What Does That Mean for Your Job Search?
Today there are more pathology-related jobs than people available to fill them. We are seeing the highest recorded number of open pathology-related jobs in twenty years.[1] And that will not likely change in the very near future due to the nature of how we got here:
- The U.S. is experiencing a physician shortage[2], and physician intent-to-leave is rising.[3]
- Over the last decade, pathology residency programs have been training fewer residents. But we’re starting to see improvement.[4]
- The number of pathologists that practice leaders expect to hire between 2021-2024 exceeds the number that they expect to retire from their practices.[5]
These circumstances have created today’s candidate-driven market. Are you a pathologist in the midst of a job search? If so, we have three important things to help guide you in your quest.
- Be aware: Employers are requiring more hospital hours. There are more hospital-based surgical pathology cases than people who can cover them. Therefore, your future team has to share that time. If you’ve received sub-specialty training, you will likely find yourself doing more general surgical pathology work than you anticipated.
- Residents and Fellows: Don’t out-train yourself for the market. Residents during pre-COVID years faced a tough job market, and therefore enrolled in multiple fellowships to land the ideal job. The current market appears to be shifting. Most employers today prefer to hire candidates with only one fellowship on their CV.
- Relationships are crucial. People hire people based on relationships. Do you have the relationships you need to get your desired job? Applying online is a blind process if you do not have a connection to the hiring entity. Your participation in societies, conferences and networking events are great ways to make valuable connections.
We’ll be continuing this conversation with a webinar and a live Q&A on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. Please join us! https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9016608390819/WN_A3E2WSP8SuKoxLSc3J_jQw
Santé Consulting is a national laboratory medicine recruiting and consulting company. We focus exclusively on the recruitment and retention of pathologists, PhD’s, and laboratory medicine executives at the director level and above.
[1] Source: www.pathologyoutlines.com/jobs (The current number of jobs listed = 696 (August 15, 2022)
[2] Source: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainability/doctor-shortages-are-here-and-they-ll-get-worse-if-we-don-t-act
[3] Source: December 2021 (Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovation, Quality and Outcomes)
[4] Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35961281/
[5] Source: CAP 2021 Practice Leader Survey Report (pg. 41/60)