Research
The next step toward building a strong career strategy is research.
Learn about various career settings – the job marketplace for physicians is changing and especially with the advent of the Affordable Care Act, there still may be many changes to come! Here are some common options for employment:
- Private Practice – solo, group, partnership, etc.
- Hospital-based – employed by the health system as a faculty member or clinician. One example would be our Medical Groups (these physicians are employed or aligned with the health system, but often work in a private practice-like setting)
- Dedicated In-Patient Physicians – i.e. Hospitalists, Laborists, Surgicalists, etc
- Faculty / Teaching Positions
- Clinical Research
- Innovation – i.e. inventing medical devices
- Managed Care
Universities vs. Community Setting – there are differences between working at a university setting as compared to a community setting. For example, there may be a requirement on the number of research papers that you must complete each year within an academic setting. There are also "hybrid" type institutions like the teaching institutions at Barnabas Health (Jersey City Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, and Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center) that have an academic environment with a community hospital setting.
Trends for Different Specialties – it is also important to look at marketplace trends for your specialty. For example, Primary Care Physicians have joined hospital / health systems rapidly since approval of the Affordable Care Act. However, some specialties like Dermatology or Plastic Surgery still remain private. It is helpful to understand the dynamics at play within your specialty.