Looking For Jobs As A Couple

[ooo]

Are there options for a couple (both physicians) looking for jobs in the same city or institution? Basically couples matching for jobs after residency or even fellowships.

 

I'm about to start med school as a non trad. My partner just started a staff position in another city. Couples matching won't even apply to us for residency

 

To make things worse, I am interested in the same specialty (not FM or IM). I know a lot of things can change, and I may end up changing my mind about my field of choice. But I want to know if thats an uphill battle or there is some system in place to help out physicians in relationships?

[Bambi]

I know of couples who practice in the same city in different fields, who are affiliated with different hospitals. They share office space and secretary, as they each see patients on different days. And obviously, they take their vacations together at the same time. When they travel with other doctors (I think the minimum no. is 5), they hold seminars and I think they are able to write these trips off for tax purposes. 

[FeministKilljoy]

Are there options for a couple (both physicians) looking for jobs in the same city or institution? Basically couples matching for jobs after residency or even fellowships.

 

I'm about to start med school as a non trad. My partner just started a staff position in another city. Couples matching won't even apply to us for residency

 

To make things worse, I am interested in the same specialty (not FM or IM). I know a lot of things can change, and I may end up changing my mind about my field of choice. But I want to know if thats an uphill battle or there is some system in place to help out physicians in relationships?

 

 

There is no system in place to help couples out. Depending on what your partner does and what area you would like to practice in and how competitive it is, it may or may not be an uphill battle. If you or your partner is specialized or even sub specialized, it does become challenging as you don't necessarily have the luxury of choosing where you live/work, especially in today's job market for physicians in Canada. You might want to be mindful of that when you are choosing specialities as a clerk/preclerk... but you also don't want to hold yourself back in terms of careers as a medical student... It's a fine balance.

 

What I have found is that it may be more challenging if you want to work/live in a larger centre, especially considering today's job prospects for physicians, but smaller, underserved communities may welcome you guys with open arms... Food for thought.

 

Having 2 highly ambitious people in a relationship does get challenging when trying to satisfy everyone's needs and career aspirations. It takes some compromise and sacrifice, but trust in the end that it will work out in some fashion.

 

Best of luck 

[Anythingradiation]

While there's no system in place to help you out your partner will be your biggest resource.

 

I think that depending on where your partner is a staff (academic vs community) and how large the physican group is will play a role if you were to join him at his location.

 

If you were too move to a new center it would be even harder as there have to be 2 jobs open and you both have to be good hires.

 

If this is a specialty where you don't need to have hospital privledges, your life become easier to make it work (while

making sacrifices about your patient population).

 

Again the best person to talk too will be your partner and they should have an idea about the feasibility of it.

[johnmccrae]

I would say it really depends on 1) whether you're willing to relocate and 2) if you're planning on having children.

 

It's much easier to find work together if you're willing to move and you don't have children. Once either of those things change, it'll become a bit more challenging. From my personal experience, you'll really have two decisions: stay a larger city where you'll have plenty of work opportunities but cost of living is higher, or 2) move to a smaller city where it's harder for you both to have great jobs but the cost of living is reduced.

 

I'm going through a similar stage in life right now as I have two young children and my wife is effectively putting her career on hold in order to keep our family together while I'm in school.

[ooo]

While there's no system in place to help you out your partner will be your biggest resource.

 

I think that depending on where your partner is a staff (academic vs community) and how large the physican group is will play a role if you were to join him at his location.

 

If you were too move to a new center it would be even harder as there have to be 2 jobs open and you both have to be good hires.

 

If this is a specialty where you don't need to have hospital privledges, your life become easier to make it work (while

making sacrifices about your patient population).

 

Again the best person to talk too will be your partner and they should have an idea about the feasibility of it.

 

Well we did have the conversation before. He thinks that I should do whatever I want to pursue and that we will find a way. Although I do agree to a degree, I think I need to keep this potential issue at the back of my mind when I set up observerships/electives. He's not thrilled about the city he is in right now so that can easily change in a few years. At the end of the day, I don't want to compete with him for a staff position (bad for the relationship and why would they hire me over him with more years under his belt), and it's even more important for me to pick a lifestyle specialty (or at least a more flexible one) as a non trad. 

[ooo]

There is no system in place to help couples out. Depending on what your partner does and what area you would like to practice in and how competitive it is, it may or may not be an uphill battle. If you or your partner is specialized or even sub specialized, it does become challenging as you don't necessarily have the luxury of choosing where you live/work, especially in today's job market for physicians in Canada. You might want to be mindful of that when you are choosing specialities as a clerk/preclerk... but you also don't want to hold yourself back in terms of careers as a medical student... It's a fine balance.

 

What I have found is that it may be more challenging if you want to work/live in a larger centre, especially considering today's job prospects for physicians, but smaller, underserved communities may welcome you guys with open arms... Food for thought.

 

Having 2 highly ambitious people in a relationship does get challenging when trying to satisfy everyone's needs and career aspirations. It takes some compromise and sacrifice, but trust in the end that it will work out in some fashion.

 

Best of luck 

That's what I am having trouble with. He's nothing but wonderful and supports me in whatever I want to do, but first and foremost I want the flexibility of choosing where to live (not the exact location but the humble wish of wanting to live together in the same city). I am proud to be a non trad, but it's not gonna be an easy road. 

[Anythingradiation]

My partner and I are both in specialist/sub-specialist training right now and similarly, are in a situation where one of us will be finished at least 2 years before the other. It sucks hand can be highly stressful.

 

We are in the process of writing both Canadian and American exams so that if we can both get jobs in an American city we will gothrough less hurdles.

 

Aiming for Ontario in terms of electives and networking because of the large population and relative proximity of major academic centers.

 

Grad degrees are also not a bad idea as they can open doors in some cities. One of my mentors was in a situation similar to yours and he took a sebatical from his staff surgical position to do a Grad degree (that he didn't need for his current position) to live with his wife (currently training in a different city) for a year. They are most likely aiming to move to a different city once his partner is done.

[Lactic Folly]

 At the end of the day, I don't want to compete with him for a staff position (bad for the relationship and why would they hire me over him with more years under his belt)

I haven't heard of this happening... I would imagine that you would be going into the process of exploring a practice location as a package. Is it possible you could end up in the same specialty, but different subspecialties? Think of synergy

[Letsdothisthing]

I am in this exact situation and have been strongly rethinking my carms choices for this reason

 

if we both want to be specialists (medical), getting a job in my home city is going to be hard

 

I have to be honest with myself about how willing I am to "go anywhere" for a job- I am not actually. I love my life and I love my city and I am best suited to serving the population in my city - that needs to be ok. So I am more closely looking into Fam Med when it wouldn't otherwise be my first choice. Realistically speaking, both of us winning a job in academic urban hospitals in the same city in 6-8 years time seems so uncertain, esp with too many medical grads leaving MD school now. 

 

I still haven't decided b/c I LOVE complex cases and would forever wish I had done extensive training. But the notion of being 40 and doing long distance and locums with children for years seems pretty unacceptable to me when I feel I could carve a satisfying job out of fam med - maybe be a hospitalist, palliative care doctor, or otherwise specialize in genuinely sick patients. 

[NutritionRunner]

Lots of dual-career couples outside of medicine manage, although often one partner ends up in a less-than-perfect job. Why should doctors be any different?