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Continuity Clinic Notebook:

 Chapter V: Other Aspects of Private Pediatrics

Chapter 3 Index

A. The Business of Private Practice

  

Interviewing for Private Practice

Evaluation of Practice: Presumably before you go to a practice to interview, you would have already made certain decisions: e.g. you like the town/area, the overall organization of the group such as number of doctors and hospitals, the group’s reputation, etc.

General Approach to First Visit: Do not go in with a yellow legal pad taking notes.  Try and get this information in an informal way - mostly by observation, not direct questioning.  Let them lead the interview.  Your chance comes later.

General Approach to the Second Visit: If they don’t offer, towards the end of the visit, ask if there is one person you can ask your specific questions to - e.g. benefits.  If they bring these subjects up in the first interview, then OK to talk about it - carefully.

Information Needed to Obtain: First Visit   Second Visit
1. Physicians in practice at the moment:      
- compatibility with you and with each other? X    
- intelligence? X    
- efficiency of practice? X    
- how they treat their employees, their patients? X    
- track record: how many have left and why? X   X
(get names and phone numbers)      
- quality of care: call in antibiotics, admissions, who do they X    
refer – are they triaging?      
- what do partners talk about with each other? X    
- can you see yourself being their equals? X   X
2. Office Workings: what are hours of operation? X    
- what do they do after hours with their patients? X    
- do they have their own individual practices? X    
- how would they plan to build up your practice? X    
- do they volunteer services in the community?          X
3. Office Personnel: what is relationship with doctors? X    
- are there designated nurses/each doctor? X    
- do they have a friendly approach to the patients? X    
- how are business things handled – who decides? X    
- do they favor one of the partners – ignore them? X    
4. Hospital Care – how many hospitals have newborns in? X    
- what do they admit, what do they refer, CSX, ER? X    
- number of newborns/year; number of admissions? X    
- does the pediatrician stay involved with referred patients? X    
- nursing support at the hospital? X    
- committee duties at the hospital, community?        X
5. Benefits: general issues: how long to become a partner?        X
- do all partners make the same?        X
- do all partners have the same night call/weekend?        X
- what would your night and weekend call be?        X
- see separate sheet of which benefits to expect       X

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Department of Pediatrics  |  Medical College of Georgia
 Please email comments, suggestions or questions to:
John T.  Benjamin M.D.,  jbenj@mcg.edu

February 27, 2004