‘Trust your gut’ when choosing a practice as a new graduate
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Key takeaways:
- Start with a wide view on potential jobs before narrowing down the focus.
- Big picture factors include geographic area, practice type and compensation.
New graduates have a lot of factors to consider when applying for their first jobs, according to a presentation at Real World Ophthalmology.
W. Violet Lin, MD, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medicine, said to think of the process like working with precision lenses.
“Finding the right fit is like a process of narrowing down your field of view in your lenses from your widefield view to the narrow-field or high-mag view,” she said. “You have to start with the big priorities and then narrow down to the small things.”
According to Lin, it is important to start with the big picture, including the geographic area and type of practice one might want to work in. That could mean the practice’s size and ownership structure as well as the availability of a track to partnership or ownership.
New graduates need to consider the compensation package, which goes beyond salary and includes benefits and potential business expenses. Lin also said a practice’s culture and reputation might come into play.
Narrowing down a little more, mid-field view factors include start date, work schedule and practice scope, Lin said. Graduates should understand what their potential contractual obligations might be, such as noncompete clauses, board certification requirements and hospital call obligations.
Finally, a few of the smaller factors might include flexibility and time off. Even though they might play a smaller role in a decision, Lin urged new graduates not to ignore them.
“One important thing that I wish I knew sooner was to trust your gut about small things,” she said. “I definitely talked to a wide variety of practices, and I felt that I didn’t necessarily trust my gut about the small things in terms of communication earlier on that definitely made a big difference later on.”
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Lin WV. Cyclops’ precision lens: Looking at contracts as a new graduate. Presented at: Real World Ophthalmology; Sept. 28, 2024 (virtual meeting).
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