INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

With Dr. Jon Siebert, M.DAtchison Regional Hospital

3/27/16

What kind of schooling/training did you need to do before working as a physician?

A: I got my undergraduate degree in biology then went to medical school at the University of Kansas SOM. I did my residency for 2 years in Atchison, Kansas and then transitioned straight into working for the hospital system there.

How did you find out about your job?

A: My wife grew up in Atchison and knew that there was going to be openings in primary care in the region as a new hospital was being built when I was still in medical school. So I inquired about the job when seeking residency and the rest is history.

What’s a typical day like for you?

A: I normally get to my office by around 8 AM, sometimes later if traffic is bad (I work at an addiction clinic some mornings 45 minutes away). Normally I am done by around 2 or 3 pm, so I eat a late lunch at home and then relax for the rest of the day. Sometimes my case load is high, in which case I just eat lunch at the hospital and work through the day.

If you were not a primary care physician, what would you do?

A: Does working at the addiction clinic count? I have been working more and more there because I find working with those patients to be very enjoyable.

What the “hottest topic” that you have come across in your work?

Being a devout Catholic, I am strongly against abortion. However, I have had patients come in who have inquired about having one done. While it is against my religion, I feel that I should direct them to someone who will perform one if I cannot persuade them not to get the procedure done.

How professional/laid back is your office?

A: I am a pretty laid back guy, so I try to keep the office feeling the same way. I am lucky to have a couple of CMA’s who are very similar to me in this sense. So I like to think we have a very easy-going office, when there’s not a backlog of patients of course

What are, if any, the room for advancement in your field?

A: It is somewhat difficult to “advance” per se as a primary care physician because I do not have a specialty degree. But you can advance by taking on more patients and therefore getting paid more money I guess.

What’s your job security like?

A: The hospital tried to cut my pay a couple years back, but they realized pretty quickly that if I left almost all of my patients would leave with me. So I would say I’m pretty secure in my job.

What’s the toughest challenge that you experience on a daily basis?

A: Making sure that patients actually listen to and follow my advice. I will end up seeing the same patients over and over again that don’t seem to want to fix or even address their problems (like diabetes patients for example). So it is definitely a struggle to try to get through to these patients?

What do you think is unique to your profession?

A: Probably the fact that I get to work with the same people throughout the year. Being able to treat and follow up with one of my patients through every step of their healthcare process is something that I think is very unique and something that really drew me to the field.

Is your field expanding/shrinking?

A: Expanding, but not anywhere close to the amount that we need. With Obamacare adding so many new patients to the mix, I feel really bad for guys just getting done with residency. They just end up getting swamped with work

With the amount of patients increasing, do you think this means there will be an even

greater demand for Primary Care Physicians? A: Absolutely. I think that the amount of

patients is just gonna keep climbing and climbing. Hopefully there will be ways to make it easier for people to get into primary care (cheaper school or more residency slots) but I really am concerned for people like yourself going into this field

What advice do you have for me if I end up going into this field? A: Treat every patient with the kind of

professionalism and respect that you would expect if you were a patient. A lot of doctors disregard patient statements or treat patients condescendingly and there’s really no good reason for that

Any Journals I Should Read?

A: I read the Journal of Addiction Medicine, because that is where I am transitioning in practice. But as a pre-med student I really just recommend reading as many journal articles as possible, as that is what you’ll be doing in med school and beyond

Finally, any Med School Strategies?

A: Apply everywhere that you can see yourself going. Also, make sure to have your AMCAS application as well-done as you possibly can, as almost every school is going off of what you give them through that service. Finally, don’t stress if you don’t make it in your first go-around. It happens a lot and is not the end of the world.