Nocturnist Physician at Sound Physicians

To our prospective teammates,

I am the medical director for Sound's hospital medicine practice at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas in Dallas, Texas. I have been a part of Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas for ten years and with Sound for seven. I want to welcome interest from physicians coming out of training or looking to make a career change. I want to share more about who we are and what we do - specifically about our people, practice, and purpose - as you consider your options.

• We have a diverse group of physicians with various talents and skill sets. Our group tends to skew towards mid-career physicians, although we have a few newer grads. We work collaboratively with a healthy structure of work/home life balance and try very hard to separate rounding duties from admitting. Most doctors congregate in our shared workspace around lunchtime to take care of notes, bounce questions off each other, and discuss things outside of work. We ve structured our MDRs so that, Monday through Friday, we get a chance to interact with each other and other hospitalists during presentations, and it is a very collegial atmosphere.
• I m a firm believer in an open-door policy. I like interacting with my team members and helping fix issues in the current system. I value team members who want to contribute to the growth and health of the team. I admire doctors who stand up for one another and understand the group s needs. Doctors who are willing to listen and ask if they can do better. I strongly believe in giving physicians autonomy to do what they need to care for patients, but I won t hesitate to point out when things can be improved.
• We work hard as a group to achieve our shared goals, but we like to interact and discuss all the joys and headaches of life as a hospitalist. Everyone has a voice and freedom to speak up at our monthly team meetings or directly with me anytime. No one is expected to clock in, but there is a sense of responsibility in doing what is expected.
• We first started as a physician-owned group of hospitalists. We became part of a joint venture with Sound, and in 2019, Sound bought our group outright. What was attractive about Sound was the infrastructure and wealth of expertise they brought to hospital medicine and how it can be practiced and measured. I initially started as an associate medical director. When the medical directorship opened, I knew I was invested in seeing the group and the hospital thrive, so I moved into the role.

• We are a large, diverse hospitalist group providing medical care to a growing population here in Dallas.
• What makes our group unique is the work-life balance we worked hard to cultivate. We divided the admitter and rounding roles as much as possible, and the physicians love being able to focus on a specific role.
• We have specialized in the different admitting shifts and our admitters, like the caps and built-in protection they receive.
• The other unique aspect of our hospital is the collegial relationships we ve fostered with the specialists. We pride ourselves on being a community hospital but also quite capable of taking care of Level 1 trauma, acute CVA, and complicated heart issues.
• We have a very successful GME program with residents and medical students that we help train.
• The chair of medicine also wears the hat of the regional medical director for Sound and was the former medical director of the hospitalist program.
• Our work schedule has been carefully crafted, and we ve established close relationships with specialists in a considerate manner.
• We seek board-certified, internal medicine-trained physicians. No procedural skills are needed, and our doctors are not expected to run codes.
• Ability to deal with complex medical and social situations and must have a patient-centered and caring mindset.
• We work in EPIC, with access to our own internal informatics platform.
• Expected compensation per shift is $1400 (day), $1,500 (Swing), and $1700 (Nights). We also offer quality and productivity incentives.
• Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, and AD&D insurance, long- and short-term disability, 401k with match, paid medical malpractice and tail coverage, and annual CME allowance.

• I am involved in at least half a dozen hospital committees (co-chair of 2 of the committees), and several other docs are also on various committees.
• We are not involved in hospital community health initiatives, but there are opportunities for those interested.
• The main challenge to those in our community is the lack of healthcare coverage. We have a close connection to UTSW and refer many cases to Parkland, the county hospital.

Dallas, Texas, is a vibrant and diverse city with a strong economy, offering numerous job opportunities across industries. Residents enjoy a rich cultural scene, various recreational activities, and a relatively affordable cost of living, making it an appealing place to call home.

Want to learn more about this opportunity? Contact my recruiting partner, who will connect you with me.

Dr. Kevin Nguyen, MD, CPE
Medical Director Sound Physicians