Returning non-practicing physicians to the workforce

Before you leave your clinical career, consider whether it will be possible for you to re-enter clinical medicine after a period of inactivity. Every state medical board has different requirements surrounding re-entry. There are currently several re-entry programs throughout the United States that help physicians re-enter the clinical workforce after they have been clinically inactive for a period of time. One of those programs is at Drexel University and it looks like they published a nice article about the success of their program. Here is the abstract:

Introduction: Few formal educational programs are available in the United States to assist physicians wishing to return to medical practice after clinical inactivity. Little published data on physicians who complete these programs exist. We describe the Drexel Medicine Physician Reentry/Refresher course and present our findings on participant demographics, performance, and goal attainment following course completion.

Read more »

Dr. Lawrence Riddles named president of ACPE Board of Directors

Congratulations to all the new ACPE board members!

TAMPA – (April 27, 2012) The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) today announced the selection of the new members and officers of the 2012-13 Board of Directors, including the appointment of Dr. Lawrence Riddles, MD, MBA, CPE, FACS, FACPE, as ACPE president and chairman of the board.

Also selected as officers are Mark Werner, MD, CPE, FACPE, who will serve as vice-president, and Lynn Helmer, MD, MBA, FACP, CPE, FACPE, secretary-treasurer. New board members are Hoda Asmar, MD, MBA, CPE, FACP, FACHE, FACPE; Mark Browne, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACPE; and Jack Smith, MD, MMM, CPE, FACPE.

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Career outcomes of medical school graduates who failed USMLE Step 1 on the first attempt

What happens to medical students who struggle with USMLE Step 1? Do they have a different career outcome compared to their peers who don't struggle with standardized exams? The following is an abstract from a journal article titled, "Academic and professional career outcomes of medical school graduates who failed USMLE Step 1 on the first attempt."

This study sought to determine the academic and professional outcomes of medical school graduates who failed the United States Licensing Examination Step 1 on the first attempt. This retrospective cohort study was based on pooled data from 2,003 graduates of six Midwestern medical schools in the classes of 1997-2002. Demographic, academic, and career characteristics of graduates who failed Step 1 on the first attempt were compared to graduates who initially passed. Fifty medical school graduates (2.5 %) initially failed Step 1. Compared to graduates who initially passed Step 1, a higher proportion of graduates who initially failed Step 1 became primary care physicians (26/49 [53 %] vs. 766/1,870 [40.9 %]), were more likely at graduation to report intent to practice in underserved areas (28/50 [56 %] vs. 419/1,939 [ 21.6 %]), and more likely to take 5 or more years to graduate (11/50 [22.0 %] vs. 79/1,953 [4.0 %]). The relative risk of first attempt Step 1 failure for medical school graduates was 13.4 for African Americans, 7.4 for Latinos, 3.6 for matriculants >22 years of age, 3.2 for women, and 2.3 for first generation college graduates. The relative risk of not being specialty board certified for those graduates who initially failed Step 1 was 2.2. Our observations regarding characteristics of graduates in our study cohort who initially failed Step 1 can inform efforts by medical schools to identify and assist students who are at particular risk of failing Step 1.

Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2012 Apr 7.

Authors: McDougle L, Mavis BE, Jeffe DB, Roberts NK, Ephgrave K, Hageman HL, Lypson ML, Thomas L, Andriole DA.

PMID: 22484965

Clinical Development/Medical Affairs and Regulatory Career Paths

Propel Careers, MassBio, and the MassBioEd have joined together to organize a series of networking and panel events focused on raising awareness of career paths that exist in life sciences for individuals with advanced degrees. This Futures in Life Science program will bring together experts across a wide range of disciplines and functional areas within the life science industry, who will detail their roles and will provide a rich context for the audience to gain a clear understanding of the skills, aptitudes, competencies, and personalities that thrive in their particular functions.

The event will focus on the various career options within the Clinical Development , Regulatory, and Medical Affairs area of life sciences sector.

Clinical Development/Medical Affairs and Regulatory Career Paths
May 22nd 2012

More information here: http://fils52011.eventbrite.com/

Growing need for health IT support

There is a growing need for health information technology (health IT) support these days. More hospitals and physician practices are transitioning from paper-based records to computerized records. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are becoming the new "standard" in the world of health care, but technical glitches and computer problems are causing endless frustration. As a result, there are a number of organizations that are rapidly expanding their support staff and they are offering remote IT support to many health care clients. If you have strong computer skills, you may be interested in learning how your skills can be utilized by technology companies that are looking for professionals who understand health care security, compliance, patient privacy, and HIPAA regulations. If you can troubleshoot your own computers, then you'll save countless headaches and delays in workplace productivity by fixing the problems yourself. Or, maybe you'll drag your spouse to the office to fix the computer problems for you. Then again, if you have remote IT access, then you don't even need to go into the office.

There are a number of applications, products, and solutions that offer remote desktop services at an enterprise level. To avoid HIPAA violations, make sure that your connections are secure and that the right level of encryption is available so that your patient records are protected.

SoPE Box Radio

SoPE (The Society of Physician Entrepreneurs) has an online radio show called the SoPE Box Radio. You can listen to discussions related to the business of medicine. Themes will be, but not limited to, healthcare reform, innovation, entrepreneurship, the impact of social media on healthcare delivery.

You can listen to some archived shows here (bottom of the page). New shows will air on Mondays.

MD 2.0: Physician Leadership for the Information Age

MD 2.0: Physician Leadership for the Information Age
Grace E. Terrell, MD, MMM, FACP, CPE, FACPE and J.M. Bohn, MBA

The following is an excerpt from the new book by ACPE Fellow Grace Terrell and collaborator J.M. Bohn, published by the ACPE.

The Beginning

The time is now.

We are at the beginning of what we expect will be the single fastest transformation of any industry in U.S. history. In this tidal wave of change demographic and socioeconomic forces colliding with the status quo will radically alter the landscape of the health care delivery system in ways that were inconceivable a decade ago. Our nation is addressing a number of critical issues, including recovery from the Great Recession with its housing and mortgage crisis and the near-collapse of the world’s financial system, a polarized political leadership, rapid demographic changes brought on by the aging of the population and immigration, terrorism, and health care financial reform. Among these competing national priorities, no individual issue in America has posed as pressing of a concern and heightened importance for the public as those that directly impact their personal well-being and health.

Read more »

Open House for Jefferson School of Population Health

Interested in a degree in Health Policy & Healthcare Quality & Safety? Join faculty and other members of the Jefferson School of Population Health to learn more about some of our online degree programs. The Master of Sciences degrees that will be covered in this session are Health Policy, Healthcare Quality & Safety, and Healthcare Quality & Safety Management.

Open House for Jefferson School of Population Health
Thursday, April 26, 2012 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

Register here.

Getting ready for ATA (American Telemedicine Association) 2012

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 conference is coming up at the end of this month and I hope to see you there!  There are many new and exciting developments occurring in the world of telemedicine and I'm looking forward to a great conference.

ATA 2012: 17th Annual International Meeting & Exposition
April 29 - May 1, 2012
San Jose, CA

The ATA Annual Meeting is the largest telehealth event of the year, with over 450 peer reviewed presentations and the world’s largest tradeshow focusing exclusively on telemedicine, telehealth and mHealth technologies. Join 4000+ telemedicine professionals and discover the technologies that are revolutionizing healthcare.

Read more »

Health 2.0 Spring Fling: Matchpoint Boston

Interested in health care entrepreneurship? You may want to travel to Boston in May for the

Health 2.0 Spring Fling: Matchpoint Boston
May 14-15, 2012

Matchpoint Boston - Face-to-face meetings between entrepreneurs and decision makers from the nation’s leading health care organizations and investors including: Aetna Inc., Angie’s List, athenahealth Inc., AT&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, California HealthCare Foundation, Healthline Networks Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Virgin Healthmiles Inc., and Ziegler.

Read more »

Med Ad News Virtual Career Fair

Gain Valuable Insights and Meet with Companies currently recruiting professionals for a variety of positions at the Med Ad News Virtual Career Fair–FREE Registration!

LIVE Presentations and Q&A include the following topics:
• You got the job – what next?
• Executives on the Rise – Salary Survey
• Social Media's Agency Impact
• Professional, DTC and DTP marketing

Benefits of Attending:
• Interact live with participating Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Ad Agencies, Marketing Services Companies and Recruiters
• Gain valuable insights from our speaker sessions and pose questions in the live Q&A
• Network and increase your employment prospects
• View the comprehensive job board, apply for positions and share your resume and portfolio directly within the environment!

Virtual Doors Open: May 15, 2012 at 10:00am eastern time
Virtual Career Fair Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm ET/ 7:00 am to 1:00 pm PT

Register for this event here.

Sign up for the 2012 ACPE Summer Meeting before May 2 to save

I hope you will join me in Chicago this summer as I teach the course "Social Media: Relevance and Appropriate Use for Physician Leaders" at the 2012 ACPE Summer Meeting.

Here is the announcement from the American College of Physician Executives:

Time is running out: Sign up for the 2012 ACPE Summer Meeting before May 2 and save $25-$75 per course!

Four days, up to 42 CME credits, one great location: ACPE's Summer Institute offers you maximum impact in minimal time.

We know how precious a physician leader's time is. That's why we designed our 2012 Summer Institute to deliver as much impact as possible in just four days. Take advantage of the shorter blended learning format, which mixes in-person and distance learning. This means you'll get valuable interaction with faculty with minimal time away from home. Plus, if you register before May 2, you'll qualify for our early registration discount. Choose from these terrific courses:

• Social Media: Relevance and Appropriate Use for Physician Leaders
• Essentials of Health Law
• MetaLeadership: Removing Barriers & Building Bridges
• Physician in Management: Weekend Seminar
• Techniques of Financial Decision Making
• Solve This! Breakthrough Thinking for Physician Executives

Plus, it all happens in beautiful downtown Chicago, one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in America. Bring the family and visit the Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute of Chicago or the John Hancock Center. Career-boosting learning for you, a memorable vacation for all.

Don't delay. Go to acpe.org/summer or call (800) 562-8088 and talk to an ACPE staff member.

Infographic: Anatomy of a Job Interview

++ Click to Enlarge Image ++

Source:HighestPayingCareers.org

Why do women physicians choose a career in academic medicine?

I found an interesting article in Academic Medicine, the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The article was titled, "Women physicians: choosing a career in academic medicine."

My wife is a woman physician. She works in private practice, but she strongly considered a career in academic medicine.

Why do women choose a career in academic medicine? Here's what the researchers at Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University found:

For many women, choosing academic medicine was not necessarily an active, planned decision; rather, it was serendipitous or circumstantial.

Read more »

Pharm Country Career Fair King of Prussia

Another Pharm Country Career Fair is coming up. This one will be near the King of Prussia, PA.

Pharm Country Career Fair
Radisson Valley Forge
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
11am - 4pm

BioSpace Life Sciences Career Fairs are the premier recruiting event for life sciences professionals, featuring scores of opportunities with the industry's most prestigious employers. To attend the career fair, all candidates must hold a four-year degree in the life sciences or other related field, or equivalent experience within the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries.

More information here.

Accretive Health Physician Advisory Services - Accretive PAS

Interested in a job as a "physician advisor?"

Accretive Health Physician Advisory Services: Accretive PAS

Hospitals and other medical facilities are under progressively more pressure to provide greater precision in case classification as well as coding. Both government and commercial payors are showing increased rigor in reviewing and denying reimbursements. Hospitals are required to ensure all revenue is compliant while not leaving legitimate revenue on the table. Accretive PAS® physician advisors are deeply experienced in patient admissions and regulatory issues to facilitate compliant classification recommendations of all patient types. Accretive PAS® works closely with the hospital medical staff, case management, and senior leadership to strengthen compliance, limit denials, improve revenue integrity, and improve efficiency.

The best market solution

• Highly qualified Board Certified Specialty Physicians
• Leading edge technology
• Regulatory Compliance "specialists" - national and local payor classification criteria and clinical and coding denial appeal resources
• End-to-end revenue cycle knowledge

Accretive PAS® Operational Priorities

• Quality and Accuracy
• Responsiveness
• Physician Interaction
• Flexibility
• Value Added Information and Analysis
• Training and Education
• Technology enabled

Learn more here.

Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

MIT students and alumni use their entrepreneurship skills to found hundreds of companies each year, many using cutting-edge technologies developed in MIT labs or elsewhere.

The Martin (1958) Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship builds the entrepreneurial capacity of MIT students through education, nurturing, networking and celebration. Formerly, they were the MIT Entrepreneurship Center.

Here is some impressive history of entrepreneurship at MIT:

Beginning with the founding of Arthur D. Little, Inc. in Cambridge in 1886, MIT alumni, faculty, and students have played key roles in launching thousands of companies worldwide, ranging from small, specialized high-tech operations to corporate giants such as Genentech, Gillette, Hewlett-Packard, Teradyne, and Raytheon. Many of these companies have formed the cornerstone of new industries, including biotechnology, streamlined digital technologies, local computer networks, defense, semi-conductors, minicomputers, advanced computers, and venture capital. MIT scientists and entrepreneurs laid the groundwork for much of the current biotech industry - and biomedical advances have continued with MIT-originated developments such as the first effective new treatment for brain cancer in a generation. The MIT Technology Licensing Office (TLO) has more than 1,000 issued US patents in its portfolio, many with foreign counterparts. Each year, the TLO annually grants as many as 60-80 licensing agreements.

Learn more about the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship here.

HIMSS Virtual Career Fair

Looking for a job in health IT? Get plugged into HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)

HIMSS Virtual Career Fair
May 16, 2012
The Virtual Career Fair is a state-of-the-art, web- based event for connecting qualified clinical and non-clinical health IT job seekers with recruiters nationwide.

Take the next step in your career! By attending the Virtual Career Fair you will:

• Browse and apply for healthcare IT jobs on the Job Board that can be sorted by employer, job title, location and salary.
• Create your online profile and post multiple resumes.
• Connect with employer representatives via text, video chat and e-mail to answer your questions about the company and its open positions. Employers have instant access to your resume so you can engage in immediate dialogue.
• Attend accredited professional development education sessions via dynamic, live webinars
• Network with fellow job seekers and prospective employers in the Lounge.
• Collect professional development materials from HIMSS Career Services in the Resource Center.

More information here.

Which MBA? online fair

Thinking about getting an MBA? Before you enroll in a program, you may want to research some schools through The Economist’s MBA Fair.

The Economist’s MBA Fair features the world’s most innovative business schools, bringing you a unique forum to:

• Talk online with admissions officers from MBA programs around the world
• Broaden your perspective and learn how an MBA can help you take your career to the next level
• Gain insight into the MBA experience by chatting with alumni and watching webinars and videos
• Log in from anywhere and attend at your convenience

Learn more about the free event (Sept 5 and 6, 2012) here.

Pharma Thursdays

Pharma Thursdays is a networking group that meets monthly. It grew out of the need for a group in the life science community where people of every level, regardless of company affiliation could get together to exchange ideas, interact, learn and network.

In September of 2008, group founder Ted Gilbert and several other life science professionals saw the need for networking events where people working in all levels of life sciences could get together in Philadelphia. The idea was to gather once a month and exchange ideas, talk about what was going on in the local industry and collect perspectives from people that work in the same industry but carry different skill sets.

They now have over 1,000 members. Chapters are in Princeton, New York City and South Florida. I'm sure we'll see other chapters as well.

Learn more about Pharma Thursdays here.

Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit 2012

The Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit is a small, intimate event of 100+ industry-leading CIOs, CMIOs, and federal policy and health IT leaders discussing meaningful use, HITECH, and more. Find out what industry pioneers are doing to meet the requirements for meaningful use and how they are moving forward with health information exchanges and accountable care organizations.

Among the topics to be addressed:

• Strategizing the Use and Analysis of Clinical Data for Meaningful Use
• ACOs: Policy Strategic and IT Issues
• Leveraging CPOE Implementation to Reduce Medical Errors and Improve Patient Safety
• The Journey Towards Evidence-Based Physician Ordering
• Optimizing Revenue Cycle Management
• The Evolution of the CIO - CMIO Relationship and the CMIO Role
• Readmissions and the Medical Home: Re-Visioning Care Management
• Health Information Exchange: Strategies and Sustainability

Read more »

Cornell establishes Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy

Cornell establishes Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy (CHiP)

Under the leadership of Dr. Rainu Kaushal, CHiP is the first cross-departmental entity to be established at Weill Cornell Medical College in several years. CHiP's mission is improving health and healthcare through informatics and technology. CHiP pursues its mission by developing collaborative, robust programs in research, education, service and innovation.

Learn more here: http://www.weill.cornell.edu/chip/

American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) 2012 Annual Conference in San Francisco

The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) 2012 Annual Conference is coming up at the end of this month in San Francisco.

ACPE 2012 Annual Meeting & Spring Institute
Apr 27–May 1, 2012 • San Francisco, CA

The "Physician in Management Seminar" is sold out now, but there are plenty of other excellent courses that are still available.

If you can't make it to the Spring Institute, I hope that I'll see you at their next conference:

ACPE Summer Institute
Jul 19–22, 2012 • Chicago, IL

ACPE is the nation's largest health care organization for physician executives — doctors who hold leadership and management positions — who want to boost their leadership skills while adding weight to their CVs.

Now is the time to join the Doximity community

If you have an interest in a non-clinical career or supplemental income opportunities, leverage the Internet and join the Doximity community. This platform provides a great way to market your professional skills and achievements to potential organizations that may want to tap into your expertise.

• Connect with over 567,000 US physician colleagues in 87 specialties, including former or current medical school classmates and residents.
• Exchange HIPAA-secure messages, share private phone lists, back lines and pagers with physician colleagues you select and confirm.

Create a professional online profile where you can showcase your achievements. Leverage the social networking aspect of a growing physician community to find new career opportunities.

www.Doximity.com

Disclosure: I serve on the medical advisory board for Doximity.

New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW)

The New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) is coming up! If you have a brilliant idea or you want to connect with the entrepreneurship community, this could be a great way to gain some exposure.

April 16, 2012 at 9:00 AM - April 20, 2012 at 5:30 PM
25 Broadway New York

This year's event is going be the biggest connector event ever bringing together the resources, speakers mentors, and advice that is absolutely invaluable in your journey to living an entrepreneurial life with passion, success and freedom.

Learn more here.

If you don't live in the greater New York area, perhaps you can find another Entrepreneur Week activity in your region. Look here.