Evaluating a practice opportunity. Asking the right questions

As a candidate for a position, your job is to identify the expectations of physicians, why previous administrators have failed to meet these expectations and the limits within which a new administrator can operate. Most groups that approach experienced administrators with the prospect of future employment have already lost their administrator, either through a forced termination or the administrator's voluntary move. Administrators who do not adequately evaluate the opportunity usually receive their walking papers in a relatively short time, or depart on their own with a blustery "let-me-out-of-here" attitude. The key to success is knowledge. You must ferret out the fine points, understand the political climate the group's past financial performance, determine if there is a strategic plan and if it is taken seriously, and most of all, push to gain an understanding of what the key objectives are for the administrator in the first year. Then, you must determine the board's willingness to extend authority. Remember, the next position you accept will profoundly influence every corner of your life: finances, career, lifestyle, marriage and family.