Health care continuing to add new jobs

According to the April 4 BLS report on employment, health care continued to add more jobs in the month of March. However, nursing care facilities lost 5,000 jobs in March.

Specifically:

In March, health care added 19,000 jobs. Employment in ambulatory health care services rose by 20,000, with a gain of 9,000 jobs in home health care services. Nursing care facilities lost 5,000 jobs over the month. Job growth in health care averaged 17,000 per month over the prior 12 months.

Unemployment remains unchanged at 6.7%.

Physician, Inc: A Post-Residency Guide to Launching a Medical Career by @ZocDoc‎

ZocDoc has published a new white paper titled, "Physician, Inc: A Post-Residency Guide to Launching a Medical Career." 

When residents graduate from residency programs, how do they prepare for their medical career? Health care transformation is leading to some sweeping changes in physician employment, practice management, and medical career progression. The job market is evolving. Physicians value work/life balance. Some may even want to supplement their income or diversify their skill sets by diving into entrepreneurship or part-time non-clinical jobs.

Physician, Inc: A Post-Residency Guide to Launching a Medical Career brings together some of the nation’s best practice management consultants and physician leaders – along with a wealth of essential data – to answer key questions in all of these areas. From insight into the current job market to a detailed practice launch checklist, an extensive reference appendix, and more, this resource serves as a powerful and practical framework for pursuing success as a practicing physician.

NEJM: The Health Care Jobs Fallacy

Did you catch the June 28, 2012 editorial in the NEJM titled, "The Health Care Jobs Fallacy?"

The authors Katherine Baicker, Ph.D., and Amitabh Chandra, Ph.D. write:

The goal of improving health and economic well-being does not go hand in hand with rising employment in health care. It is tempting to think that rising health care employment is a boon, but if the same outcomes can be achieved with lower employment and fewer resources, that leaves extra money to devote to other important public and private priorities such as education, infrastructure, food, shelter, and retirement savings.

They go on to say:

Salaries for health care jobs are not manufactured out of thin air — they are produced by someone paying higher taxes, a patient paying more for health care, or an employee taking home lower wages because higher health insurance premiums are deducted from his or her paycheck. Additional health care jobs leave Americans with less money to devote to groceries, college tuition, and mortgage payments, and the U.S. government with less money to perform all other governmental functions — including paying teachers, scientists, and social workers.

They end with:

The bottom line is that employment in the health care sector should be neither a policy goal nor a metric of success. The key policy goals should be to achieve better health outcomes and increase overall economic productivity, so that we can all live healthier and wealthier lives.

I've only taken sections from the editorial, but what do you think? We are seeing growth in health care jobs, but is this a good thing? Are we misdirecting resources that could be used more effectively to improve health care delivery?

Survey regarding physician executive employment

The following is a press release that came out yesterday regarding a survey conducted among physician executives attending the 2012 ACPE conference:

Survey Results Reveal Specific Healthcare Talent Issues

Select International released the results of a survey conducted at the annual meeting of the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) in San Francisco. The survey polled C-suite executives, medical directors, chief quality officers and practice presidents around topics that included talent acquisition and physician employment.

(PRWEB) May 30, 2012

Select International, a provider of employee assessments and hiring systems, released the results of a survey conducted at the annual meeting of the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) in San Francisco. The survey polled C-suite executives, medical directors, chief quality officers and practice presidents around topics that included talent acquisition and physician employment.

Among the findings was an overall consensus that healthcare organizations, not unlike other industries, are struggling with identifying and placing the right individuals into their workforce. The impact of this challenge is heightened in healthcare, however, as organizations strive to face the challenges of reform. In each of the areas addressed, more than half of the respondents rated their organizations as less than effective. Some of the specific results are highlighted below:

Hospitals employ almost 20 percent of all physicians

As more physicians choose an employment model, what will happen to independent physicians? What will happen to those physicians who are still in private practice?

These days, hospitals and health systems are seeing more requests from independent physicians about employment options. Hospitals are acquiring independent physician practices and offering compensation packages that include financial incentives (bonus payments) that are linked to patient satisfaction ratings and clinical performance and health care quality. These types of financial incentives may currently only be 3-5% of total physician compensation, but it is expected to increase to about 7-10% of physician total compensation.

If you are still in private practice, do you see yourself staying in that model until you retire? Or, will you be one of those independent physicians switching to an employment model?

If you are interested in learning more, read the Sullivan Cotter's 2011 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey Report by Sullivan, Cotter and Associates, Inc.

Health Care Hiring Continues to Expand during Weakened Economy

Sullivan Cotter Survey Finds that Nearly Three-Quarters of Hospitals and Health Care Systems Report Increased Physician Staffing Levels

January 10, 2012 -Chicago - A survey released by Sullivan, Cotter and Associates, Inc. (SullivanCotter), a nationally-recognized compensation and human resource management consulting firm, reports that most hospitals and health care systems increased their physician staffing in 2011 and plan to continue to do so in 2012.

This finding is contained in SullivanCotter's2011 Physician Compensation and Productivity Survey Report, now available for purchase.The survey contains data from 424 health care organizations representing 66,400 health care providers and is considered the industry standard.

Increases in hospital mass layoffs

According to this amednews.com story, we are seeing some dramatic increases in hospital mass layoffs.

• Thirteen mass layoffs occurred at hospitals in August, leading 1,085 people to claim unemployment benefits
• The BLS recorded 10 incidents in July with at least 622 people losing jobs
• In August 2010, the BLS reported 12 mass layoffs, with 1,027 lost positions

Are these mass layoffs also affecting physicians? Depending on where you live in this country, it may be very difficult for a physician to find another job without moving. As some hospitals struggle to survive, how will this impact physician employment opportunities? On a related note, how will these changes affect the clinical environment? Will physicians be more susceptible to burnout if they're expected to carry heavier patient volumes? Will we see more medical errors if hospitals are not sufficiently staffed with nurses and other clinical ancillary staff?

@DrJosephKim quoted in this @CNN @Money article about health care #jobs

I'm quoted in this CNN Money article titled, "Health care jobs a bright spot for hiring." Many people choose to pursue careers in health care because of the job stability associated with the health care market. These days, even in a depressed economy, there are many new health care jobs that are being added on a regular basis. Why is this happening? Here's the bottom line: the aging population coupled with changes driven by health care reform will add a number of new jobs in the health care industry.

There are also changing trends in the ways hospitals are hiring physicians or practice groups. Many independent private practice physicians are choosing to be employed by hospital systems and they are choosing salaried models of reimbursement. When a hospital hires a private practice physician to work as a salaried physician employee, that's considered a new job for the hospital. Technically, the physician switched from working as an independent contractor to a salaried employee for the hospital. The hospital records that they added and filled a new job position.

In reality, these health care job statistics published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics may be a bit misleading right since so many physicians are switching from the private practice model to a salaried model.

Join President Obama on July 6 for a Twitter Town Hall meeting about jobs and the economy

What's been your experience using Twitter? Have you had the opportunity to encounter the President of the United States on Twitter? Join President Obama on July 6 for a Twitter Town Hall meeting where he will discuss current issues related to jobs and the economy.

Go to: http://askobama.twitter.com

Submit your questions: Just tweet your questions with the hashtag #AskObama

Follow @townhall
Get important updates and a reminder about the event the day before

July 6th at 2pm EDT, 11am PDT, to watch President Obama respond live via webcast

Make sure to follow @DrJosephKim for important updates from NonClinicalJobs.com

Biotech Firm to Add 160 Jobs in Missouri

From Associated Press (May 18, 2011)

BERKELEY, Mo. -- A manufacturer of biologic pharmaceuticals will locate a production facility in the St. Louis County town of Berkeley, retaining 160 workers from a plant it purchased and eventually adding another 160.

Gov. Jay Nixon was in Berkeley Wednesday for the announcement by Gallus Biopharmaceuticals. The company bought the Centocor Biologics facility and plans to hire about 160 Centocor workers. Gallus also plans to create 160 new jobs over the next five years.

Employment statistics based on your education

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has published an interesting article comparing employment statistics (and unemployment statistics) based on your education. As expected, if you have a college degree or higher, then you're more likely to have a job and you're more likely to be receiving a higher salary. Some interesting statistics:

For the College Educated: Increasing Employment ...

... Lower Unemployment ...

... and Higher Earnings

You can read the entire story here: Back to College BLS Spotlight on Statistics

A discussion about physician salaries on Sermo

On Sermo, you'll find physicians (and only physicians) discussing all types of things. A recent discussion has focused on the validity of national physician salary surveys.

Here's what one physician posted on Sermo:

I've researched average physician compensation for a number of specialties, including my specialty using stats from AGMA, MGMA, and other sources. I am consistently struck by how low these figures are compared with individuals I know and others I know about.

I know the limitation of these statistics is that they usually only represent employed physicians. I thought it might be interested to see whether you believe the average income (and upper and lower ranges) for your specialty is correct, and what you think the implications are.

The reality is that most physicians voted that these numbers are inflated. In some cases, they're up by 25-30%. In other cases, over 50%. As a result of these published figures, new graduates are feeling entitled to very high salaries.

Physician Employment Contracts

What do you need to know about physician employment contracts? In the world of clinical medicine, you may be used to working with attorneys who will review your employment contracts and even negotiate on your behalf. Does that happen in the corporate world? Yes and No. It depends.

It really depends on the type of position you're pursuing. If you're breaking out of medicine into a brand new industry, you may be applying for the same types of positions that are often filled by PharmDs and PhDs. Just because you have an MD or DO doesn't guarantee that you'll be a stronger candidate or that you'll earn more money. I don't think you should expect to see very complex employment contracts in these types of jobs. On the other hand, if you're pursuing jobs in medical management or in senior management positions, then your roles/responsibilities could involve many different elements and you'll probably want an attorney to review your employment contract.

Speaking of employment contracts, if you're new to medicine, you may want to visit the NEJM Career Center and learn about physician employment contracts.

661,400 vs. 2.6 million jobs

These are the numbers you'll find if you look on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections website at BLS.gov.

In 2008, physicians held 661,400 jobs. There are approximately 2.6 million jobs for nurses.

That's approximately a 1:4 ratio of physicians to nurses.

Physicians and surgeons held about 661,400 jobs in 2008; approximately 12 percent were self-employed. About 53 percent of wage–and-salary physicians and surgeons worked in offices of physicians, and 19 percent were employed by hospitals. Others practiced in Federal, State, and local governments, educational services, and outpatient care centers.

Registered nurses (RNs) constitute the largest healthcare occupation, with 2.6 million jobs. About 60 percent of RN jobs are in hospitals.

Data from the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition
Physicians and Surgeons
Registered Nurses

Employment update from the BLS

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent in February. Health care employment continued to trend upward in February.

In 2009, 22 states also recorded employment-population ratios that were above the national ratio is 59.3 percent. The image on the right shows some of those ratios.

Health care job growth last month

As we start this New Year, I often wonder how our economy will change in 2010. We're in a recession, but it may not feel like a recession to those working in the health care industry. Here are some stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

In December, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.3 million, and the
unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, were unchanged. At the start of the re-
cession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.7 million,
and the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent.

There's no surprise there. However, here's where it gets interesting:

Health care employment continued to increase in December (22,000), with notable
gains in offices of physicians (9,000) and home health care services (8,000).
The health care industry has added 631,000 jobs since the recession began.

Wow! Can you believe that employment within the health care industry increased last month? Companies may not do much hiring over the holidays, but hospitals and clinics need workers. Home health care services saw some significant growth last month and I'm sure we'll continue to see tremendous growth as America's aging population requires additional home health services.

You can read about last month's employment stats by visiting the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Best Places to Work in Healthcare

According to ModernHealthcare.com, the best places to work if you're in the health care industry are:

1. Intelligent InSites
2. Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
3. CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System
4. Holy Name Hospital
5. Sage Products
6. Memorial Healthcare System
7. VHA
8. Awarepoint Corp.
9. Premier
10. Valley Medical Center
11. Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southlake
12. King's Daughters Medical Center
13. Kootenai Health
14. Trilogy Health Services
15. LiquidAgents Healthcare
16. South Dayton Acute Care Consultants
17. Buena Vista Regional Medical Center
18. Saint Francis Medical Center
19. Indiana Regional Medical Center
20. Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center

I'm not entirely sure how they conduct their surveys, but it's always interesting to see their list each year. The study is sponsored by the Studer Group (Studer Group is an outcomes based health care consulting firm devoted to teaching evidence-based tools and processes that organizations can immediately use to create and sustain outcomes in service and operational excellence).

The list above categorizes each employer as either a provider or a supplier (I've bolded the suppliers in the list above since you're more likely to find non-clinical opportunities in that type of setting). 6 out of the top 20 are suppliers. The #1 company is a supplier. Are you considering a move out of the "provider" group and into the "supplier" group?

To view the entire list on ModernHealthcare, click here.

Career transition and outplacement services for physicians

There are many different groups out there that provide career transition and outplacement services. However, how many of them focus on serving physicians? I don't think you'll find that many that specialize in physicians and other health care professionals who are transitioning from a clinical practice to the business world of non-clinical opportunities.

What can you find if you search on the Internet? Try typing words like "career transition" and "outplacement services" and let's see what we find. Not living in North America? Try searching for regional services. For example, if you live in Australia, you may want to type something like "outplacement services sydney" into Google and see what you get. If you live in another country and you're looking for jobs in the U.S., I still encourage you to leverage international resources that have experience helping people with career transition services in the countries where you're interested in finding a job.

Right now, one of the biggest challenges associated with outplacement services in the United States is that employers have limited funds to pay for these types of expensive services. Displaced employees generally don't have the funds to pay for outplacement services, so they are often left looking by themselves.

I always advise unemployed individuals to reach out into their social network and look for opportunities through the people they know. So many people have entered the non-clinical world through someone who knew someone who then arranged for a job interview. If you're not tapping into your social network, then you may be missing some valuable opportunities to find employment.