San Francisco Medical Society Blog

Flexible Scheduling for Physicians

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:37:52 GMT

As work-life balance becomes more of a stated priority for doctors, they are seeking arrangements that will allow them to meet both personal and professional needs. Practices and physician employers are trying to work with physicians so schedules can work to their mutual benefit.

When it comes to flexible scheduling, young physicians and many medical practices appear to agree on at least one thing: Both find advantages to the four-day workweek.

Squeezing full-time work hours into four rather than five days is the most important flexible scheduling possibility when residents and fellows consider practice opportunities, according to a survey released by Cejka Search, a physician placement firm based in St. Louis.

Researchers surveyed 750 residents and fellows in a wide array of specialties. Half of respondents said the four-day workweek was important or very important, but only 41.9% said the same about job-sharing. Of those surveyed, 37.9% said part time with more than 50% of full-time hours was important or very important, while 29.3% said the same about part time with fewer than 50% of full-time hours.

For physicians, the four-day workweek is a way to have more days off without having to take the pay cut that most likely would come from working part time. Four-day workweeks tend to be easier to set up than job-sharing arrangements, which require willing counterparts. With the same number of hours being covered, it’s possible that a practice would not need to hire additional physicians to cover the workweek.

Good for Recruitment

For health care institutions, which often recruit employed and independent physicians, the four-day workweek is a way to compete for physicians, particularly in rural areas that can be a hard sell to many doctors. Only 6.9% of those in the most recent Cejka survey considered a rural community to be a first choice, and 31.9% wouldn’t consider this kind of setting at all. A total of 52.1% put down metropolitan areas as their first choice, and 43.6% wanted to be in the suburbs.

But 46.7% of those surveyed would consider a community that is not their preferred location in exchange for a more flexible work schedule.

Recruiters say the four-day workweek has become more common over the past two to three years in part because offering money is not necessarily the deciding factor in attracting physicians. “Practices are moving from the compensation conversation and moving toward talking about quality of life, which can be much more attractive at the end of the day,” said Jason Bishop, director of physician recruitment for the upper Midwest with Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a search firm based in Irving, Texas.

Practices also are finding other benefits to the four-day workweek. Health system reform and the trend toward accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes have increased the need for physicians to be available in the evenings and weekends. This means it may make sense for a health system to have physicians who care for patients outside of usual business hours.

Source: American Medical News, September 17, 2012.

Don't Gamble with Your Future: Know What's in Your Contract

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:04:06 GMT

The American Medical Association (AMA) and the law firm of Kessemick, Gamma & Free are hosting a dinner presentation on evaluating and negotiating contracts. This event is open to all SF residents, fellows, and physicians in their first few years of practice. Enjoy complimentary dinner and drinks while local attorney Frank Gamma JD, MBA, FACMPE shares his 20 years of experience working with physicians.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
McCormick & Kuletos
The Captain Room
900 N. Point, San Francisco, CA 94109
6:30 pm – Registration
7:00 pm – Dinner and Presentation

To RSVP for this event, please email Patrick O'Keefe at patrick.okeefe@ama-assn.org.

Young Physician Networking Event a Success!

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:15:06 GMT

Residents, fellows, and physicians participated in SFMS’ Young Physician Networking Mixer at UCSF on Friday. Residents and fellows new to the area were able to meet local physicians to expand their professional network and share experiences.

Click here to view photos from this event.

SFMS will continue to networking events for our members. Please check the SFMS blog or follow SFMS on Twitter (@SFMedSociety) for event details.

SFMS would like to thank MIEC for their support of the Young Physician Networking Mixer. MIEC is a not-for-profit, physician-owned medical professional liability insurance company. SFMS was one of the six Northern California county medical societies that helped found MIEC in 1975 when commercial carriers withdrew from the medical malpractice insurance market.

4/17 Legislative Lobby Day: Meet California Legislators and Gain Leadership Development Skills

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:56:07 GMT

All SFMS members are invited to participate in the 2012 CMA Legislative Leadership Conference/Lobby Day.

Join more than 400 physicians, residents, and medical students from across California as they convene in Sacramento to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

9:30 am to 5 pm

Sacramento Convention Center

The morning includes speeches from a number of key legislative leaders, including lunchtime keynote speaker California Governor Jerry Brown. Other exciting speakers include:

California Attorney General Kamala Harris
Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
Former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte
Los Angeles Times political reporter Anthony York

Click here for a flyer with more information. A tentative agenda can be viewed here.

Please note this is a member-only event, and registration fee is waived for all SFMS members. To register, please contact info@sfms.org or (415) 561-0850.

Hotel Details

CMA has secured a discounted rate of $159/night for members at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento for 2012. Online reservation instructions are available here. Reservations can also be made by calling (800) 325-3535 or (916) 447-1700 – ask for the California Medical Association corporate rate.

2012 NHSC Loan Repayment Now Accepting Applications

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:06:20 GMT

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) announced the opening of the 2012 application cycle is taking place during the last week of January 2012. With two levels of funding, the NHSC LRP offers primary health care providers loan repayment assistance in exchange for working in rural, urban and frontier communities. Full-time and half-time options are available for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse‐midwives, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists and mental health providers to provide culturally competent, interdisciplinary primary health care services to underserved populations located in selected Health Professional Shortage Areas. Learn more about eligibility requirements and qualifying educational loans by visiting the NHSC site.

Physicians: Mobilize Your Practice and Improve Patient Care Delivery

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:10:30 GMT

A study conducted by the Joint Commission reported that miscommunication between caregivers during patient hand-offs plays a role in an estimated 80% of serious preventable adverse events. In a time when medical professionals are exploring ways to improve quality of care, why haven’t we tackled the simplest and most cost effective way to achieve this—improving communication? More than 90% of physicians report using a smart phone, and SFMS is excited to announce a new member benefit that leverages this technology to share patient information throughout the local medical community. All SFMS resident and practicing physician members enjoy exclusive and free member-only access to DocBookMD, a HIPAA-compliant smartphone app to connect with local physicians and pharmacies. DocBookMD gives you the entire San Francisco physician database on your mobile devices. You can:

Network with local physicians to develop relationships for referrals
Find colleagues to consult on medical decisions
Obtain second opinion from a fellow colleague immediately—getting a text or email back from a doctor who, in some cases, can save a patient’s life

As an added bonus, all new SFMS member registrations between December 13 and December 20 will be entered into a prize draw for a brand new iPad2.

"I find DocBook to be an extremely useful mobile application that allows me to communicate with my colleagues in a secure manner. In fact, I use it to help colleagues with difficult dermatologic cases that cannot be seen at my office immediately. I am so glad that the San Francisco Medical Society is able to offer this as a free service for its members." —Lawrence Cheung, MD, SFMS Member

To download...

Go to the App Store or Android Market to download DocBookMD. All you need is your SFMS ID number to register for free. Need help locating your ID number? Contact Lauren Estrada at lestrada@sfms.org or (415) 561-0850.

SFMS Career Fair a Success

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 06:30:18 GMT

The SFMS second annual Career Fair enjoyed a great turnout. On September 27, over seventy residents and fellows from local residency programs connected with recruiters from nineteen exhibiting organizations representing variety of practice types and settings based in San Francisco Bay Area. Many residents felt this was a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with practice position opportunities and choices available in their specialty in San Francisco Bay Area, and highlight small clinics and groups that may have been overlooked by regional or national job search events. One event attendee commented, “Thank you for organizing an event that showcases the Bay Area’s local community clinics. This event is unlike any other because of the emphasis on San Francisco Bay Area job opportunities.” For those that missed the career fair, SFMS will be publishing a list of available positions and recruiter contact information in our November member-only eNewsletter. SFMS is already planning for next year’s event, tentatively scheduled for September 2012 at St. Mary’s Medical Center. SFMS would like to thank the California Pacific Medical Center for providing the venue for this event. We would also like to recognize our participating exhibitors and staff at the graduate medical departments of CPMC, UCSF, St. Mary’s, and Kaiser Permanente for their generosity and support.

EXHIBITORS

Asian Health Services

Brown & Toland

Cardiovascular Medical Group

Chinese Hospital

CHW Medical Foundation

CPMC/Sutter Health

Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics – Walden House

La Clinica de La Raza

Malin, Aubry, Gores, Wang, Haddad, and Sankaran

Marin Hospitalist Medical Group/Marin General Hospital

My Doctor Medical Group

Native American Health Center

NorthEast Medical Services (NEMS)

One Medical Group

The Permanente Medical Group/Kaiser Permanente

San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium

San Francisco Department of Public Health

Sonora Regional Medical Center

Exhibitor List for SFMS Career Fair - September 27

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:50:38 GMT

Join SFMS at our second annual Career Fair. This is a complimentary event to all residents, fellows, and SF-based physicians of all specialties. Connect with representatives from a variety of practice types and settings based in San Francisco Bay Area.

As an added bonus, the first 30 attendees will receive free parking validation at the CPMC parking garage*.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

The Enright Room at CPMC Pacific Campus

The Enright Room is located on Lobby Level, to the left by the entrance to Kanbar Center.

We are proud to feature the following exhibitors for the 2011 SFMS Career Fair:

Asian Health Services

Brown & Toland

Cardiovascular Medical Group

Chinese Hospital

CHW Medical Foundation (St. Mary's, St. Luke's, St. Francis)

CPMC/Sutter Health

Haight-Ashbury Free Clinics – Walden House

La Clinica de La Raza

Malin, Aubry, Gores, Wang, Haddad, and Sankaran

Marin Hospitalist Medical Group/Marin General Hospital

My Doctor Medical Group

Native American Health Center

One Medical Group

The Permanente Medical Group/Kaiser Permanente

San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium

San Francisco Department of Public Health

Sonora Regional Medical Center

UCSF Medical Center

*Sign in at the SFMS table to receive your parking validation voucher.

California State Senate Passed Joint Resolution to Increase Physician Supply

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:01:33 GMT

This week, Assembly Joint Resolution 13 received bipartisan support in the California State Senate today with a 24–10 vote. The joint resolution urges the president and Congress to provide resources to increase the supply of physicians in California in order to improve access to care in underserved areas. The resolution also encourages the president and Congress to consider solutions that would increase the number of graduate medical education residency positions to keep pace with the growing need for physicians in California and the United States. “With the baby boomers beginning to retire, national health care reform expanding coverage to millions of previously uninsured citizens, obesity rates hitting epidemic levels and the repercussions of the national recession and California’s own severe budget deficit still playing out, it is more important than ever that we continue to assess, address and reform the obstacles facing California’s healthcare system,” James G. Hinsdale, MD, president of the California Medical Association said. “The most important of these obstacles, and one that is projected to grow substantially in the coming years, is ensuring sufficient and timely physician access for every Californian in need of a physician’s care.” The Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) recommends that a state have between 60-80 primary care physicians per 100,000 people. In California, there are on average 63 primary care physicians for every 100,000 people. However, 42 out of California's 58 counties fall below COGME’s minimum recommendations regarding adequate physician supply for primary care. SFMS and CMA have been active on a number of fronts to address the challenges of physician supply and distribution, including:

Working with the Legislature to create the Steve Thompson Scholarship program. The program would provide up to $105,000 in scholarships to selected participants who agree in writing prior to completing an accredited medical or osteopathic school to serve a minimum of three years in “medically underserved areas” or where unmet propriety needs for physicians exist as determined by the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission.
Creating the Steve Thompson Loan Repayment Program that provides grants to pay off medical loans for physicians working in underserved areas. Each participating physician receives up to $105,000 in exchange for a three-year service commitment in a medically underserved area of the state.
Supporting new medical schools, UC Merced and UC Riverside, and pushing an expedited timeline to build them.
Supporting efforts to increase the diversity of the physician workforce through CMA's Ethnic Medical Organization Section.
Promoting increased incentives for pursuing primary care and supporting primary care physicians to keep their practices viable.

Career Fair for Residents and Fellows: September 27

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:37:18 GMT

Calling all residents, fellows, and employers! SFMS will be hosting our second annual Career Fair next month. This is an excellent opportunity for physicians looking to practice in the Bay Area to network with representatives from a variety of practice types and settings, and for employers to connect with physician job seekers.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm; Exhibitor setup from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm

The Enright Room

California Pacific Medical Center, Pacific Campus

Employers: As part of an effort to make participation accessible to all, we are offering a tired pricing structure for employers ranging from $100 to $250; solo practices can exhibit free-of-charge. To reserve your table, download and complete the Career Fair Employer Registration Form. Questions? Contact the Membership Department at (415) 561-0850 or email membership@sfms.org.