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Tips on cold calling?


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Hi folks,

I'm about to be a new grad in the PNW, dead set on working in rural/frontier EM. In addition to working through my professional network, I've been cold calling EDs and mostly getting redirected towards their jobs boards. Who should I be trying to contact at small hospitals to get a realistic chance at being considered for an ED job? Practicing PAs? The medical director of the ED?

From prior work experience, I get the sense that clinical staff decide who they want, and then HR gets called for approval. So I don't feel like I'm really getting very far talking with HR folks. In your experience, is this accurate?

Would love some practical advice on what/who I should be speaking with to get my foot in the door in EM.

Thanks,

Aaron

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2 hours ago, aaronk22 said:

Hi folks,

I'm about to be a new grad in the PNW, dead set on working in rural/frontier EM. In addition to working through my professional network, I've been cold calling EDs and mostly getting redirected towards their jobs boards. Who should I be trying to contact at small hospitals to get a realistic chance at being considered for an ED job? Practicing PAs? The medical director of the ED?

From prior work experience, I get the sense that clinical staff decide who they want, and then HR gets called for approval. So I don't feel like I'm really getting very far talking with HR folks. In your experience, is this accurate?

Would love some practical advice on what/who I should be speaking with to get my foot in the door in EM.

Thanks,

Aaron

Networking with individual clinicians will likely provide you a better foot in the door, but you may want to get some experience in a high volume center prior to going rural/frontier right off the bat.  Likely @EMEDPA or @ohiovolffemtp could speak a little more to this.  Also consider a residency, that would prepare you to be working some of these rural places solo.

Join SEMPA.  Join your state org and ask around.

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7 hours ago, MediMike said:

Networking with individual clinicians will likely provide you a better foot in the door, but you may want to get some experience in a high volume center prior to going rural/frontier right off the bat.  Likely @EMEDPA or @ohiovolffemtp could speak a little more to this.  Also consider a residency, that would prepare you to be working some of these rural places solo.

Join SEMPA.  Join your state org and ask around.

Absolutely.  I spent 5 years at a busy level III trauma center with some side jobs in community hospitals before I went to a rural critical access hospital.  I also took ATLS, ultrasound courses, went to SEMPA every year, and had many years as a firefighter/medic.  EMEDPA spent even more time working in bigger ED's and was a big city medic for a number of years.  Lt.jgOneill (possibly mis-spelled) was a Navy PA with many deployments, did part of a CRNA program, then did a very good EM residency.

There's just no substitute for experience in getting ready for solo or solo with nearby on-call docs EM practice.  PA school isn't enough, even with significant EMS prior experience.  The right EM residency might be, though you probably need some time afterwards.

My recommendation is to get that experience 1st.  By going to SEMPA and networking there you'll have a good chance of making the contacts you need.  Some of these hospitals are staffed by EM staffing companies (Emed and I work for staffing companies), some by their own employees (LtjgOneill is a hospital employee).  Once you've made yourself an attactive, experienced candidate, you'll have much better success.  BTW, Emed is in the PNW as well.

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