Category:Before Starting Work at YKHC

From Guide to YKHC Medical Practices

Overview

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Getting ready to work, as a medical staff provider at YKHC, is not an easy task. There are a number of critically important steps that need to be started long before you arrive and completed before you start work here. Nine to 12 months before you arrive is not too early to begin. You will need a minimum of four months if you need to get an Alaska license. Getting an Alaska license is challenging. With each step you must complete all the paperwork requested, follow up to make sure that it was received and regularly check on the progress of your requests and application. This is true for locums and regular hire license requests.

Note: Resident contracts, licensing, and credentialing also take at least four months and are likely complete before you read this. If you have questions, email Marcia Haggerty, MD for Family Medicine or Lye-Ching Wong, MD for Pediatrics.

Contract

After you have finished the interview/site visit process and you have been offered a job at YKHC you will need to commit to a mutually agreeable start date. Your hiring manager and HR will then request your contract/s.

YKHC medical provider employment contracts are standardized with regular YKHC verbiage that is not negotiable. The contract outlines the rate of pay, length of hire, CME/PTO and Torte Claims malpractice coverage. The employment contracts appear scary because they say YKHC has the right to terminate ‘at will,’ but this protects both YKHC and our new hires. At will termination allows for ending a contract when there is not a ‘good match’ for YKHC and/or a new provider. In these cases there is no need to terminate a provider ‘for cause,’ which might impact future credentialing or licensure. The medical staff executive committee was involved with and approved this type of contract in conjunction with our legal department more than 10 years ago.

In some cases there will also be a separate retention bonus contract and a relocation contract that need to be completed.

Alaska License

This is the MOST important and critical step in starting work at YKHC. The Alaska licensing board is a long and laborious process, even if you are straight out of residency. They verify medical training, residency, all work history, all previous medical credentialing and all state licenses that you have held. There is a tremendous amount of paperwork to complete and it takes a LONG time to be reviewed and approved. There is NO hurrying the process. You must be polite and persistent in following up and check regularly with them to make sure they have all the documents they need… They do not let you know when there is a hold up in your file because of missing documentation.

Do not ever apply for a locum license as it is not truly a faster process and you will just have to reapply and re-do all the work you have already completed. Get a regular Alaska license. YKHC will reimburse regularly re-occurring locums for their initial license so it is worth it!

Privileging and Credentialing

To begin the credentialing process, the hiring manager notifies the credentialing office. The credentialing specialist will contact the new hire to arrange for delivery of the credentialing packet. The credentialing specialist will specify the time frame for return of the completed packet.

It is important that the application be completed in its entirety and that all requested documentation be returned to ensure the file can be processed in a timely manner. Applications CANNOT be processed until ALL the information is completed and returned.

NOTE: HR will need to begin the background check process and a Medicare/Medicaid enrollment specialist should be contacting you to begin enrollment for work at YK.

Medical Malpractice (FTCA)

Through the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), our health center is granted medical malpractice liability protection with the Federal government acting as our primary insurer.

Permanent Hire

Relocation/Travel/Housing

For regular new hires—your hiring manager will work in conjunction with HR/Recruiting to arrange these for you. The relocation process is outlined with common questions and answers in a packet provided by HR.

Schedule

Your hiring manager should be able to give you a copy of your initial orientation and work schedule in advance of starting work.

Locums/Residents

Travel, housing and schedules are arranged by the hiring manager or residency coordinator in conjunction with the medical staff office. Travel cannot be completed until licensing and credentialing are completed.

Locums should be able to get a copy of your orientation and work schedule at least 2–4 weeks in advance of starting work. Resident schedules may not be done until shortly before the rotation, but you can contact your residency coordinator if you need to know sooner or you have a special request.

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