Recruitment Credentialing, and Evaluations
Recruitment
APMG recruits both experienced, as well as newly trained pathologists from across the country. Potential candidates are found directly from our contacts at numerous training programs, unsolicited candidate inquiries, collegial inquiries, and advertisements in professional publications. A recruitment committee screens potential candidates in a multiple interview setting, and detailed reference checks are made on selected individuals.
Credentialing
Once a physician has been hired, he/she is credentialed by the Group, the facilities where he/she will work and by our malpractice insurance carrier. Once credentialing is completed, the new physician is assigned to a primary work location. The number of physicians needed and availability of physicians credentialed for a facility sets the framework for the monthly schedule. The Group strives to have a consistent physician staff for each facility. We believe that this consistency is an important means of supporting our facilities and their medical staffs.
The Group has a number of physicians who are credentialed at more than one facility. While each physician has a primary work location to ensure stability of service, the ability to work at more than one place enables us to provide consistent coverage for vacations and other needs.
Evaluation
Within the first 90 days of hire, all new pathologists are formally evaluated. Co-workers and the medical director provide input. We use a standard, open-ended form that gives structure but also quite a bit of flexibility. One of these forms is attached to this document. Particular value is placed on patient satisfaction, management responsibilities, committee involvement, productivity, pathology expertise and teamwork.
At the end of one year, a second evaluation is performed. Other performance discussions may occur during the year, but they are done at the discretion of the medical director. The yearly evaluation is conducted by the president of APMG, the candidate’s mentor, and the facility’s medical director. Most new members of APMG are on a track to shareholder status and it is the goal of these evaluations to detail the expectations and performance requirements needed to become a shareholder in APMG. The evaluation process is conducted within the backdrop of our mentoring program, detailed later in this document.
Conflict Resolution
All intra-departmental issues are handled at the Board of Directors level. Our goal is to assure that problems are handled quickly, fairly, and constructively, without disruption to the department.
If a pathologist is not performing to the levels expected, either by APMG or the medical staff and administration, that individual is removed from the schedule and will be replaced with a more effective physician. As appropriate, changes will be discussed with medical staff leadership and administration.