The Advisor

An Online Newsletter for Medical Professionals

October, 2011


MDP Services LogoMD Preferred Services is an online resource center for physicians and healthcare executives. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 700,000 physicians in the United States who work in excess of 60 hours per week. To help medical professionals leverage their time and resources, MD Preferred has identified and screened uniquely qualified, financially sound, "doctor friendly" community based professionals in a wide range of disciplines including: real estate/relocation, financial planning, mortgage services, banking, legal services, insurance, and accounting who are committed to serving healthcare professionals and offering a superior service experience.    Contact Us!    

Be Sure to Join Our Linkedin Group! 

Networking for Healthcare Professionals

 

Just a heads up to all our readers...we started a group on Linkedin! 

 Networking for Healthcare Professionals is all about our members and the healthcare industry coming together.  Share ideas, opinions and industry news.  Establish connections with other MDP members and share your knowledge with the healthcare field. 

   

The goal of this group is to establish business to physician relations as well as physician to physician networking. We also hope that this will become a resource for physicians and healthcare professionals looking for tools to help them grow in their career or career search and meet their everyday needs.

Hiring Healthcare Professionals With Cash Incentives May Cost More and Accomplish Less

By Roger Atchinson, CRP, Senior V P Sales and Marketing, RELO Direct�, Inc.
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In many hospitals, money is seen as the primary recruiting incentive when it comes to negotiating for the services of critically skilled physicians or other urgently needed healthcare professionals. This strategy may work well when recruiting and hiring locally, but when relocation is required, especially when a family is involved, money alone is not the solution for the many challenges a highly rated recruit will encounter after they say "I accept".  

Why do cash incentives cost more and accomplish less?

Failure to optimize on tax protection
Offering cash only, especially as a means to avoid supporting transferees with the sale of their home, creates a significant tax event that requires a tax gross up to keep transferees whole.  This can cost hospitals, or their new hires, depending on the tax policy of the hospital, many thousands of dollars in taxes to offset the compensation and tax event created by a cash incentive.  A properly structured home sale assistance program will eliminate the tax event created by a direct reimbursement of cash and will save hospitals thousands of dollars and will keep transferees whole.

 

Read More!

Advice For A Relocating Spouse or Partner's Job Search

By Barbara Bartell, J. Philip Realty LLC

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Before joining the world of Real Estate with J. Philip Faranda at J. Philip Real Estate LLC in Westchester County, NY  I owned my own Human Resource Search firm for over 20 years and worked with many relocating spouses in finding them a new position. I thought I'd share some of ways to find a job in today's marketplace.

As a graduating M.D. considering opportunities in several cities across the U.S., one consideration outside of the offer, the real estate environment is whether your spouse or partner can find employment in the new town.

It is a lot simpler today than it was 20 years ago when I used to get that question. At that time people would subscribe to newspapers in the area, use directories to find local search firms to cold call before they arrived, or just waited until they unpacked and then pounded the pavement to all of the "print" ads.

Valerie Wilson Travel - Your MDP Travel Agent

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We are very pleased to announce that Valerie Wilson Travel has been selected as the exclusive travel partner for MD Preferred. 

Valerie Wilson Travel, Inc. (VWT) is a highly acclaimed travel consulting firm, specializing in both business and leisure travel. VWT has extensive experience in servicing discerning professionals and healthcare institutions, with an emphasis on developing a personalized relationship with their clients.

With 30 years of experience, VWT covers all aspects of business, leisure, meeting planning and incentive travel. They are one of the largest woman-owned, family-managed and privately-held travel consulting firms in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, with an international client base, VWT currently have 15 locations across the US.

MD Preferred 

Professional Services Directories  

 

 

MD Preferred understands that a job search involves far more than resumes and interviews. That is why MD Preferred has selected the nation's leading service professionals and recognized them with the MD Preferred Service Medallion. As you will discover, MD Preferred offers access to award winning professionals in: Real Estate/Relocation, Mortgage Services, Private Banking Services, Legal Services, Accounting Services and Financial Planning.

  

To find a service provider in your area visit our national networks or call 800-260-8366 Ext 702 for a referral 

Why Pay Rent When You Can Own

By Eric L. Cromedy, Realtor Associate, Nextage M3 Realty Group

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Interest rates are at an all time low and with great tax benefits, you can't afford not to buy a home right now.  The best way to get close to buying your dream home is to buy your first home.  A home is the largest financial asset most people have due to equity and appreciation over time.

If you took out a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for $150,000 and made monthly mortgage payments of $900, you'd pay $324,000 in mortgage and interest payments over the life of the loan.  And after 30 years, you'd own a home with an appreciated value potential of $364,000 (at 3% annual appreciation).  Keep in mind that appreciation rates vary greatly based on local conditions.  Compare that to paying $800 per month in rent over 30 years.  Even if your landlord improbably never raised the rent you would still spend $288,000 and own nothing.  

I know everyone isn't suited for home ownership, but for me, home ownership is a ticket to an affordable retirement and the reason I can plan for my two boys to go to college and why I can look forward to a last pit stop at a really nice retirement community.  I can't imagine trading that security for the short-term freedom of a rental home.

Read More!  

H-1B Physician Usage Tracking Closely With Last Year

By Karen Weinstock, Siskind Susser
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If H-1B usage is a barometer of what is happening in the overall job market, the US economy is largely in the same place as last year. The latest data shows 41,000 H-1Bs have been used against the cap of 65,000 after just over six months of filing. Last year we were at 41,900 at about the same time. That is still very light usage compared to prior years. So, U.S. companies are still very slow in hiring workers, including foreign-nationals.

Read More!

MD Preferred 

Medical Directories 

 

Knowing how to reach industry decision makers is a critical part of any job search. MD Preferred healthcare directories help physicians and nursing candidates identify hospital and private practice in-house recruiters as well as the nation's leading search firms. The MD Preferred Hotel Directory helps healthcare executives plan conferences and meetings, business and personal travel.  

  

Hospital & Private Practice In-house Recruiters

 

Top 100 Medical Recruiting Firms

   

Medical Associations & Societies

    

State Licensing Boards

 

MD Preferred City Spotlight - Boston 

By Jon Ufland - Prudential Unlimited Realty

The Boston area is considered one of the top places to live for physicians and other medical and health care professionals.   


Boston is steeped in history and culture, a huge draw for the many who come seeking to learn cutting edge methodologies and to meet some of the top medical researchers and professors around.  Boston is known for great restaurants, fascinating architecture, winning professional sports teams, beautiful changes of seasons, and a stable, highly educated population driven by the medical industry, colleges and universities, biotech and pharmaceuticals, and technology professionals, among many others.  

Communities around Boston have weathered the economic and real estate storm as a result of the diversity of a highly educated population, relatively low volumes of new construction, and high, stable residential rental rates, and a government that has managed state finances responsibly compared with many other states (see Agencies praise Patrick administration's 'effective management during economic downturn' as they affirm Mass. bond rating).  Additionally, the recent unemployment rate in Massachusetts was 7.4% compared with a national unemployment rate of 9.1%. 

 

Read More! 

The Psychology of a Physician: Buying and Selling Homes

By Michael O'Malley     

 

It used to be fun to jot down the phone numbers from For Sale signs popping up in the front yards of homes in my neighborhood.  I'd give a call and find out the listing price and then calculate how much my home had increased in value.  I discontinued that practice in 2009 and now I just count the signs and frown.  


Many physicians living in upscale neighborhoods have seen as much as a 30% drop in valuations and in some markets even more.  This has lead to an interesting side effect in the medical recruiting arena.  High net worth, high income practicing physicians have been passing up career opportunities because of the state of the real estate market.   


Prior to the 2008 real estate market melt down, it was estimated that approximately 40,000 practicing physicians changed jobs each year.  And the vast majority relocated to pursue a new practice opportunity.  Some recent studies have reported a precipitous drop in that number.  And when surveyed many physicians have pointed to the drop in home values as one of the reasons they have put career plans on hold.

Many hospital recruiters and search firm principles have been scratching their heads at this disturbing trend.  From their perspective it makes no sense!  Let's look at an imaginary physician, a cardiologist in Cincinnati who is a partner in a single specialty medical group and is earning approximately $600,000 per year.  The doctor and her family live in an exclusive country club community.  The doctor's spouse has been offered a plum opportunity in Las Vegas with a very substantial compensation increase.

MD Preferred 

Career Services  

 

With a growing physician shortage, with healthcare reform swelling the ranks of patients, with rising malpractice premiums, shrinking revenues and growing government regulation, it has never been more important that a physician or nursing professional make the right choice when considering a career change.

 

MD Preferred offers the only medical job board with top tier job listings and access to award winning, doctor friendly professionals in: Real Estate/Relocation, Mortgage Services, Private Banking Services, Legal Services, Accounting Services and Financial Planning.

 

Medical professionals requiring discrete professional representation during their job search can call 800-260-8366 to speak with a personal search associate. 

 

MD Preferred/Medical Match Job Board

Solving the Small Business Owner's Retirement Dilema

There's a fatal flaw in the retirement of many small business owners: After pouring a lifetime of sweat, time and capital into building the business, their rough-sketch strategy is to sell out someday for a ton of money... then settle back and enjoy a financially secure retirement. Many business owners are so sure this will happen that they don't bother to make any other retirement plans.

Who is this person who, at just the right moment, is going to show up with cash in hand to buy the company... and pay a fair price? For thousands of small business owners each year, no one steps forward. Perhaps the business is too specialized or is tied too closely to the owner's unique personality and skills. Or perhaps possible buyers equate retirement sale with distress sale and make only low-ball offers. Whatever the reason, many owners find that their company has suddenly become a white elephant that nobody wants.

Read More!

Financing Smart Home Improvements
By, Brendan Bracken, W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp.
 
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You've found a great home, but it's a bit rough around the edges and you're on a limited budget. That leads to a number of questions: How much will the necessary upgrades and repairs cost? How much value will they add to the home? How are you going to pay for all this?

Whether you are upgrading to a larger home in a neighborhood you've always loved, downsizing to a smaller home now that the kids are out of the house or even moving to a new state, don't let a house that you love get away just because it needs some repairs or updates - you do have options!

Read More!

Why Physicians Need Financial Planning  
By Setu Mazumdar, MD (President and Wealth Mangager, Lotus Wealth Solutions) 


Imagine that you have a brand new patient in your office.  What's the first thing you want to find out? It's probably the problem that the patient wants you to understand and solve.

So after doing a history and physical, and perhaps ordering a few tests, you come up with a differential diagnosis. Once you decide on your most likely diagnosis, you take what is perhaps the most important step in the process:

Implement an action plan.

The action plan is your custom tailored path to achieving what's important to the patient: going from where they are now to where they want to go.

What's incredible about this is that as physicians we plan for patients all the time, but we don't plan our financial lives very well for ourselves.

If you're like me you've got places you want to go as well--whether it's retiring at age 55, or leaving a legacy for your children, or working part time so you can enjoy your family more.

And that's exactly why you need a financial plan.

Read More!

MD Preferred City Spotlight - Orange County   
By Kathleen Jones,
A Jones Home



Besides being known for its tourism and amusement parks Orange County is more importantly known for its beautiful climate and large stretch of beaches. Orange County is figuratively divided into "North Orange County" and "South County" (meaning Northwest and Southeast-following the county's natural diagonal orientation along the local coastline). A transition between older and newer development may be considered to exist roughly parallel to State Route 55 (aka the Costa Mesa Freeway). This transition is accentuated by large flanking tracts of sparsely developed area occupied until recent years by agriculture and military airfields.

Most of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, located in Irvine, is being converted into the Orange County Great Park and several new home communities (known as The Villages of Irvine) are being developed around this park, set against the serene natural hillsides of Loma Ridge. One of which is Portola Springs, receiving two Gold Nugget Awards (one of the real estate industry's highest honors). More on this community can be found at: www.portolaspringsrealty.com. The land around the former Tustin Marine base has also been redeveloped into a beautiful master planned community called Tustin Legacy. More information on this community can be found at: www.tustinlegacyrealty.com

Some of the excellent hospitals and medical centers in Orange County include Anaheim General, Anaheim Memorial, CHOC, Fountain Valley Regional, Hoag Memorial, Kaiser Permamente, Mission Hospital, Orange Coast Memorial, Saddleback Memorial, St. Joseph, St. Jude, UCI Medical Center and Western Medical. For a complete list with contact info you can go to: www.orangecounty.net 
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In This Issue
Hiring Healthcare Professionals With Cash Incentives May Cost More and Accomplish Less.
Advice For A Relocating Spouse or Partner's Job Search
Valerie Wilson Travel
Why Pay Rent When You Can Own
H-1B Physician Usage Tracking Closely With Last Year
MD Preferred City Spotlight - Boston
The Psychology of a Physician: Buying and Selling Homes
Solving the Small Business Owner's Retirement Dilema
Financing Smart Home Improvements
Why Physicians Need Financial Planning
MD Preferred City Spotlight - Orange County
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