Career Compass Job Guide
October 2026
What’s inside Behavioral interviewing: Tell a compelling story with your answer . . 3 Understanding your employment contract . . . . . . . 9 Stay or go: What to consider when changing jobs . . . . 14
PRACTICE WITH PURPOSE Experience a career with SIMEDHealth in Gainesville, Florida Why SIMEDHealth is the right move: • Independent multi-specialty medical group. • Leadership, governance, and advocacy by Physicians. • Collaborative culture. • No hospital call - only outpatient clinic. • J-1 waiver/H-1B employer visa sponsorship
Why physicians love practicing here: • Perfect blend of mid-size and small town comforts, with proximity to larger cities. • Endless year-round outdoor adventures: springs, rivers, hiking, beaches, and more. • Outstanding public and private schools, plus proximity to the University of Florida (#1 Public University for Value) • Culturally diverse communities welcoming international professionals and families. • Sports lovers’ paradise - participate as a spectator or athlete, there’s plenty to choose from.
For more information, call or email us your CV. Phone: (352) 224-2404 • E-Mail: Careers@SIMEDHealth.com • SIMEDHealth.com
Caring for communities, together. CommonSpirit Health® is a nonprofit Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. 160,000 Team Members 25,000 Physicians and APPs 138 Hospitals 2,300 Care Centers 24 States
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Physician and Advanced Practice Provider opportunities available across our affiliated medical groups in the following states: Arizona California Colorado Kentucky Nebraska Ohio Tennessee Texas Utah Washington To apply, scan below or visit us at: providers.commonspirit.careers
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Behavioral interviewing: Tell a compelling story with your answer If you’ve been to a job interview lately—as either the candidate or the interviewer—then you may be familiar with a style of question called “behavioral.” Behavioral interview questions are based on a principle of psychology which states, in essence, that how a person has acted in the past under certain conditions is a predictor of how he or she will respond in the future to the same conditions. Hence, when interviewers say, “Tell us about a patient you’ve treated who was difficult to relate to, and how you handled the situation,” what they’re really asking is: “How will you handle our difficult-to-manage patients?” So, you might wonder, why don’t they simply ask the question they really want answered? Because that would be too easy for the candidate to manipulate. A doctor could just answer with some kind of neat process, or claim that managing difficult patients hasn’t been a problem. It’s much harder to “game the answer” when asked to give an example. You can see why behavioral questions have taken root over the past decade or so: Interviewers love being able to assess candidates through the lens of their behavior. Unfortunately, not all interviewers are skilled in interpreting the answers; nor are candidates necessarily good storytellers. As the candidate, you can’t do much about your interviewer’s level of skill, but you certainly can increase your own. Here are five steps to help you develop compelling answers for behavioral interview questions.
1. Identify good stories in advance of the interview This can seem tricky at first—how can you prepare an answer without knowing the question? You won’t be heartened to know there are lists floating around of the top 100 behavioral interview questions. One hundred! That’s obviously far too many stories to prepare before a meeting, especially when the typical interview may contain no more than three or four of this style of
question. How would you ever know which questions they might ask? A better strategy is to reverse-engineer the problem: Instead of anticipating the question, start by identifying your ideal stories. To do this, think deeply about the past five or eight years, to refresh your memory of internships, residency, fellowships, and any other training or field experience that you’ve had. Now ask yourself: When did you persevere during a challenging situation? When were your efforts pivotal to creating a successful outcome? When did you think of an improvement to a process or system that created good results for your team? Once you have a few examples in mind of times when your work was particularly successful, you’ll have the basis for good stories.
2. Draft out each story in a STAR pattern
STAR is a popular acronym which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. It’s a tool that can help you keep track of the parts of your story, and ensure that you have enough content to make an impact, while also guiding you to tell the story clearly. Here’s an example from a neurology fellow whose patient would not follow a treatment protocol, and how the physician handled the problem. Situation: Patient continues activities that are harmful, and is not adopting behaviors that are healthy. The patient’s family is distraught and is asking for help convincing the patient to cooperate with the treatment plan. Task: The physician has several concerns to keep in mind, including patient confidentiality, the patient’s right to self-determination, the clinic’s liability, the overall goal of providing good care, etc.
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Action: As a fellow still in training, the physician decided to bring the case forward for discussion and review, with the goal of receiving advice for handling the situation. The question of mental health care and therapy support for the patient was raised by the fellowship director, which gave the physician the idea of providing resources to the patient to access this assistance. The idea of a care conference with the family was also raised to let them express their concerns in the patient’s presence. The physician decided to take these steps. Result: The patient listened to the family’s concerns but also provided some insight about being uncooperative— behavior which was actually rooted in trying to maintain control. Although the patient turned down the option for mental health counseling, the care conference provided enough foundation for communication that the patient agreed to cooperate more fully. The doctor’s relationship with the patient also improved.
3. Shape the story to be more compelling when it’s spoken aloud Although the STAR story above is certainly clear, it’s not very relatable. It reads (and would sound) like a bare-bones recitation, which is hardly compelling in an interview. Here’s one way this STAR draft might sound when revised to be more conversational:
“When I was in my first month as a fellow, one of my first cases in outpatient care was a gentleman whose epilepsy treatment plan called for a fairly high level of personal responsibility. He was a smart man and not someone who seemed self-destructive, but he was pretty much rejecting every part of the plan. He’d agree to things in the clinic, then go home and do the opposite. I was already trying to figure out what to do when I started getting calls and emails from his family. His wife, especially, was very concerned and she was asking for a lot of detail about my conversations with him. I knew I couldn’t go down that path with her, but I needed to do something to manage the situation, while also trying to get him the care he needed. I decided to bring the case up with my fellowship director and I got some good advice. She reminded me of ways I could use a care conference and also brought up the idea of resources he could tap into for mental health counseling that might help him sort out his feelings about his epilepsy. In the end, we had a half-victory in that he agreed to the care conference, but he didn’t want to try the counseling. The conference was a home run, though, because it gave his family an opportunity to really open up about what his behavior was doing to them, and it prompted him to accept some parts of the treatment plan. I was also gratified to have a better relationship with him after that, I think because he trusted me and knew I was trying to provide good care while also listening to him.”
Neurology Opportunity in the Beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts Opportunity Highlights General Neurology or Subspecialties welcome Outpatient practice at a single site that provides community-based care Electromyography (EMG), Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS), Lumbar Punctures (LP), Skin Biopsies, Injections (Botox), Trigger-point (TPI), Occipital Nerve Blocks (ONB), etc Currently one weeknight of practice call per week and 1 weekend per month No stroke call Mentorship and growth within the hospital Competitive compensation, including productivity option and recruitment incentive Excellent benefits including 7 weeks time off Includes vacation, sick time and CME with additional CME allowance
Interested candidates are invited to contact: Michelle Maston, Physician Recruiter at mmaston@bhs1.org or apply online at: www.berkshirehealthsystems.org
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Location Highlights
The Berkshires, located in northwestern Massachusetts, offer a beautiful mountain setting with a small-town feel and the endless cultural opportunities of big-city life. From the renowned Tanglewood Music Center, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, our variety of excellent museums such as Mass MoCA and The Clark Art, our many golf courses or local homemade goodies, we have it all! An affordable lifestyle with excellent public and private schools makes the Berkshires an ideal family location. Four seasons of fun and adventure await!
Hospital Highlights
Our mission is to advance health and wellness for everyone in our community in a welcoming, inclusive, and personalized environment. Berkshire Medical Center is a 298-bed community teaching hospital with residency programs, nationally recognized physicians, and world-class technology.
Scan here to view open positions and apply! Careers.AAN.com
Although that story may look long when you see it printed as one big paragraph, when you time it out, you’ll see that it takes only a few minutes to tell. Adding pauses and intonation changes will increase the length but will be worth the tradeoff. That’s because a more natural sounding delivery will be memorable and interesting to the interviewer.
4. Anticipate questions your story could answer
A good story will give you the foundation for at least five or six different behavioral questions. Knowing this, you can prepare a handful of stories, perhaps five, with the confidence that you’ll be able to answer 25 or 30 different questions, just by reshaping the first few sentences of the story. For example, the story above could be used in its current form to answer, “Tell us about a difficult patient that you treated.” But with a little reshaping, it could also be used to answer, “When have you used a collaborative care process with a patient?” or “What have you done to gain a patient’s trust?” or even, “Tell us a situation you’re proud of from your fellowship.”
5. Practice, practice, practice
While you can’t be certain which questions your interviewers will ask, you can still practice telling your
stories. The ideal process involves three steps: Typing the story into a word processing program so you can shape it easily; then writing it by hand so it lodges more firmly in your memory; and finally, saying it out loud a few times until you feel comfortable navigating the different parts of the story without getting lost. As you already know, the goal isn’t to memorize to the point of sounding rehearsed. But not practicing at all increases the risk of forgetting key points—or forgetting the story altogether. The middle ground is to be comfortable enough telling your story without notes that you know you won’t freeze when a question is asked. As a final tip, remember that no matter how prepared you are, the interviewer could still ask a question you don’t have an answer for. If that happens, you can always punt: “I’ll need to come back to that question, as I’m drawing a blank for the moment.” Or even, “I don’t have an example that relates exactly, but I did have a situation come up with some similarities. When I was in my first month as a fellow, one of my first cases in outpatient care was a gentleman whose epilepsy treatment plan…” Sometimes it’s not so important that the story matches the question, as long as the story itself is informative and well-spoken. Try it and see: If you master the art of answering behavioral questions, you’ll experience a transformative effect in your interview process.
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Rewarding career. Rewarding home life. Telemedicine makes it possible. Access TeleCare seeks to systematically improve and regionalize patient care, delivered through a truly unique combination of clinical workflows, world-class physicians committed to clinical excellence, and a satisfying patient experience supported with a clinical sense of urgency. Our teleNeurologists evaluate, stabilize, and treat patients with a wide range of neurological conditions such as stroke, epileptic disorders, syncope, and encephalopathy.
Benefits of working with Access TeleCare •
Operational workflow with hospital staff and patients.
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Work with other world-class Neurologists.
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Malpractice insurance to fit the specific needs of a virtual neurology team.
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Care for a patients with a diverse array of conditions.
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Compensation structure that values your time.
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Ideal work-life balance.
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Flexibility and control of your schedule with full-time and part-time positions available.
SCAN TO APPLY
“When you join Access TeleCare, you join a worldclass team of neurologists, backed by a robust support structure with the clinical sense of urgency it takes to deliver exceptional outcomes for patients who need us most.” Dr. Annie Tsui
Chief Medical Officer of Neurology Access TeleCare
Now hiring teleNeurologists!
Learn more at Access TeleCare.com
Where expertise meets opportunity: Build your future in beautiful Maine! At Northern Light Health, you will join a team that that values your contributions and integrity. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center is expanding its Neurology Department and is seeking a Board-Certified/BoardEligible Adult Neurologist to join our flourishing team. Whether you’re a general neurologist or have subspecialty interest, we may have a place for you. Vascular, hospitalist, neuromuscular, EMG or movement disorders interest can be readily accommodated. What you’ll love about this role:
• Supportive environment and a collaborative team of 11 neurologists and 3 PAs
• Mix of inpatient and outpatient, depending on your clinical interests • Newly renovated outpatient clinic space • Comprehensive benefits package including generous paid time off, CME allowance, and much more!
• Top-tier education loan repayment program • Relocation assistance to make your move seamless • Sign-on bonus • J-1 waiver sponsorship with pathway to Green Card (if desired) and immigration counsel support
Compensation Information:
• $420,000 annual base salary with the ability to earn additional compensation based on productivity. • The compensation range listed reflects the range Northern Light Health anticipates relying on in setting the wages for the position. The range may not necessarily include all additional compensation elements available, including but not limited to call pay, leadership stipends, etc.
ABOUT US:
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center is a 411-bed tertiary care center, a Joint Commission-accredited Stroke Center, and an ACSverified Level II Trauma Center. We offer a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient services, backed by a robust hospitalist team of 50+ physicians. Plus, Bangor International Airport makes travel easy with direct and one-stop flights across the country.
Email: ProviderCareers@northernlight.org Phone: 207.973.5358 | Text: “Neuro” to 207.560.0133
We’re Hiring:
Cognitive/Behavioral Neurology, Child Neurology, Epilepsy, Headache Medicine, and Neuro-Oncology Kaiser Permanente - Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) is seeking Neurologists to join our teams in Southern California.
Key benefits of working for SCPMG:
• Physician led organization • No prior authorizations or pre approvals required • Collaborative, multispecialty environment • Dedicated Regional Telestroke team oversees acute stroke coverage • Competitive salary, benefits package, and PSLF eligible • Commitment to work-life balance and physician wellness via flexible schedules with built-in half-day education time
Why Southern California?
• Vibrant cultural scene with exceptional arts and entertainment options • Endless outdoor activities: world-class beaches, scenic mountain trails, desert landscapes • Family-friendly communities with top-rated schools • Perfect balance of major urban centers and laid-back coastal living charm
For additional information, please contact Michelle Johnson at: 877-608-0044 or Michelle.S1.Johnson@kp.org.
For consideration or to apply, please visit: southerncalifornia.permanente.org/jobs/type/neurology Stop by and see us at Booth #609 at the 2026 AAN Fall Conference. We are an AAP/EEO employer.
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Understanding your employment contract If you’re ever tempted to sign an employment contract without reading it carefully or receiving competent advice, think about these situations: y A headache specialist joined a rural practice with a guaranteed salary, only to find her income decreased by $70,000 when the guarantee was removed and patient volume did not make up the difference. y A physician’s non-compete clause prohibited work within 25 miles of the former employer’s locations— which meant the entire state was off limits, given the number of sites encompassed by this organization. y A candidate’s prospective employer expected him to drive up to six hours a day to cover remote locations— although this duty wasn’t stipulated in the contract. y A fellow lost an offer when she “negotiated” by forwarding to the practice manager a contract marked up by her attorney— including comments the attorney had meant for only the candidate to see. These stories and more come from Andy Fadenholz of the neurology physician search firm RosmanSearch. In his role as a neurology recruitment consultant, Fadenholz says he has spoken with a variety of physicians who “got burned” by not having a clear understanding of what their employment contract did or did not include. That’s a situation he tries to remedy by providing advice to candidates whenever possible. “My team and I do a lot of residency and fellowship education,” he says. “We give talks to go over different employment models, things to look for in a contract, how to interview—that first position out of training is important because it establishes your career. If you leave in a year or two, that’s always going to be on your CV and you’re always going to have to explain it.”
For the most part, Fadenholz believes difficult situations can be avoided by paying closer attention to the contract, conducting at least minimal research, and negotiating the most important issues before signing on. This is necessary, he says, even in today’s market, where neurologists are in high demand. “There are a lot of different aspects that determine how negotiable a contract is,” he notes. “In a geographic area that’s pretty saturated, or in a big academic center with renowned researchers, the salaries can be quite a bit lower.” While that figure won’t necessarily improve with negotiation, Fadenholz says an informed candidate can conduct a self-survey before committing, to ensure that being part of the research is a good trade-off with the compensation. That self-survey can pay off in other ways as well— particularly when it’s paired with transparency. Fadenholz recalled the story of a candidate who had chosen a specific location because of the research they were conducting but was dismayed by the $148,000 salary. With children to support, student loans to repay, and a husband whose work was quite low-paying, she knew that she was not in a position to accept the salary as offered. “We advised her to explain her situation,” Fadenholz says, “and they ended up bumping the salary and offering a housing stipend.” The type of organization can play a role in the offer as well. Fadenholz has been seeing that academic positions offer the lowest salaries, community hospitals offer the most, and private practices fall somewhere in the middle. That said, the initial salary tells only part of the story. Sometimes an offer is tied to a guarantee for the first year or two, before reverting to a production model that pays according to RVUs, or relative value units, which are used to measure a physician’s productivity. This
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might work well in a very busy setting but could create a decline in income in another situation. Talking with other physicians in the group and asking more questions of the employer are two steps a candidate can take to avoid an unpleasant surprise. Fadenholz recommends learning more about the organization as well, to understand things like patient wait time and whether it would be difficult to build up the volume needed to achieve one’s RVUs. As important as it is, compensation is hardly the only thing to worry about in the employment contract. In addition to stipulating the duties, pay, and benefits, a contract may also contain a noncompete clause and other information relating to what happens if (and how) you leave the position. For example, the employer may demand more notice from the physician than the organization is required to give. “If you have to give a program notice of 60 or 90 days, which is common,” he says, “in turn, the program should have the same requirement for termination without cause. Because if they can terminate you with only 15 days’ notice, for example, then that three-year contract isn’t a three-year contract. It’s a 15-day contract.” According to Fadenholz, what’s not written in the contract—what’s “silent”—is also a concern for physicians. “What have they not addressed that you need to be aware of?” he asks. “Are you going to have to travel to one of their locations if one of their neurologists leaves? One of our candidates was expected to drive two to six hours a day to cover practices in two states. There was nothing in the contract, but he was just expected to do it.” If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, that’s probably a good sign that you’re taking this seriously. After a decade or more of training and preparation to become a neurologist, now is hardly the time to lose focus. Even so, it doesn’t have to be daunting to get through the contract stage of the employment process. In addition to conducting the research noted earlier, Fadenholz recommends candidates follow a few basic steps. First and foremost, he wants physicians to “get very clear in their minds” about what’s non-negotiable to them, and to create a second list of things that aren’t dealbreakers, but which they’d like to change if possible. Then he wants candidates to pick up the phone rather than emailing their concerns, as he believes the process goes more smoothly in conversation. As a final step, he recommends the candidate use a contract attorney to review the agreement and clarify what each section means. Since so many contracts are created as part of an extensive internal process, Fadenholz cautions that the organization may resist making changes to the document itself—which means redlining and wordsmithing are less critical for the candidate to do. But adding amendments to the contract is a reasonable expectation that will have the same results when signed by both parties.
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Contracts from the organization’s point of view
David A. Evans, MBA, DAAN, is CEO of Texas Neurology and has overseen the development of dozens of employment contracts for the comprehensive neurology center. As the former chair of the AAN Practice Management and Technology Subcommittee, he also has guided the Academy’s outreach and information on the topic of contracts. Texas Neurology is a private practice that is 100% owned by physicians, employing a staff of 100, including 20 neurologists and APPs, working in three locations. Because of the physician-ownership model, Evans says their employment contracts for neurologists are explicit about the group’s two-year path to become a partner or shareholder, including the duties and privileges that conveys, and what will be measured to determine progress to this goal. He advises candidates for private practice positions to ensure this information is made clear in their contracts. Talking to others who have recently achieved partnership and requiring the contract to include a timeline for when the candidate would be considered for partnership are additional recommendations. “We always have it at 12 months when you’d be told whether you’re being considered for partnership,” he explains. “We’ve found that it helps attract top-tier candidates when they know from the beginning what the partnership path looks like. We also put them in communication with the most recent partners so they can understand the process.” Another condition Evans says his group makes explicit in its agreements is the pre-employment clause. “If you don’t have your state license because you’re relocating or you’re not credentialed with a majority of payers or Medicaid, we can’t use you on the day you start. It could be completely null and void. These things are essential to our practice so you can bill on day one, or see a patient in the hospital on day one.” By making this point clear in the contract, Evans says Texas Neurology has seen higher engagement with candidates in the months leading up to their first day of work, another bonus for creating a good start. In other situations where RVUs or a threshold to bonus may depend on maximizing each day’s work, Evans recommends candidates pay close attention to assure their starting date of employment is as closely aligned with their credentialing as possible, even if the contract allows 30 days to complete the process after coming on board. In terms of the duties and call coverage, Evans advises candidates to request as many details as possible in order to understand the expectations. For example, is there a clear formula to determine call coverage? Will your call duty be based on others who are “similarly situated?” That is if you’re one of four headache specialists, but one of nine employed, non-partner neurologists, being
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counted as similarly situated would mean you share call with the nine, not the four—a big difference in terms of how many calls you end up taking. Close attention should be paid to the duties and obligations section of the agreement, Evans says, to clarify things like your ability to perform your subspecialty in the proportion you desire, your obligations for supporting general neurology or ancillary services, and related considerations.
of an attorney who specializes in medical contracts. When coupled with your own research and self-survey of needs and goals, the attorney’s assistance will prepare you well for navigating the contract process. And if you want to understand salaries in the field of neurology, you’re in luck: the AAN offers a free salary calculator tool exclusively for member residents and fellows.
As a strong advocate for transparency in the agreement stage, Evans also advises candidates to request what’s called a “pro forma process” in which they can sit down with someone from the organization to put sample numbers into a spreadsheet to help them understand what it will take on their part to reach the RVUs, bonuses, patient numbers, or other thresholds noted in the contract. This is especially important if incentive compensation is going to be offset with expenses—particularly if the expenses are uncapped. “If I was negotiating,” Evans says, “I would want to know those numbers and have them contractually controlled because I am not a partner, I am not in control of those costs. This lets the doctor focus on their productivity and things they absolutely can control. We want them to see how they can impact their numbers and ours, and we tell them, we need you to be whole by the end of the first year.”
Taking these steps will not only give you confidence, but it will help you establish good habits that benefit you throughout your career. As Fadenholz notes, “For the residents and fellows coming out of training, this is a very exciting time. But you have to do your due diligence. This is a relationship you want to go into with trust, and one that you want to last.”
Details, details—keeping it all straight
There are many more clauses and points both Evans and Fadenholz can reel off that candidates should be aware of in their contracts—everything from contract renewals to patient assignment to professional liability and outside work could, and probably should, be covered in the initial employment agreement. And what about a preemployment agreement? In cases where an employer is paying a fellow a stipend during training or is sponsoring the training itself, Fadenholz cautions candidates to understand what must be repaid if employment conditions aren’t met. Although it would be cumbersome to include every detail in a contract, Evans recommends knowing your needs and goals well enough that you can keep your focus during the agreement process. “All of these things require a dialogue with the employer,” he says. “If it would be important enough that you would leave over it, then it needs to be in the agreement. If you feel comfortable with a handshake on some points, then look at how they’ve done it historically and make your decision. How important it is to you ethically, professionally, financially—these are the guides for whether you request it goes into the contract.” Educating yourself is important, but no amount of research is likely to prepare you to understand this document on your own. Instead, Evans and Fadenholz strongly advise you seek outside counsel in the form
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Join Prevea Health
A physician owned and led multi-specialty group offering the following: • Opportunity to become a shareholder after one year. • 401(k) with dollar-for-dollar match, up to 6 contribution (and an additional 3%
• Paid malpractice and licensure. • vacation and CME. • Relocation assistance. Neurology opportunities with Prevea Health: • General Neurologist (opportunity to sub-specialize). • Neuropsychologist. • Pediatric Neurologist. Practice openings available within our established medical group with locations in Green Bay, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. For more information contact Dolly Willems, Provider Recruiter. Dolly.Willems@prevea.com | (920) 272-1182
Join Endeavor Health’s Neuroscience Institute
Where Your Expertise Can Make an Impact: General Neurologist Multiple Sclerosis/ Immunology Neuro-Oncology Headache Neuro-Hospitalist Sleep Neurology Epilepsy – Section Head Movement Disorders – Section Head
At Endeavor Endeavor Health’s At Health’s Neurological Neurological Institute, Institute, we are at the forefront of advancing advancing brain brain and we are at the forefront of nervous system care. As one of the largest, and nervous system care. As one of the most comprehensive neuroscience programs largest, most comprehensive neuroscience in the region, ourregion, Institute together programs in the ourbrings Institute brings nationallynationally recognized experts across every together recognized experts across neurological subspecialty to deliver every neurological subspecialty to deliver world-class, patient-centered world-class, patient-centered care. care.
9 Hospitals | 300+ Sites of Care | 6,700 Physicians & Advanced Practice Providers 8,100 Nurses | 1.38M Patients Served Annually About Endeavor Health: Join a nationally recognized health system where 70+ neurologists have the opportunity to advance clinical care, collaborate across specialties, and build a rewarding career in one of the nation’s most dynamic metropolitan markets.
Benefits Various health plans Unlimited PTO CME: $5,000/per year
CONTACT:
SHAWN A. WATZKA • Shawn.Watzka@endeavorhealth.org BENJI HAMGERI • Benjamin.Hamgeri@endeavorhealth.org
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Neurology Physician Opportunities Mercy seeks board-certified or eligible neurologists to join our care teams in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
Scan to hear why doctors choose Mercy.
We’re Hiring: General Neurologists Pediatric Neurologists Neurohospitalists
To apply or learn more, visit mercy.net/NeuroCareers
Recruitment Contact
Meredith Huggins | Service Line Talent Partner 405.936.5766 | meredith.huggins@mercy.net
Practice. Teach. i c
er.
Engage in Academic Neurology at Penn State Health.
Join the Department of Neurology at Penn State Health, a nationally recognized integrated academic health system and regional referral hub serving 15 counties across central Pennsylvania
Thriving department spanning general neurology and a broad range of subspecialties ACGME-accredited residency program NIH-funded research environment Advanced neurodiagnostics and multidisciplinary programs
Shape the future of Neurology at Penn State ealth. S an to learn
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Stay or go: Changing jobs can be a tough decision for any physician. Weighing the unknowns of a new role against the certainty of the current position is hard enough. Add in loyalty to the clinic or medical system and guilt over leaving patients or students, and the decision becomes even tougher. And it doesn’t help when our old friend, inertia, raises its head. Indeed, decision theory shows that even when the current situation is uncomfortable—or downright miserable—the pull of inertia can be overwhelming. So, stay or go? Whichever way your decision leans, you’ll want to consider how an uncertain event has impacted— and will continue to impact—you and your family, as well as the organization you’re with and the organizations you consider joining. Here are some things to think about when weighing the decision to change jobs.
Why leave your current role?
If you operate a private practice or work in a clinic that has been hit hard by reduced income streams, the decision to leave may not be entirely in your hands. You may be laid off or furloughed, for example, or you may find that you need to close your practice. In these cases, the question won’t be “if” but “when” you will leave your current role. In other circumstances, the decision to leave may not be clear cut. For example, you might find that your current employer has needed to shift responsibilities on your team in a way that isn’t sustainable for you long term. You might be taking more call, for example. Or you might be assigned to duties that don’t use your neurology training in order to fill staffing gaps elsewhere in the organization. Of course, you might have very personal reasons influencing your decision to leave, such as family responsibilities that can’t be balanced with your current
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What to consider when changing jobs duties. Whatever your reasons for considering a change, it’s important to take the time to explore the situation. If your position is otherwise fulfilling, you would not want to give it up without verifying that the situation can’t be improved, or that you couldn’t ride it out until effects reverse course.
You’ve decided to switch jobs— now what?
If you’ve changed jobs before, this won’t be new territory for you. Given how much you, your family, and your work may have changed over time, you can assume your goals may have also shifted. Before jumping into the job market, it’s smart to think about what you really want in this next position. Here are some questions to consider: y Do you want essentially the same work, but in a more secure environment? y Do you want something quite different, perhaps due to changes in your personal vision and mission due to an unforeseen event? y Are you seeking a new location, perhaps to be closer to extended family? Along with clarifying your job goal, you will also need to set a timeline for the search process: When do you want to start your new job? Counting backwards three to five months from that date provides a reasonable starting point for your outreach. If you have strong leads or offers already, the timeline could be much shorter. As you get ready to launch your search, don’t forget to update your CV, as well as your job seeker profile in the
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AAN Neurology Career Center. Using resources like this will make the process more seamless and efficient.
What should you prepare for in a new position?
Unless they’re already unemployed, most job seekers prefer securing their new job before giving notice to their current employer. There’s a risk of leaving the frying pan for the fire, as they say. You don’t want to join a new organization only to learn that they are facing the same issues as the one you’re leaving. Questions to ask potential employers will vary, depending on your specific concerns, but they might include: y How has the department/clinic fared in unpredictable situations? y Have you made cuts to salaries or benefits? y Have neurologists in your department/clinic seen major changes to their duties in recent years? y If revenues decrease, what are your projections or plans for recovery? y What would be the trajectory of my career should I join the department? Whether you ask these questions directly of the chief or department chair during an interview or conduct research before committing to a meeting may depend on
whether you have a reliable source for the information. Without someone close to the department who can tell you what’s happening there, it’s helpful to identify insiders to help develop your “read” of the situation with prospective employers.
Moving forward
Remember inertia? The more confusing or pressed our lives are, the more likely we are to choose not to make a change, even when one is clearly needed. If your plan calls for a job change and you’ve identified your timeline, then it’s time to chart your steps and move forward on your plan. Otherwise, you risk losing the momentum you’ve already gained by getting this far in the process. On the other hand, if you haven’t clearly decided, then that’s the issue you’ll want to tackle. To do that, you can either seek the information you need to make the decision or give yourself permission to table the question until a specific date in the future. This will let you break the “I really should…” loop that might otherwise be playing in your head. Whether you stay in your job for now or leave for a position that better suits your situation, making the decision itself is bound to be good medicine. With so many other ambiguities taking up bandwidth right now, it’s good to feel clarity about your career.
Why NVRH? No Call
No Call. Better Balance. Vermont. Neurology Opportunities Await!
Competitive Compensation Student Loan Repayment & PSLF eligible Relocation Assistance Dedicated Clinical Support Excellent Schools Four-Season Recreation No Traffic, Short Commutes
Tired of high patient volumes, endless call schedules, and administrative burdens? Join Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital's established neurology practice and enjoy a rare combination of competitive compensation, no call responsibilities, manageable patient volumes, and exceptional quality of life. Practice outpatient neurology with inpatient consultations, supported by a dedicated RN, secretary, and administrative team. Perform EEG interpretation, EMG, and nerve conduction studies while caring for a grateful patient population in a collaborative community hospital setting. Whether you're an experienced neurologist or a new graduate, NVRH offers the opportunity to build a rewarding practice while enjoying the outdoor lifestyle and close-knit community Vermont is known for. Learn more or schedule a confidential conversation: nvrh.org/careers
No Call | Competitive Compensation | Loan Repayment | Relocation Assistance | 14–16 Patients Daily
Careers.AAN.com
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The Permanente Medical Group
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#NextGenTPMG
Leading the future of health care Adult & Child Neurologists Openings in Northern & Central California A FEW REASONS TO CONSIDER A PRACTICE WITH TPMG: • Our Telestroke program provides comprehensive coverage for all stroke alerts 24/7, and also immediate and urgent consultations during nighttime hours. • AI-Based Charting and an outstanding electronic medical record system that allows flexibility in patient management. • Work-life balance focused practice, including flexible schedules and unmatched practice support. • We can focus on providing excellent patient care without managing overhead and billing. No RVUs! • We demonstrate our commitment to a culture of equity and inclusion by hiring physicians who reflect the people we serve. • We are Physician-led and develop our own leaders. For more information on our career opportunities, wage ranges or to apply, please visit: northerncalifornia.permanente.org FOR ADULT OPPORTUNITIES, you may contact Ramona Boyd at: Ramona.J.Boyd@kp.org or call: (510) 458-5197. FOR CHILD OPPORTUNITIES, you may contact Judy Padilla at: Judy.G.Padilla@kp.org or call: (510) 318-0144.
Stop by and see us at Booth #609 at the 2026 AAN Fall Conference.
EXTRAORDINARY BENEFITS: • Competitive compensation and benefits package, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision • Northern California Home Loan Program up to $250,000 available for down payment, interest free for 10 years, AND NO PAYMENTS until end of 10 year period • Moving Allowance paid directly by TPMG - up to $10,000 • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Eligible Employer • Malpractice and Tail Insurance • Paid holidays, sick leave, and education leave, including paid time off for Board Certification exam • Annual education stipend, along with reimbursed board examination fees and new CA Medical License fees • Shareholder track • Life Insurance • Three retirement plans, including a pension plan and 401(k) We are an equal opportunity employer and VEVRAA federal contractor.