Career Tips for Jobs in Emergency and Hospitalist Medicine

There are plenty of jobs and a wealth of opportunity in Emergency Medicine and Hospitalist Medicine today. There is currently a shortage of emergency medicine physicians — a shortfall that’s expected to last for years — and Hospitalist Medicine has been one of the fastest growing discipines over the last ten years. Here’s some helpful information to get you started in these exciting fields.

Emergency Medicine Career Information

As we’ve mentioned, there’s currently a shortage of board-certified Emergency Medicine Physicians that is expected to last to at least 2030. Demand is also high for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants, so medical professionals seeking Emergency Medicine jobs are likely to have many choices. Salaries and benefits depend upon the setting and the type of practice. Positions can offer basic benefits that may include paid malpractice insurance premiums, retirement or pension plans, life insurance and funded continued medical-education.

An Emergency Medicine Physician can pick from many contractual arrangements and employment situations — a salaried employee, a partner in a group of emergency physicians or as an independent contractor. The cost of entering this kind of practice is low, enabling new residency graduates to begin earning competitive incomes immediately.

Another great thing about Emergency Medicine jobs is that it is easy to move from one geographic location to another with little trouble in finding a job in the new location. High demand for Emergency Medicine healthcare professionals means that you can often have your pick of department volume, compensation, benefits and lifestyle.

Residencies and Requirements

Residency training in Emergency Medicine is mandatory for any student considering a career in Emergency Medicine. In the past, students could train in another specialty and then cross over to Emergency Medicine, but now the practice track for board certification no longer exists. Board certification in Emergency Medicine is not possible without completing an ABEM or AOBEM-accredited emergency medicine residency. An Emergency Medicine residency will give you three to four years to acquire the skills needed to work in an emergency department while under the constant supervision of a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician.

Hospitalist Medicine Career Information

The Hospitalist career is one of the fast-growing jobs category in the healthcare field today, because as with Emergency Medicine, there is a very high demand for skilled providers. Plus, awareness of the specialty itself has grown tremendously over the last ten years. Hospitalists can enjoy ample time off and those who take on additional work can earn significant additional income.

A Hospitalist is a physician who treats patients solely in a hospital and helps to deliver and manage quality care to their patients. Hospitalists can be trained in many disciplines but most are Internal Medicine physicians. Family Practice physicians also often become hospitalists.

Hospitalists jobs can be flexible with ample time off if the provider can manage their block schedules well. Since they are employed by hospitals, providers also don’t need to worry about the hassles of managing their own practice; they can concentrate on treating and healing patients. On the other hand, a Hospitalist job can be repetitive and physically challenging depending on the number of consecutive days on duty.

Hospitalist jobs are usually shift-based, with the average shift ranging from 10 to 12 hours. Many times, Hospitalists work within block schedules where they work continuously for a week in a row and then have consecutive days off of work. Some Hospitalists also have agreements with their employers on what individual schedules will work best for them.

Over the past few years, the Hospitalist role has increased exponentially in demand and popularity, partly because traditional internists, who typically manage a full-time office practice in addition to seeing patients in the hospital, are seeking a better quality of life. What has happened is that the traditional Internal Medicine Physician’s role has gradually become separated into two separate roles – the outpatient internist who sees patients in an office and the Hospitalist who treats patients in the hospital.

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