Hi everyone :)

[alybell25]

So glad I found this forum!

My husband begins his final year of fellowship (YAY) this July (pulmonary-critical care). We have been together since before he started medical school and I'm sure I don't have to tell you all what a long journey this has been! It's very exciting to start the finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I would love to hear from some of you how the transition from being in training to attending went? How early did your partners begin their search for a position? Did most of you work with recruiters? We are currently in southern California, but looking to move up to northern California so he won't be staying at his current hospital. He of course picked one of the more strenuous, time consuming fellowships and so he really hasn't had much time to sit down and get started and I am chomping at the bit to get the process started to say the least

Thanks in advance, look forward to hearing from you!!

[Vanquisher]

Welcome!!! We used a recruiter. I figured, why not? It depends on your style, but I wanted to make sure I knew about as many opportunities as possible.
[MENTION=790]Meenah[/MENTION] - her hubby is pulmonary- critical care.

[alybell25]

Thank you!!

I keep asking my husband "what do you know about recruiters? what have you heard? Should I start looking into it?" He's not been much help thus far ha so I want to put together as much info as I can. Good experience for you??

One other question…do you happen to be on the west coast? Our other big unknown is what to think in regards to taking a job with Kaiser or a private group/hospital….

[ides]

Welcome! We didn't use a recruiter but are sub specialized (hand surgery). I'm not familiar with plum-critical care and how in demand they are. As jobs for dhs speciality are really limited we didn't get to choose our location so much. We started looking for the job in Aug-Sept. We cold called practices with dhs resume, and applied to positions listed online(sub speciality journal and job websites), he also networked as much as he could for word of mouth opportunities- which is what we ended up taking. Good luck!!

[oceanchild]

Hi, welcome! We just finished the (exhausting, horrible) job search in peds critical care, and my father-in-law is in adult pulm/cc in the west. I can chat more by PM if you'd like.

So much of how to go about the job search depends on what specialty you're in and what kind of job you want. We did not use a recruiter, and my sense is most people in this field don't, but I'm not sure of that at all. And we didn't have a lot of offers to show for it, either. My husband started looking in like September, had a few interviews in December-February, and didn't get the offer he ended up taking until April (still haven't signed anything).

ETA: I think [MENTION=1139]MrsC[/MENTION] 's husband is in cc too.

[alybell25]

Hi, welcome! We just finished the (exhausting, horrible) job search in peds critical care, and my father-in-law is in adult pulm/cc in the west. I can chat more by PM if you'd like.

So much of how to go about the job search depends on what specialty you're in and what kind of job you want. We did not use a recruiter, and my sense is most people in this field don't, but I'm not sure of that at all. And we didn't have a lot of offers to show for it, either. My husband started looking in like September, had a few interviews in December-February, and didn't get the offer he ended up taking until April (still haven't signed anything).

ETA: I think @MrsC 's husband is in cc too.

Ah good luck with finalizing your husband's job and congrats to you both as well!!!

From what we can tell, his field seems to be growing and in demand. We are not looking at jobs inside the San Francisco direct area, and my husband has heard that many cities outside of SF are "desperate" for pulm/critical care doctors. So hoping that works out for us! Some of his current attendings have told him that it is not too early to start reaching out right now so I guess that is why I am feeling anxious to start the process. I know that some of the fellows a year ahead of him signed contracts as early as last September to begin this July. I'm hopeful that is a good indication??

Would love to PM you especially if you have any knowledge about working for Kaiser as opposed to a private group? My husband is from the east coast and Kaiser is quite unknown to him. We've heard a few pros and cons but also that it varies greatly from speciality to specialty.

[alybell25]

Welcome! We didn't use a recruiter but are sub specialized (hand surgery). I'm not familiar with plum-critical care and how in demand they are. As jobs for dhs speciality are really limited we didn't get to choose our location so much. We started looking for the job in Aug-Sept. We cold called practices with dhs resume, and applied to positions listed online(sub speciality journal and job websites), he also networked as much as he could for word of mouth opportunities- which is what we ended up taking. Good luck!!

Thanks so much! I'm sure with sub specialties it's a whole different ball game, but glad to hear that it worked out for you! I think the cold calling/applying route is what my husband would like to start with, I just wanted to get as much info as we could going into this daunting process!

[ladymoreta]

Welcome to the site! Experiences going from training to attending vary widely. For us, attendinghood is really great. The transition was expensive, though. We ended up spending about $20k (that we didn't have) on licensing, moving, and selling our house. It can be a very stressful time, so be patient with each other. This site will be a wonderful resource for you - please post often. We're looking forward to getting to know you!

[v-girl]

Welcome!

[alotofyarn]

Welcome!

[medpedspouse]

Welcome! My DH is also a subspecialist. He found his positions by talking to people at conferences. They flew us out and wine and dined us. His first job was PP and they paid for everything - including giving him a month to study for his boards. It was very nice. Still, it was a tough transition for us. DH's schedule was awful at first...it took him a good year to find his groove and navigate the diffrerent hospital systems. Then, the practice got bought out and long story short it all went to hell in the handbasket. He is now in academics and loves it. The schedule can still can get rough at times...medicine is just not what it used to be. He may be home for dinner but he also has to stay up until the wee hours finishing notes, etc. The biggest challenge for us was coming to terms that the schedule was not significantly different than when he was in fellowship.

If your DH is finishing up this July, you guys may want to narrow down a few jobs soon...at least location-wise. I am just thinking about finding a house etc. I wouldn't want to move twice if my employer paid for the first move and I had to then deal with the second because I had to find temporary housing. Also, our house loan was determined by the contract DH signed. So, you may not be able to buy the house you want if your DH does not have a contract in hand.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Hey, nice to meet you! We're 2 residency years and a fellowship away from being in your position but I look forward to getting to know you.

I know a little bit about Kaiser from the business side and from what I can tell, it lacks a little bit in MD autonomy (a lot more EMR controls, etc.) since they're a closed (operating both healthcare services and a payor) system but also makes up for it in that the MDs are salaried so they know what to expect salary-wise.

I look forward to getting to know you. What do you do?

[scrub-jay]

Welcome!

[OrionGrad]

Welcome! We're originally from NorCal, returning again for fellowship in August.
We're most likely going the PP route, but I know many people who've loved working for Kaiser. The retire rb system they have is awesome, from what I've heard of it.

[alybell25]

Welcome! My DH is also a subspecialist. He found his positions by talking to people at conferences. They flew us out and wine and dined us. His first job was PP and they paid for everything - including giving him a month to study for his boards. It was very nice. Still, it was a tough transition for us. DH's schedule was awful at first...it took him a good year to find his groove and navigate the diffrerent hospital systems. Then, the practice got bought out and long story short it all went to hell in the handbasket. He is now in academics and loves it. The schedule can still can get rough at times...medicine is just not what it used to be. He may be home for dinner but he also has to stay up until the wee hours finishing notes, etc. The biggest challenge for us was coming to terms that the schedule was not significantly different than when he was in fellowship.

If your DH is finishing up this July, you guys may want to narrow down a few jobs soon...at least location-wise. I am just thinking about finding a house etc. I wouldn't want to move twice if my employer paid for the first move and I had to then deal with the second because I had to find temporary housing. Also, our house loan was determined by the contract DH signed. So, you may not be able to buy the house you want if your DH does not have a contract in hand.

Thanks so much for chiming in! My husband begins his final year this July, so we still have a good amount of time. But lately some of his attendings have been telling him it's not too soon to start the process and so that is what brings me here.

I'm glad to hear that you are settled now, though sorry it wasn't the easiest of transitions. We have seen a lot of postings for the 7 on/7 off schedules and though I'm sure those 7 straight days on would be longgggg, the prospect of him having 7 straight days off is so exciting I don't even want to get my hopes up!