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Next Reply: Re:Acadamic Palliative Medicine and Medical Director
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Post Acadamic Palliative Medicine and Medical Director
Author: damorri1
Date: Jun 9, 2011 2:11 pm
I am working on finding my first job after fellowship in palliative medicine. I am discussing an academic position with a smaller medical school. A major clinical responsibility would be medical director of the local hospice agency fund a good portion of my salary. Any suggestions on how to balance academic (teaching/research) interests with the hospice (clinical and administrative) duties in both contract negotiations and delineation of duties? My concern is balancing clinical responsibilities/call coverage, admin (2 IDT meetings per week, and still F2Fencounters), and the education and research expectations without separate funding. There is currently flexibility in negotiations. Personal accounts and experiences are much appreciated.
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Re:Acadamic Palliative Medicine and Medical Director (by Weissman on 07/26/2011)
Hi--very common scenario; I did this 20 years ago when first starting my hospital pc program. Several issues to consider:

1. What is your academic mission and does serving as a hospice medical director fit with that mission? Do you plan on using the hospice as a base for teaching, research? If not, then the hospice is solely an income stream for your position which raises issue #2.
2. I get worried seeing "funding a good portion of your salary". This implies to me less than adequate understanding of what academic palliative care can do for the a) hospital in terms of cost avoidance, which should more than cover your salary and b) improve the overall culture of care at the hospital and c) provide robust education for the med school/hospital environment.
3. Serving as hospice medical director can really eat up a lot of your time and unless you are careful, you will not be able to fulfill your other academic pursuits.

In summary:
#1 Define what you want to do in academic medicine first and then decide how working as a hospice med director can help advance your career goals.
#2 If you view the hospice role as solely an income stream, then negotiate a minimal weekly commitment to the hospice to allow you to pursue your academic mission.

Contact me directly if you want to discuss further.
David Weissman, MD
CAPC Consultant
dweissma@mcw.edu

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