VISTA Staffing Solutions | Locum Tenens

I am very proud to announce that Patrice Streicher, associate director of VISTA Staffing Solutions’ Physician Search and Consulting Division, was advanced to the position of president of the National Association of Physician Recruiters at the association’s annual convention in Chicago on Thursday, April 28.

Patrice has been serving as president-elect and chair of the public relations committee for the association. She succeeds Pat Doyle-Grace, CPC-PRC, from Cejka Search.  

The National Association of Physician Recruiters (www.NAPR.org ) is a global non-profit trade organization for professionals in the physician recruitment industry. Members are held to a strict code of ethics and standards of business practice. NAPR provides valuable networking and educational opportunities including conferences, webcasts, regional meetings, and the NAPR School of Healthcare Recruitment. It also offers candidate sourcing resources and access to the NAPR World Job Bank.

Patrice brings decades of experience and expertise to this leadership role. She has a track record of very strong recruiting success and an unwavering commitment to ethical business practices. She is a terrific role model and the right person to be leading an association like NAPR.

Also during the meeting current president Doyle-Grace gave Patrice the President’s Choice Award, citing her efforts in the development of social media channels for the association.  Additionally, she recognized Patrice’s contributions as the primary author of the Physician Practice Search Guide, which many residency programs have incorporated into their curriculum.

In addition to her duties as associate director of VISTA’s Physician Search and Consulting Division, Patrice works as a Senior Consultant for clients seeking to fill surgery jobs, family medicine jobs, neurology jobs, and physician executive jobs.

Prior to joining VISTA she served as vice president at Fox Hill Associates, a well-respected physician search company acquired by VISTA in 2009.

Congratulations Patrice!

Even though physicians from just about every medical specialty can work on a locum tenens basis, we have a soft spot for primary care at VISTA. Why? Because that’s where it all began. The locum tenens industry in the US grew out of the need for support and back up coverage for primary care physicians in rural areas.

 The National Resident Matching Program results released yesterday brought welcome news that not only were a record number of medical residency positions (PDF) offered this year, but more new doctors showed an interest in primary-care training programs.

 Here are some numbers:

• A total of 26,158 residency positions, including 12,421 first-year and 2,737 second-year positions were offered.
• This was a 2.5% increase over last year’s 25,520 slots.
• The increase included 112 more internal-medicine positions, 100 more family-medicine slots, 51 more emergency medicine positions, 45 more for anesthesiology, and 38 more for neurology.
• More than 95% of the first-year residency positions were filled.
• 94.4% of family-medicine positions (2,555) were filled this year, versus 91.4% (2,384) filled last year.
• 5,065 internal medicine slots were filled this year, versus 4,947 in 2010.
• The number of applicants from U.S. schools increased 11.3% for family medicine and 8% for internal medicine.

The Nora Institute for Surgical Patient Safety is hosting the 5th Annual Rural Surgery Symposium in conjunction with a skills course, Patient Safety and Quality in Rural Surgery: Advanced Skills Training for the Rural Surgeon on May 5-8, 2011 in Chicago, IL. This unique course was developed to address the needs viagra surgeons practicing in rural areas. Recognizing that rural surgeons often have a broader scope of practice, the course covers advanced endoscopy, leadership and communication, emergency urology and gynecology, and basic facial plastic surgery. The course is designed to address technical skills as well as issues related to patient safety and quality. At the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in 2009 a survey of rural surgeons was conducted and the course content is based on what rural surgeons told us they wanted to hear. A large percentage of locum tenens surgery positions are in rural areas, so VISTA has been following the development of this course with great interest. 

The course director is Dr. Amy Halverson, a colorectal surgeon at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Director of the Nora Institute for Surgical Patient Safety. The co-directors are Dr. Tyler Hughes and Dr. David Borgstrom. Tyler practices in McPherson, Kansas and is the Editor of the Rural Surgeons Web Portal for the American College of Surgeons. David practices in Cooperstown, NY and has lead the Rural Surgeon’s Symposium for the past several years.

For more information and to register for the event, please visit http://www.surgicalpatientsafety.facs.org/surgical/symposium.html. If you have additional questions, email skillscourses@facs.org.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

5th Annual Rural Surgery Symposium and Workshop

10.5 Credits, Verification Level I

Thursday, May 5 to noon, Friday, May 6

This symposium addresses issues impacting rural surgery, trends in rural surgery practice, and American College of Surgeons (ACS) resources for the rural surgeon.

Objectives

• Understand the national and local influences on surgical care for rural America.
• Understand how changes in surgical education may impact future surgical care for rural America.
• Recognize the influences of healthcare reform on surgical care for rural America.
• Understand rural healthcare needs and staffing.
• Understand educational initiatives for rural surgeons.

 For more information and to register for the event, please visit http://www.surgicalpatientsafety.facs.org/surgical/symposium.html.

Patient Safety & Quality in Rural Surgery: Advanced Skills Training for the Rural Surgeon

15 Credits, Verification Level II

1 pm Friday, May 6 to noon, Sunday, May 8

This course is designed to address the scope of practice unique to the rural surgeon. The course content will include web-based didactic material that participants are expected to complete in advance. The on-site portion, held in the Northwestern University Center for Simulation Technology and Immersive Learning, will utilize immersive simulation and hands-on mentored practice to present modules in Surgical Leadership, Advanced Endoscopic Techniques, Emergency Gynecologic Surgery, Urology for the Rural Surgeon, and Plastic Surgery for the Rural Surgeon. Polypectomy will be performed in a porcine colon. State-of-the-art inanimate and virtual reality simulators will be used for the gynecology module. Participants will perform orchipexy and ureteral repair with explanted animal organs. Plastic surgery skills will include facial laceration repair and skin lesion excision.

Participants will be expected to complete a follow-up activity three months after the course.

OBJECTIVES

Surgical Leadership

• Explain the concept of shared mental model as it relates to a surgical team.
• List three communication techniques that may be used to facilitate teamwork in the operating room.
• Lead an operating room team in a preoperative checklist.

 Advanced Endoscopic Techniques

• Demonstrate endomucosal resection in the porcine model.
• Discuss treatment options for immediate post polypectomy bleeding.

 Emergency Gynecologic Surgery

• Describe the surgical treatment of ovarian torsion.
• Explain the surgical options for the treatment of ectopic pregnancy.

 Urology for the Rural Surgeon

• Demonstrate the technique of suprapubic tube insertion.
• Demonstrate the surgical treatment of testicular torsion.
• Demonstrate the technique of ureteral repair.

 Plastic Surgery for the Rural Surgeon

• Explain principles for facial laceration repair.
• Determine the appropriate excision for a facial lesion.

 For more information and to register for the event, please visit http://www.surgicalpatientsafety.facs.org/surgical/symposium.html.

Whether you are a locum tenens physician or a physician looking for permanent opportunities, it is important that you create a curriculum vitae that highlights your experience and background.  Make sure that you dot your “I’s” and cross your “T’s”.  Here are some of the common details that we tend to overlook but are key to a great CV.

1. Keep your CV up to date.

* Nothing says “I’m interested” better than an up-to-the minute CV. Feature details that demonstrate your fit with this specific job.

2. Break information into sections and list accomplishments in each section chronologically.

*Starting with the most recent activity and include month/day/year for all dates. If you have no experience in a particular area, leave it out.

3. Make sure there are no gaps.

* Any gap in time must be explained. If you backpacked through Europe for three months, spell it out in your CV. Otherwise, it will generate a red flag in the mind of the reviewer and you will have to provide an explanation. It can slow things down or potentially hurt your chances for a position.

4. Use a font that is easy to read and use a minimum of 12-point type size.

* Use an all-purpose font that is easy to read and holds up when faxed. Arial and Times New Roman are good choices. Non-standard fonts may not be loaded on all computers, so a person who has received an electronic copy of your CV may not be able to read it. At the very least, the computer will substitute another font and mess up your formatting. Avoid the use of all capital letters and excessive bold, italic or underlining. Use a minimum size of 12-point type.

5. Customize your cover letter for each opportunity, highlighting your interest and qualifications specific to each position.  Also, be sure these qualifications are listed in your CV.

* Add a few details that make it obvious you are interested in a specific job. This is critical when you are applying for a permanent position.

I’ve had several conversations recently with physicians who were considering locum tenens work, but were a little concerned about earning an adequate income given the current economic situation. I thought I’d offer some insight into the dynamics of the locum tenens industry, which I hope will increase your comfort level if you happen to be in the same boat.

First, as I am sure you are aware, there is a growing physician shortage across the globe. We did experience a small dip in demand and/or slower commitments from clients at the end of last year as healthcare organizations braced for declining census and health plan enrollment. These organizations quickly realized that the need for physicians was not really reduced, and came back to us asking for help in arranging locum tenens coverage. The days of physician coverage we are providing have remained steady.

In addition, history has shown that the temporary staffing industry recovers before full-time employment in times like this. It makes sense when you think about it—if an organization is concerned about making full-time hiring commitments but still needs physicians, a temporary contract is a safe, logical bridge until the situation improves.

From a personal perspective, the best way you can ensure access to locum tenens opportunities is to 1) be as flexible as possible and willing to consider wide range of locations and practice settings, and 2) work with us to create a proactive licensing plan so we can get you ready to work in areas where we consistently have openings in your specialty, 3) keep your CV current, and 4) keep your certificates up to date.

I’ve have worked with hundreds of physicians and have seen how rewarding locum tenens work can be. If the time is right for you, I encourage you to jump in and explore your options.

Greetings to physicians and clients working with VISTA and those we hope to work with in the future. At VISTA we work hard to set the standard for professionalism and responsiveness in the locum tenens, extended placements, international locums, and physician search and consulting industries. We try to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate the ways you prefer to communication with your physician staffing partners, from introduction of the service to firming up the final details of a placement.

I would very much appreciate hearing your views on social networking.

• Which sites / vehicles do you use (for example – blogs, discussion groups, Twitter, Facebook, etc)?
• What type of communication would you like/expect to receive through these vehicles?
• Is there a particular social networking function that you think would dramatically improve the process of coordinating assignments/placements?

Please send me an email including a little background on yourself, so I can understand what part of our audience you represent, and your thoughts on the following:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Others you rely on

Thank you very much for your time and insight.

Rekha Dhanraj

Marketing Communications Manager

VISTA Staffing Solutions

Rekha.dhanraj@vistastaff.com