As urologists, we’ve spent decades in academic settings. We’ve obtained multiple degrees, worked in labs, published papers, and spent thousands of hours working and training at an academic medical center. Many residency programs do not provide much exposure to the world of private practice urology, so interviewing for private practice jobs may feel daunting and unfamiliar. How do you determine if a private practice is a good fit for you? What should you be looking for?
We’ll be publishing content on the ins and outs of private practice and how to properly vet whether a practice is a good fit for you. To start, here are some questions to consider as you go into a private practice interview.
Questions:
- Is this a single specialty or multispecialty practice?
- How many partners are there?
- When was the last time the practice hired a urologist?
- Why is the practice hiring a urologist now?
- Why did the last urologist leave?
- What does the market analysis look like? How many additional urologists can the current market support?
- Is there an existing patient base, or would the new urologist be responsible for building their own patient base?
- What is the next new patient or 3rd next new patient appointment available? (how far out are they booked)
- What kind of support does the practice and/or hospital provide for marketing?
- Are there any ancillary services?
- Lithotripsy machine? Ambulatory surgery center? Pathology? Imaging? Real Estate? DME/Catheters? Pharmacy?
- What is the partnership track?
- Length? Is there a buy-in? If so, how much?
- How does compensation work initially? Income Guarantee? If so, for how long?
- What is the compensation structure for partners? Collections or RVU based?
- What is the relationship between the group and the hospital(s)?
- Does anyone in the practice already do robotic surgery? If so, are they willing to mentor a new grad?
- Has there been any private equity interest in acquiring the practice? If so, how far down the road is the practice in this process?
- How many offices are there?
- Who owns the building(s)?
