While there are undeniable benefits to marrying someone who understands your career ambitions and day-to-day stressors from their own first-hand experience, when job searching, dual-physician couples often must accept that where one’s fate lies, so does the fate of the spouse. As these married physician couples are coming out of their residencies, they face some additional uncertainties when seeking their first physician jobs. Will they find jobs at the same healthcare organization? In the same community? Or will their daily commutes take them in opposite directions?
Married Physicians with California Dreams
Anesthesia resident, Dr. S was all too aware of the challenges ahead as he and his wife, an ER physician, both entered their last year of residency in Manhattan. After living and working in one of the country’s largest cities, the couple was hoping to find jobs in a smaller community with some charm. Dr. S had enjoyed living in California at one time, and he and his wife had family out west, so when he saw a posting on Doximity for an anesthesiology job in Salinas, he reached out to the recruiter right away.
Recruiter Becky Casias admits that the job search can be tough for married physicians. “You may have a perfect fit between a client and a candidate, but there is that additional challenge of finding a second opportunity for the spouse.”
According to data from a recent Jackson Physician Search and LocumTenens.com survey, the situation isn’t all that rare. In fact, nearly one in five Millennial physicians is married to another physician. The benefits and challenges of dual-physician marriages are many, but how does this pairing impact the physician job search?
This was Becky’s first thought when she spoke to Dr. S on the phone. She could tell immediately that he would be a good fit for her client, an anesthesia group that was part of a growing hospital in Salinas. However, she wondered how his wife’s physician job search would affect the process.
Two Successful Physician Interviews
Becky felt certain her client would like Dr. S, so when presenting him, she shared that his wife, an ER physician, would also be looking for a job in the area. The group indeed wanted to meet Dr. S, so they asked the hospital to find out if the ER group was hiring. While there was not a current opening in the ER group, at Becky’s suggestion, they agreed to meet with Dr. H while she was in town with her husband.
The couple flew to California in early December to meet their prospective employers. It was easy to fall in love with the Monterey area with its quaint towns and coastal scenery, and the job opportunities were attractive too. One of the partners in the Anesthesia group was an alumnus of the same university Dr. S had attended as an undergraduate student, and the two of them instantly hit it off. Dr. H, for whom collegiality was very important, found what she had been looking for during the physician interview process.
Both Dr. S and Dr. H were impressed with everyone they met, and the feelings were mutual. The anesthesia group was ready to extend Dr. S an offer, and though the ER group had not planned on hiring a new physician, they could see it would be a mistake to pass on Dr. H.
Married Physician Job Search Success
The physicians were thrilled to receive two offers from their prospective employers. After a few weeks of working through the logistics, both Dr. S and Dr. H signed contracts and were eager to start their new physician jobs in California.
Finding one physician’s “dream job” is difficult, and finding a second in the same place is almost impossible. However, if both physicians are clear about their shared priorities and open-minded about everything else, it is much more likely that they will find two physician job opportunities that meet their needs.
“There are a lot of moving parts when coordinating two offers,” says Becky. “But it’s not every day you get to place a husband and a wife together, and I was thrilled to help make it happen.”
Whether you are on the hunt for one physician job or two, the physician recruiters at Jackson Physician Search have the network and expertise you need to aid your search. Contact the Recruitment Team today or search physician jobs now.
