9 things you must have on your CV - Resume writing for locums, Part 2

Posted by Beat Medical

In the first part of this series, we pointed out 23 things that you should never put on your CV. Who knew that there were so many ways to go wrong with a CV?

We often have a response of incredulity to our ‘resume rules’ (such as “Why can’t I have my Year 11 rugby victory on my CV?!!!”) but the results the locum doctors who work with us get by following these rules is proof positive that they work!

There is no right or wrong format for a CV. In terms of layout, make sure that the font is plain (such as Times or Arial), and that it is appropriately spaced. Use of dot points is encouraged in order to create a sense of white space and encourage ease of reading.

The most important factor to consider is the relevancy of the information on your CV for the position you are applying for. If you are applying for a position as an Emergency locum, make sure that your resume has an emphasis on the relevant skills and experience for that position. You may end up with a few different versions of your CV for different types of positions.

So, what to put on the CV (in order):

1. Contact details

This should include your name, postal address, home and mobile numbers, and email address.

2. Summary

This is a two to three line precis of your professional experience. For example: “I am a New Zealand trained General Practitioner with over 25 years of experience in primary healthcare, corporate consulting, emergency medicine, and academic teaching”.  

Make it as simple as possible.

3. Key Attributes

This is three to four dot points on what makes you stand out as a candidate for a position. For example:

-Experience in regional and remote environments
-Postgraduate qualifications in Womens and Children’s Health
-Appointments to the University of Auckland as a lecturer and clinical tutor
-Recipient of the college award for XYZ

4. Current positions

List the positions you currently hold, and the name of your employer

5. Career History Summary

This is simply a list of the relevant positions you have held, starting from the most recent. A (shortened) example:

General Practitioner, City Medical Centre
Emergency CMO, Auckland Hospital
Visiting Medical Officer, Auckland Women’s Health Centre

....and so on to your first intern position.


6. Detailed professional experience and achievements

This section is the most detailed part of the CV, and is what really goes into detail about your experience, and what you have done in each position. Where relevant, we suggest that you break it down into various sections according to the type of experience, such as “Primary Health Care Experience”, “Women’s Health Experience”, “Academic Experience”.

The individual positions are then listed under the sub-heading; as below:

General Practitioner Experience

General Practitioner, January 2005 to present

-City Medical Centre, Auckland NZ
-Write 4-5 dot points on:
-Key achievements (e.g. started respiratory clinic for elderly population)
-Educational/research duties (e.g. ran meetings for registrars)
-Clinical duties (saw X patients per day, procedures, etc)
-Management/Administrative (attended quarterly management meetings)
-Key skills utilised

7. Publications

List relevant publications in the format convention of your college or discipline.


8. Education

List the title of the course, awarding institution, and year. The most recent should be listed first.

e.g. Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, Sydney University 2006

9.Courses and workshops

List relevant courses, with the most recent first.

e.g. APLS Course, Sydney 2001






The most important thing to keep in mind is that a CV is an evolving document, that must change over time in line with your professional growth. 






Beat Medical offers a free CV coaching service to our locums. Join our team as a locum here.





 

Stretching our wings with job listings on Twitter

Posted by Beat Medical

Beat Medical Twitter page for job vacancies

The medical locum industry is fast moving, and an easy way to keep up to date with current locum job vacancies is to follow us on Twitter.

We now have a dedicated job listings channel on twitter at twitter.com/beatmedicaljobs. Here, you can receive real-time updates of current locum jobs in emergency, surgery, anaesthetics, ICU, and general practice.

You can also follow our general twitter page at twitter.com/beatmedical, for the latest news in medical recruitment.

Not sure how to use Twitter, or don't have an account yet? It couldn't be easier - simply navigate here to sign up. Mobile and iPhone users will find a host of Twitter apps online and in the Apple app store.

Electronic medical records - is it all going wrong?

Posted by Beat Medical

With electronic media so much part of our everyday life, isn't it logical that our medical records are kept electronically?

The benefits of electronic medical records (EMR) are huge - instant access to records, information sharing, standardisation, integration of systems, and so on. Some say that EMR will revolutionise healthcare.

So, why is it that as a medical recruitment and locum agency, we hear so many complaints about EMR? We hear that the systems are slow, and inaccessible. People tell us that they discourage patient and collegial interaction. Some say that the NSW government has not invested enough in the system, and has 'gone cheap'.

It is unlikely that the system with backpedal on EMR, so what can be done right now to change where things are heading?

Let us know your thoughts....  Click on 'comments' below to have your say

Medical indemnity insurance - why it is a must for working as a doctor in Australia

Posted by Beat Medical

A phrase we hear every day from locum doctors and doctors looking for jobs is: why do I need medical indemnity insurance? I thought the hospital provides cover...it's in my contract...

It may well be the case, but there are a number of good reasons why you need to have your own medical indemnity insurance cover. This is best illustrated with a scenario:

Dr X is working as a locum in Bigtown Hospital Emergency department, and sees a patient for a simple, minor presentation. Dr X treats the patient according to protocols, and common sense - but the patient returns to the ED the next day with serious complications, which appear to be as a result of the treatment provided by Dr X. The patient says they are going to sue the hospital, make a complaint to the HCCC, and go to the media about the shoddy treatment they received.

The hospital conducts its own investigation and finds that Dr X did not follow the latest protocol, and that Dr X is at fault. They suspend Dr X pending the HCCC investigation, and write a letter to the Medical Board, informing them of the situation.


Dr X is obviously going to be in a difficult situation here - his reputation is already damaged, the hospital is distancing themselves from him, and he may have to face the legal costs of fronting the HCCC, the Medical Board, and of course - the court case. Although the hospital may indeed be found negligent - Dr X may be stung with contributory negligence if it is found that he did not follow the protocols and policies of the hospital.

Medical indemnity insurance can provide a serious safety net in terms of:

-legal advice and representation
-underwriting in cases of negligence
-expert advocacy

When choosing a policy, it is important to speak with the insurer to understand what the right cover for you is. If you are working as an independent contractor on an ABN, it is very important to let the insurer know so that you can be covered appropriately. Also let them know about any significant changes in your scope of practice, employer, locum work, or anything else that you think might effect your insurance.

If you doubt the value of medical indemnity insurance, the key question you need to ask yourself is "Can I count on my hospital/employer to be my advocate when the worst happens?". The answer is "probably not" in most cases.

This article is intended as broad discussion only, and not as advice on any legal matters, particular product, or service. For advice on medical indemnity matters, speak with your insurer or legal adviser.


Have you ever had an experience which demonstrated the value of medical indemnity insurance? Tell us about it!

Nearly national medical registration?

Posted by Beat Medical

A bane of most locum doctors' existence is the lack of a national medical registration system. Thankfully, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with the formation of the new Medical Board of Australia, and national registration on 1st July 2010.

Many doctors will have already received a letter outlining the new system, and what you need to do next. There are some changes, with greater responsibility placed on the individual doctor to keep up their CME, undertake criminal history checks, and more. The actual registration fee remains unknown.

So, why is it nearly national registration? At the moment, there are three dissenting states - Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania - who have not passed the required legislation to make the national registration happen. Until this is completed, the national system will be rolled out to some states, but not the dissenting ones. If you are not registered in one of those rogue states, and you wish to be, you will still need to apply for mutual recognition.

When will true national registration happen? Your guess is as good as ours. We hope it happens sooner rather than later - with nationally mobile doctors in locum work across Australia, it is almost ridiculous that they need to go through a complex, paperwork laden process just to work in another Australian state.

What do you think about it? Let us know your thoughts...

Doctors responsible for Emergency Department return rates?

Posted by Beat Medical

In this SMH article published last weekend, there is an interesting commentary on emergency department return rates.

Whilst the health service responded highlighting the aging population as a major factor, the State opposition highlighted that there are many parts of the Garling report which have not been addressed - thus causing major issues in the health services.

Many of our 'inside sources' tell us that the truth is somewhere halfway between the two responses.

As a locum agency placing doctors in emergency departments, we consistently receive feedback that emergency departments are not rostered with an appropriate mix of medical staff. That is, not only are junior staff rostered on at night - on their own, there is often little backup for them to call on when the worst happens. In some cases, there is a huge imbalance between senior doctors and junior doctors. At other times, there is no doctor at all.

I imagine at this time that there are a number of health service managers being pushed to provide a response to the adverse media publicity - what do you think the likely explanation will be? Will the doctors be to blame?

Let us know your thoughts.

Down the rabbit hole - the curiousness of health services

Posted by Beat Medical

If you have experience in healthcare at any level - a clinician, manager, cleaner, administrator, window washer - you were most likely nodding in agreement with this fantastically written piece in today's Age.

As a medical recruiter, and (I am a little embarrassed to admit it) former health service manager, I can see some palpable parallels between working with the health system, and the absurd (but all to familiar?)  characters in Alice in Wonderland.

It must have taken a Mad Hatter to design the current system for working as a locum in one Australian state (....to remain nameless). Not only are locum doctors expected to read over 450 pages of policies, and complete hours worth of online learning - they are encumbered by their current employer's consent to work as locums in areas of critical medical workforce shortage. It's also not a walk in the park for the the front line rostering people, who are restricted in terms of how much they can pay locum doctors in accordance with arbitrary geographical zones (which seem as though they were decided upon at a health department tea party). Here is the crux - the people making these decisions, however well meaning, are often at a critically dangerous distance from the reality of health care 'in the trenches'.

What is the point of these polices? To provide better health care, of course.  I've noticed how well it has worked - have you? Well, maybe not.

The aim is, of course, cost reduction. There is a Queen of Hearts in every health service, exacting sharp fiscal control on areas she may or may not have any understanding of, and proclaiming "Off with their heads" at the slightest hint of dissent or creative thought. New health service managers are often given no training, no expectations, no targets to meet, except "reduce the budget".  When I started in a hospital, I felt like Alice, tumbling down a hole to who-only-knows-where, as there is only one way to reduce the budget - to reduce medical staffing. Trying to explain to a high level administrator that it is less expensive to pay our own staff slightly more to work unpopular shifts, than it is to bring in hundreds of expensive outside locums of questionable quality and skills was almost like putting my head through a wall.

More dangerous than the Queen of course, is the Cheshire Cat, the duplicitous sycophant whose sharp teeth are covered by a flurry of nonsensical and vexing arguments. These people are the worst enemy of medical recruitment - swiping away any attempt to boost staffing numbers, citing an endless array of policies, precedents, and alluding to the opinions of a distant CEO who is always at arms length. Here is a common scenario - we need a new emergency specialist. Can we advertise? "No, too expensive". Can we attend a conference to attract potential candidates "No, too expensive. Perhaps try a sandwich board in front of the train station". In their heart of hearts, they know it is less expensive to keep a position vacant than it is to fill it.

I can't help but think that we are compelled to reject the reality presented to us by the looking glass - now is the time to agitate, question the system, and find your way out of the rabbit hole. What do you think we can do to change the system? Is it too late to turn it around?

Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
Alice: And how do you know that you're mad?
The Cat: To begin with, a dog's not mad. You grant that?
Alice: I suppose so,
The Cat: Well, then, you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad.

The Pied Piper - And Other Fairy Tales About Locums And Agencies

Posted by Beat Medical

Fairytale 1: Hospitals own their doctors

We know that there are not enough doctors in Australia- especially so for emergency, critical care, anaesthetics, and general practice jobs. The health system (public and private) relies on casual/locum doctors to hold things together, and keep hospitals going.

In a previous article, we wrote about how one state in Australia seems to be doing everything in its power to actually reduce the amount of locum doctors available to hospitals, and the community. One concerning trend we are seeing is the commodification of medical staff - and the perception from health departments, and individual hospitals that they actually "own" the doctors in their employ.

A number of the locum doctors who work with us have received letters, emails, and threats from their health services regarding 'secondary employment' as a locum. They generally read: "Dear Doctor XYZ.... it has come to our attention that you have taken time off to work at ABC Hospital recently as a locum. I must caution you that you may face disciplinary action if this continues.....etc". They then go on to cite policies, and of course - OH&S risks. There is a valid concern about doctors working too many hours, and all employers ought to be attentive to that fact. However, the message doctors are generally receiving is: "It is dangerous to work so many hours as a locum, but if you do it here, we will turn a blind eye".

Fairytale 2: Pirates and dragons

There is an entrenched idea in health services that locums, and locum agencies are nothing but a ragtag bunch of mercenaries and pirates - selling their services to the highest bidder. Managers are told to discourage use of locums and locum agencies (the dragons) at all costs - for the sake of the system. This is because the cost is prohibitive, locums are dangerous, and all agencies do is take "their" doctors to work someone else.

To those hospitals objecting to doctors on their payroll working in other places in their off time, we have a suggestion. Review every single locum you are employing at your facility - and stop using those who are usually employed somewhere else. You have plenty of well-trained doctors waiting in the wings to take their place - right? No?

Fairy tale 3: Locum agencies are the pied pipers

We sometimes recieve feedback from some employers that they feel locum agencies are some fanciful type of pied pipers for doctors, leading their doctors astray. Hospital managers need to consider that locums are contributing to the healthcare needs of mainly regional and rural communities- locums are without question, highly skilled envoys who should be commended by their home health service for taking time away from family, social life, recreation time to help others.

Fairy tale 4: Locums are money-hungry

Sure, locums are usually on a higher rate than a regular employee. I am no economist, but from what I can remember, where demand outstrips supply, price increases. The point is that the market dictates the economy for locums - it's not as if the locum is going to ask for less than the going rate. However, employers need to consider whether "their" staff are going other places because they want more money, or are they going for another reason? Perhaps it is because the roster they are working is inhuman, they don't have a good relationship with their supervisor, or for a far less sinister reason - do they just want a change?

Fairy tale 5: All hospital administrators are ogres

As a former hospital manager, I must come to the defence of my former colleagues. Being a hospital administrator is a difficult, thankless job - especially when upper management and "The Department" are throwing everything in the way of effective recruitment and rostering. Here is an example - in one state, hospitals are being forced to enter all locum shifts onto an online system in order to attract locums directly (and thereby avoid agencies, and any possible hint of human interaction). So, instead of spending time developing relationships with salaried and locum staff (like good managers do), the new priority is data entry. I can already see the doctors lining up to use the system to organise their shifts, flights, accommodation, rates, medical registration, orientation, and more. The online system does all of that, right?

Are locum agencies the pied piper? Who is really leading the health system off the cliff?

Tell us what you think by posting a comment below.

Industry Update - NSW Health Locums

Posted by Beat Medical

We advised in a previous edition of Evolve that there were changes to the NSW Health policy on the employment of locum doctors in pubic hospitals.

Essentially, the process covers non-specialist doctors employed on a casual basis, and focuses on two key areas:

1. Limitation of salaries and condition; and
2. Regulation of medical locum agencies

Since our previous article, there have been a few changes to the policy, which can be downloaded here.

One of the key changes is that there may be a provision for individual health services to invite you to work outside of the auspices of your registered locum agency. Although this is your decision, we do encourage any of our candidates who might be considering a change to discuss it with us in the first instance to help us understand how we may improve our service to you.

We have unfortunately heard reports of some individual health services putting pressure on candidates, or coercing them to work directly for the service rather than a locum agency. These practices are rare, but we do encourage you to report any such instances to the NSW Health Department on 02 9391 9523 , or by emailing them.