Onboarding at your first physician job can be a stressful time, so what you don’t need is to have everything thrown at you at once. Almost no matter what you are required to learn, your health care employer should strive to ease you into it.
That’s part of the advice in an AMA STEPS Forward® toolkit that details some of the best practices employers should follow to pave the way for physician success, satisfaction and well-being. The toolkit can help job applicants determine whether prospective employers provide adequate onboarding.
“The reason gradual education is important is that you don't want the physician to get overwhelmed on day one,” said Sea Chen, MD, PhD. Dr. Chen is physician director of practice sustainability at the AMA and co-wrote the onboarding toolkit with Jenn Balchunas, LPN, MHL, CPC.
“If, for example, you're trying to log into your EHR and it's not working, and you've never used that EHR before, then you're not going to be able to see a patient in 15 minutes and get all your documentation done,” Dr. Chen said. “If the employer stacks that kind of transition and training onto a full clinical workday, or even an 80% clinical workday, the physician may be there until 8 o’clock at night.”
The AMA Transitioning to Practice series has guidance and resources on deciding where to practice, negotiating an employment contract, managing work-life balance, and other essential tips about starting in practice.
What should be on the list
“On the first day, introduce the new physician to teammates in the department or the clinic, which can be done formally in a team or departmental meeting,” the toolkit advises employers. “Then, show them their workspace, share safety procedures or plans for the floor or clinic, and share the orientation or training plan.”
You can expect the practice or operations manager to work with you on completing a new orientation checklist, which should include the following key information:
- The scope of practice for clinical teammates. This is essential information, as understanding your teammates' roles comes into play when placing and signing orders for patients.
- The steps taken by the clinical team when rooming a patient. This helps set expectations for the clinical team and enables you to understand how you will work as a part of the care team.
- Any pertinent policies or protocols, such as those around medication refills, that identify which medications can be refilled by clinical teammates.
- The process for prescribing controlled substances. This includes the prescription-drug monitoring program to ensure you are registered to receive information.
- Evaluation and management reference materials for billing and coding.
- Helpful EHR videos, tipsheets and training modules to help you learn workflows and give you EHR tips and tricks.
- Connections to hospital leadership, coding and documentation specialists, and any other key stakeholders, especially if you will be working in both the inpatient and the outpatient settings.
If you’re seeking your first physician job post-residency, get your cheat sheet now.
Dive deeper:
- What to look for when onboarding at your first physician job
- In transition to practice, know these 8 steps for evaluating jobs
- When seeking new physician job opportunities, follow this advice
- What I wish I knew in residency about being an employed physician
Ask about it in your interviews
Dr. Chen said you should feel comfortable asking about the pace of onboarding while you’re interviewing for jobs.
“You can just say: I’m fresh out of training, so I’ll probably need a little extra time, and I just want to know what the process looks like,” he said. “The key is does it look reasonable to you as an applicant? Or does it seem too quick? Or does it even seem too slow? These are all things you can discuss with your employer. You can even ask: Can you give me an extra week of half-day clinics just to get used to the flow?”
The toolkit includes a sample new-physician orientation checklist used by an academic health system in North Carolina. Learn more about optimizing onboarding in an Aug. 26 AMA STEPS Forward Innovation Academy webinar featuring Dr. Chen and Balchunas. Register now.
For residents transitioning to practice or those already in practice who are considering a midcareer switch, a separate AMA STEPS Forward toolkit, “What to Look for in Your First or Next Practice: Evaluate the Practice Environment to Match Your Priorities,” will help you identify available practice settings and understand how they may impact your experience, clarify your priorities, and tailor your search for a fulfilling career in a positive and supportive environment.
Learn more about the AMA Young Physicians Section, which gives voice to and advocates on issues that affect physicians under 40 or within the first eight years of professional practice after their training as residents and fellows.