Farewell
End of Residency Year 2005-2006

My Experiences Getting My First Job in Podiatry


by Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Resident Editor
Botsford General Hospital
Farmington Hills, MI

Good day fellow graduating residents! My greeting doesn’t pertain only to those residents completing their residency. In fact, whether it’s our first, second, or third years, we’re all graduating on to new experiences and challenges. In addition to graduating our residency programs and moving into private practice, the Residency Rap, with me as its editor, will be transitioning on to a new level. The folks at PRESENT Courseware have asked me to stay on and continue writing as a new practitioner with an editorial called New Doc On The Block. I hope to provide an honest perspective on my experiences as a new practitioner. Look for this new editorial starting mid July.

I’ve had a great time writing the Residency Rap. I have to thank Alan Sherman, DPM and Michael Shore, DPM as well as John Steinberg, DPM for their confidence, patience, and instructive criticism. I also wanted to thank all of you…the residents around the country who read and contributed to this online forum. Your contributions truly have made this a useful resource.

Before I officially sign off, I’d like to complete a promise I made a while back: to update you on my job search and how it ended up. I think my experience will assist those of you searching for future jobs. I can describe my own job search with one word: stressful. The end result is that I am taking an associate position with a busy sole practitioner in Lansing, Michigan. I’m not at liberty to discuss my contract specifics yet, but the bottom line is that my contract is a base salary with a percentage after two times that base in addition to an excellent benefits package.

If I ended up so well, you ask, then why was it so stressful? I don’t think I could count the number of mistakes I made during my search, but I’ll relate a few for everyone’s edification. My first mistake was trusting the person who made me my first offer. This fellow, after offering me an associate position in January, kept me hanging for months, never telling me what he was going to offer, saying it would be fair. After receiving advice from one of podiatry’s practice management “experts” he made me the following offer:

$4200/month for 6 months (= $50,000/year) with 30% bonus after $75,000
$60,000 for next year with 30% bonus after $180,000.
$70,000 for 2nd year with 30% bonus after $210,000
$80,000 for 3rd year with 30% bonus after $240,000
Optional 50% partnership buy-in after 3 year period.
+ an average bonus package.

Decide for yourself if this if fair. Here’s my mistake. Months had gone by and I stopped looking for a position trusting that this person’s version of “fair” would be similar to mine.

Lesson One: Learn from my mistake and don’t stop looking for a job until you’re comfortable with the position and you’ve SIGNED THE CONTRACT.

So, I started the job hunt anew and spoke to lots of different folks around the country. Each person I spoke to didn’t want to give me any specifics regarding what the contract would say. All of them would give me a “fair” offer. Well; I’d learned my lesson and kept looking.

Lesson Two: if they’re evasive or don’t know what to offer, then be suspicious and KEEP LOOKING.

I subsequently found a better offer. It had a reasonable base, but again the bonus was 30% over three times my base. Again, this guy had received counseling by one of podiatry’s practice management “experts.” Additionally, the benefits were reasonable except for the health insurance component. After he paid a portion of it, I would be responsible for the rest. This would reduce my previously reasonable base income to an unreasonable one after paying for insurance out of pocket.

Lesson Three: look at the entire offer, analyze it, and make sure it is truly in your best interest. Some component of the contract could make your previously excellent offer into a poor one.

So, I kept looking while keeping this one on the back burner. Finally, I came across a guy in Lansing, MI not too far from my residency program. I made him an offer that I felt would be fair to both of us, we agreed, and I stand to do well my first year out of residency.

Lessons Four and Five: Don’t settle for the first offer that comes along and beware some of the practice management experts. They don’t have your best interests in mind. They’re trying to make the docs they represent a handsome profit off of you. They’re not looking for a legitimate deal that would keep you in practice with the physician for the long term. This is evidenced by that three times the base bonus offers I received. It would be unlikely that I would have made enough money over the short or long term to actually buy in to the practice later. This is why it’s uncommon for associates to remain with their first employer.

Remember, you’re the best trained podiatrists EVER. With your residency training and access to education you have significant marketable skills that are worth a reasonable starting salary. You’re performing the most advanced foot and ankle surgeries in the world, your didactic training is excellent, and your exposure to new technologies is unparalleled.

Do yourselves a favor and don’t repeat my mistakes. I’ve learned a lot from my experience, and I’m smarter than I was before this process (although I weight a little less!!). For those of you who have time before your job search begins, make sure you speak to your senior residents and recent graduates, and listen to their perspective and experiences. Hopefully your search will be fruitful, beneficial, and you won’t come across those podiatrists who eat their young!

Again, my thanks to all of you who’ve taken interest in our online forum. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity. Best wishes and good luck to all of you going out into practice. It’s been a blast!