start of the Residency Challenge Tournament,  the anticipation is building for the 2^nd running of the Residency Rumble.  We have 72 programs currently signed up and you can see the preliminary challenge ladder and those programs who have signed up by clicking this link .  This round’s questions have been submitted by the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine and will challenge your academic skills and also your ability to think quickly…  Remember that the scoring is based first on the number of correct responses and second on the time in which the response is made.  If your program is not signed up yet, please click here to get into the game!