3 Benefits to Choosing a Health Career

This is a guest post by Jim Kelly

Choosing a career in the health care field has so many rewards and benefits. It is also considered to be a recession-proof industry in today’s struggling economy where people are losing their jobs, benefits and pensions. The following are the top three benefits to selecting a health career.

1. Job Growth
The latest statistics have shown that eight of the top fastest growing careers are in the Healthcare industry with over 13 million jobs. Physicians, pharmacy technician, aides, nurses and other health professionals are in constant demand in our society. As a Healthcare professional, there will be a whole variety of options and job security to take advantage of, and you probably won’t be downsized like in other companies. Advanced medicine has increased the aging population around the country, and there is an increasing demand for medical professionals.

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3 health IT hiring trends

This is from HIMSS:

Chicago (June 26, 2012) - Three health IT hiring trends:

• Employers realize transferable (skills acquired in the past that can be used in present) and soft (like communication) skills are becoming important in the workforce.

• Job seekers find broadening their job search, beyond one particular job description or type of job, is more beneficial than narrowing the search into one job description.

• Employers see the value of incumbent training-type programs, realizing the potential of current employees and preparing them for future health IT positions (this, in turn, creates a loyalty program within an organization).

Read more here.

Join an online social network this summer

I encourage you to make the time to join an online social network this summer. Next month, I'm teaching a course to physicians about the appropriate use of social media. There are a number of professional (and personal) benefits associated with the appropriate use of social media, so start with the basics and learn about privacy and security issues. Then, jump in and get started with either an open social networking community like LinkedIn, Facebook, etc., or go into a closed medical community (some of these are only for physicians) like Doximity, Sermo, or QuantiaMD.

I hope you'll join me for this course at the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) 2012 Summer Institute titled, "Social Media: Relevance and Appropriate Use for Physician Leaders." This course offers CME credit, so travel to Chicago this summer for this course while you attend the ACPE 2012 Summer Institute.

Job Post: Physicians to perform IME's and CE's

The following is a Job Post:

Physicians to perform IME's and CE's
TSOM - Multiple locations, GA

I am looking for a physician to join a group performing Consultative Exams for Social Security in Georgia. We provide all administrative needs including scheduling, transcription, assisting, and billing. Pay for the day's work is guaranteed regardless of turnout and is paid promptly regardless of time of collection. Of course there is no call and no weekend work. We are currently in need of a physician part-time working with our group 1 to 4 days a month to start. Physicians working for us have various background and training including General Practice, IM, FP, pain mgt., surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiology, occ. med, and physical medicine.

Contact: bgube@aol.com

Join me at the CONVERGE conference in Philadelphia on July 10

The healthcare industry is in the midst of a major structural transformation. Don’t miss your chance to connect with top executives from this new converged ecosystem to find out what matters and why.

Attend CONVERGE: a one-day executive summit about innovation and convergence in healthcare.

On July 10 in Philadelphia, you’ll meet with the most innovative hospital leaders and top decision makers from the medical device, pharma, health IT and investor communities. You’ll join in the debate and discussion of the leading trends driving this transformation, share best practices with those driving today’s healthcare innovations and be introduced to the most promising startups.

Register today with the code JOEKIM to save 30%: http://converge-event.medcitynews.com/


If you are a student, get the student rate of $150 by entering the code CONVERGESTUDENT (you must register using your .edu email address)

Alexion Pharmaceuticals adding 300 jobs in New Haven

The following story is from the Hartford Courant:

Alexion Moving To New Haven, Adding Up To 300 Jobs

NEW HAVEN — Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a fast-growing company whose stock price has soared over the past five years, is returning to New Haven from Cheshire and adding hundreds of jobs, and promises to grow its workforce sharply in the next five years.

In exchange for moving more than 350 people now in Cheshire and adding between 200 and 300 employees by 2017, Alexion will be eligible for a state package worth up to $51 million in tax credits, a grant and a loan that will be partially or fully forgivable, depending on the hiring numbers.

Read the full story here.

Job Post: Medical/Scientific Director for a CME/CE Company in Newtown, PA

Job Post: Medical/Scientific Director for a CME/CE Company
Newtown, PA

Position:

We are seeking an MD/DO, PharmD, or PhD to provide strategic oversight and direction for clinical practice gap analysis, educational needs assessments, CME/CE content development, and outcomes measurements. This professional will provide scientific leadership and oversee medical editors/writers who are working on CME needs assessments, activity content, and outcomes research.

This is a full-time, office-based position with minimal travel requirements. Telecommuting is not an option.

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FACPE, FACHE, FACMPE

Recently, I've encountered a number of questions from people asking, "what do FACPE, FACHE, FACMPE mean?" What does it mean to have these acronyms after your name?

Most physicians know that the "F" usually stands for "Fellow" whenever you see these types of strange acronyms. We frequently see acronyms such as FACP (Fellow of the ACP - American College of Physicians), FAAFP (Fellow of the AAFP - American Academy of Family Physicians), etc.

So, let's decipher what FACPE, FACHE, FACMPE mean:

• FACPE: Fellow of the ACPE -  American College of Physician Executives
• FACHE: Fellow of the ACHE -  American College of Healthcare Executives
• FACMPE: Fellow of the ACMPE -  American College of Medical Practice Executives

I'm a member of ACPE and ACHE and I'd encourage you to join as well. Attend their annual conference, go to regional chapter meetings, and expand your professional social network of connections. You may also wish to explore these other organizations: Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

What do you know about executive search firms?

Contingency Firms. Executive Recruiting. Korn/Ferry. Leadership Advisory. B.E. Smith. Retained Search. Cejka. Container Firm. Russell Reynolds. Headhunters. Heidrick & Struggles. Talent acquisition. Witt/Kieffer. Do you know what these terms mean? Are you familiar with these names?

If you are not familiar with executive search firms, I'd encourage you to read this Inc article titled, "How to Work with an Executive Search Firm." It's a short article that reviews some of the fundamental basics of working with a headhunter who wants to place you into a great new job position.

ACPE CareerLink

The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) has a CareerLink which is the best source of premium physician administrative and executive jobs.

CareerLink is the only job board targeted specifically for physician executives.

You can search and apply for jobs online — for free.

Visit www.healthEcareers.com/acpe to get started. There are more than 150 open opportunities available right now!

Managed Healthcare Executive: June 2012

Interested in a career in the managed care industry? One way to understand the current trends and issues that are relevant to the health care industry is to read trade journals and magazines. You can read the June 2012 issue of "Managed Healthcare Executive" here.

Five Ways to Leverage Your Existing Knowledge to Add More Revenue to Your Practice

Author: Mike Woo-Ming, MD, MPH

Although many doctors check out Nonclinicaljobs.com seeking new employment, one of the most satisfying ways to gain additional revenue is to develop paid content based upon your existing knowledge. You can provide value to people you could not reach traditionally through your practice by delivering valuable information via the web.

Here are five ways to start getting your content by creating paid information products:

1. Start Your Own Blog – This can be about you or as an extension of your existing practice. The ability to use social media can not only help gain you more clients, it can enhance your relationship with prospective patients. Some doctors, for various reasons, choose to be anonymous, but bear in mind it will limit your growth and revenue potential.

2. Write Your Own Book – The advent of the Kindle and the Nook make self-publishing easier than ever. Even the definition of what a “book” is has changed, where even bite-sized information can be sold without the conventions of a traditional book. Physical books can be easily created using sites such as CreateSpace.com and Lulu.com, before signing on to a major publisher.

3. Developing a Newsletter – e-mail marketing companies such as I Contact and Constant Contact can create simple templates to with your patients or prospective ones. Free and paid newsletter can be developed.

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A good article about physician "re-entry" into the clinical workplace

I often remind physicians that it can be very difficult to re-enter the clinical workplace once they make a full-time transition into the business world. This is one reason why some physicians choose to work part-time in a clinical setting even after they have made a non-clinical career transition.

Don't miss this article titled, "Doctors returning to practice face challenges" published in the Cleveland Jewish News. Dr. Bob Elson returned to medicine after stepping away from his family practice nearly 20 years ago.

BIO Career Fair

BIO Career Fair
Hynes Convention Center
Boston, MA
Monday, June 18th 2pm - 7pm

The BIO Career Fair will be held on Monday, June 18, in conjunction with the
2012 BIO International Conventions (June 18 - 21) in Boston, MA.

The BIO Career Fair is intended for professionals in the bioscience industry. Job seekers can spend the afternoon with regional, national, and international HR Representatives and hiring managers from top biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies who are looking to hire talent in various fields and levels.

Read more »

Millions of LinkedIn passwords have been compromised

Be sure to change your LinkedIn password immediately. A hacker has supposedly compromised millions of LinkedIn passwords. As a reminder: make sure you never use the same password on multiple accounts!

A user in a Russian forum says that he has hacked and uploaded almost 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords, according to The Verge. Though his claim has yet to be confirmed, Twitter users are already reporting that they've found their hashed LinkedIn passwords on the list, security expert Per Thorsheim said.

You can read more on CNET.

ABMS Board Eligibility Periods and Transition Dates

Last week, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) published their "ABMS Board Eligibility Periods and Transition Dates." Most physicians have between 5 to 7 years to remain "board eligible" before they must either: 1) become board certified, or 2) start over. I'm over-simplifying, but gone are the days of being grandfathered into a "board eligible" status (BE or board eligible was never formally recognized by the ABMS until now).

When you see a job advertisement that specifies that a physician must be BE or BC, you'll know what they're talking about:

BE = board eligible
BC = board certified

The ABMS Board Eligibility Policy can be viewed here.

Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.2 percent

Last month, although employment increased in health care, the overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%. Health care employment continued to increase in May (+33,000). Within the industry, employment in ambulatory health care services, which includes offices of physicians and outpatient care centers, rose by 23,000 over the month. Over the year, health care employment has risen by 340,000.

Learn about the relevance of social media to physician leaders

I'll be teaching a course this summer at the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) 2012 Summer Institute titled, "Social Media: Relevance and Appropriate Use for Physician Leaders." This course offers CME credit, so you can tap into your CME budget (if you have one) to travel to Chicago this summer for the ACPE 2012 Summer Institute.

I hope you'll be able to join me in Chicago this July as we discover the relevance of social media for you as a physician leader:

• professional development and lifelong learning
• marketing your practice/hospital
• communicating with patients
• advocating and building community

Examine key examples from health care systems. Identify the rules of engagement with respect to HIPPA, privacy and security. Dive in to some mainstream social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and take a look at popular online medical communities. Take away practical tips for you and your staff around the appropriate uses of social media and where it can add value to your organization.

Learn more and register for this ACPE course on social media here.

More information about the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) 2012 Summer Institute can be found here.

LeadDoc, a new publication from ACPE for emerging physician leaders

Yesterday, the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) launched a new online journal aimed at helping medical students, residents and new physicians. Called LeadDoc, this free, bi-monthly publication will provide young doctors with the information they need to become better leaders and launch their careers in the complicated and confusing world of health care. LeadDoc offers practical tips on everything from negotiating a contract to writing a CV to understanding the economic realities of running your own practice.

(You'll see that I contributed a story for this inaugural June/July 2012 issue)

To learn more, visit acpe.org/LeadDoc

UCSF Institute for Physician Leadership

The UCSF Institute for Physician Leadership equips physicians with the skills to lead their organizations. In one year participants gain key leadership competencies which deepen their leadership capacity and career satisfaction.

Participants will develop the following competencies specific to physician leaders:

Change creation: Proactively and reactively creating and managing change

Working with others: Creating relationships that supports others working in a unified manner to accomplish desired outcomes

Communication: Exchanging information effectively and creating shared meaning

Contextualized thinking and knowledge: Incorporating the knowledge of one’s environment into decision making and strategic thinking

Management skills: Planning and organizing structures and people to produce predictable results

Leadership attributes: Espousing personal qualities of effective leadership

Resilience: The ability to thrive in times of conflict and change

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