Here’s some helpful hints about what to do to prepare to interview a physiatrist.  Interviewing requires preparation on both the part of the interviewer and interviewee.

_____ Prepare an itinerary of the visit including the names and titles of who the interviewee will meet with, where they should arrive, what they might need to do upon arrival, etc.  This itinerary should include the complete address of the interview location as well as a cell phone contact in case of any last minute changes.

_____ Prepare your questions.  These should be questions specific to your needs for the physical medicine and rehabilitation position.  Also include psychological questions and situational questions.  Some psychological questions are: If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?  What does success mean to you?  Besides money, what do you value or need most if you are to have job satisfaction?  Some situational questions are:  Describe a stressful situation and how you handled it?  What would you do if the work of one of your team members was not up to expectations?  How do you handle a patient who isn’t satisfied with your services?

_____ If the PM&R doctor interviewee will be staying overnight, have a basket of local goodies in the hotel room.  Speaking of expenses, it’s typical for the interviewer to pay the travel and hotel expenses.

There’s a lot to do to prepare for a physiatry interview.  You’ve probably heard and read about what to do from my PM&R website, www.farrhealthcare.com, and many other places.  The most important thing to do during a physical medicine and rehabilitation job interview is to stay calm, cool and collected.

This sounds easy but it supersedes everything else you say and do during your PM&R interview. It’s the underlying theme of your interview.  You can do all the other things to prepare for an interview such as practicing answers to often-asked questions but if you’re nervous during the interview, the content and delivery will not be the same.  Of course, the converse is true that preparation will give you confidence.

Come prepared with some small talk comments if you’re not good with them.  Maybe you can talk about the weather, your trip to the interview, or something that you’ve found out about the physiatrist interviewer’s interests.

Get the itinerary for your visit beforehand so you can become familiar and comfortable with the names and positions of the physiatrists and other people who will interview you.  The itinerary will also inform you of any group interview situations which without knowing beforehand might make you anxious.

Do whatever makes you relax such as repeating a mantra like “I’m confident I will get this position” or do breathing exercises.   Don’t get anxious during the PM&R interview.  A few hours before the interview think positive and visualize how well the interview will go.  There will always be interviews elsewhere if this one doesn’t work out.

Most physiatry employers start to look for a new hire in October or November to coincide with the AAPMR Job Fair.  For residents, you can start to look as soon as your senior year starts although many employers aren’t willing to wait for a year.  However, more and more employers now who are in areas that are not as generally desirable or include inpatient rehab work (which is harder to fill) will wait a year.

I don’t recommend passing your cv onto recruiters until you’ve heard about a physical medicine and rehab position and have an interest in it.  Some recruiters will pass your cv on without your knowledge and then you might receive a call from an employer without any foreknowledge.

Don’t worry about being too late!  Although you may not have as broad a range of practice opportunities available, there are many good opportunities available as late as the spring of your senior year.  Also, don’t accept a practice opportunity that is not the best for you just because you’ve set a personal deadline of say December.

Be prepared to answer and ask questions during a physiatry job interview.  The type of PM&R work associated with the job such as inpatient, outpatient, or pain will determine some of the questions you should ask.  When interviewing for a mostly inpatient physiatrist position, some of your questions should be as follows and I’ve included further information so you can better evaluate the answers provided.  I usually obtain this information from the employer to save your time and provide as much information to you as possible.

What is the average daily census?   If the census is significantly below the bed size, then you should ask why.  If they respond that the current physiatrist isn’t doing his/her part to fill the beds, then you need to evaluate if it’s truly the PM&R doctor or if instead the system that could be doing a better job in this regard.  You might also want to find out what are the possibilities are for the program to expand.

Who is the primary doctor for the patients?  This answer will help you determine your responsibilities and if you are comfortable with them.  More and more rehab facilities are adding hospitalists to provide the patient’s primary care.  You should also find out the availability, such as on weekends, of any of the doctors who support you.

Who are the referral sources? It’s great if there are built-in referrals sources however this usually isn’t the case with inpatient physiatry work.  Find out how well the marketing liaison program is. Try to determine how much daily time will be spent to develop a patient base.

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Just as important as what’s in writing about the practice opportunity you’re considering is what’s not written about the practice opportunity.  The “hard” features of the practice opportunity such as the compensation, responsibilities, and benefits are usually in its description.  The “soft” features such as the personality they’re looking for, the practice dynamics, goals, needs, etc. are not.  How do you learn the unknown?  A clue can be to find out the personalities/capabilities of the current doctor(s)/hospital representatives in the practice.  Social media and other websites can give some insight.  Find out the experience, certifications, tenure with the practice, and accomplishments of the practice doctors/hospital representatives.  This information will also help you determine how you should engage with the practice/hospital; knowing the current personalities will help determine the type of dialogue to have during your interview.

On the other hand, the practice/hospital may be looking to bring a new personality or new capabilities.  If you’re working with a physician recruiter, he/she can help to find out.  The direct approach of asking the practice/hospital representative directly what they’re looking for in the newly hired doctor will show them that you’re confident and knowledgeable in the interview process.

Waiting for your #1 physiatry practice choice is frustrating and anxiety-provoking.  Oftentimes, you feel powerless as to what to do.  Many questions come to your mind.  What is taking so long for the practice/hospital to get back to you?  Has the practice/hospital made an offer to another physiatry candidate and is putting you on hold waiting for the outcome?

As Murphy’s Law would have it, sometimes all but your #1 choice for a new job has offered you a position.  I have advised physiatrists to set their own dateline to obtain a job offer to protect themselves from a prolonged, unproductive and unsuccessful practice search. Actually, you might want to set several deadlines along the way in the job search process such as how long to wait for a phone call, for an interview and for a contract.

What can you do when your #1 choice is delaying to respond to you?  I haven’t written on this topic before because much of what’s required is a perfect alignment of many factors.  There is no one right answer to this question.

However, you should hesitate to pressure your #1 choice.  It might cause you to not receive further consideration.  However, you should offer some motivation to your #1 choice.  One physiatrist that I was working with told his #1 practice choice, “I’m very interested in this practice opportunity and I feel confident that we would have a good working relationship.  That said, I’m considering other practice opportunities some of which have offered me positions.  Please let me know if I can provide any additional information to the end of a job offer from you.”  A final interview was quickly forthcoming and the physiatrist received the job offer

You’ve been invited for a job interview.  Wow, how wonderful!  Your work has just begun.  Let the games of hiring begin!  You should ask for an agenda for the interview and the names and positions of the people who will interview you.  Commit these names to memory so that you can speak to them with comfort and ease. This action will reduce the anxiety that naturally comes with an interview.

There are the obvious questions for which you can prepare answers (please visit my website, www.farrhealthcare.com and read the information under the Practice Search Tips button.)  However, there are certain questions you shouldn’t ask.  For example, don’t ask “How many doctors are you interviewing?”  This question makes you seem worried and not confident.  As is the case with alot of aspects of the practice search process, this question is something that the physician recruiter can find out for you.

Attitude is a big part of the interview process.  The practice search typically is very long and can take 6 months or longer.  It’s hard for anyone to keep an upbeat attitude during this long, demanding process.  If it’s been some time since your interview and you haven’t heard anything, don’t call the hiring practice/hospital and ask for example “Are there any other questions I can answer?”  This may sound desperate.  Again, if you’re using a recruiter, he/she can find out the status and lobby for you.  If you’re not using a recruiter, use the administrative assistant to garner information.  The administrative assistant is someone you should court from day one.