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Tip of the week: Ask the right questions of applicants

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, May 17, 2007

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When your credentials committee is conducting a clinical interview of a practitioner requesting membership on your medical staff, it is critical to ask the applicant the right questions. Following are a few good areas to start with:

• Ask the applicant to explain any gaps in his or her education, training, or practice experience, and require him or her to provide the names of individuals who could be contacted to confirm the applicant's explanation (e.g., the treating physician, if illness is given as the reason).

• Ask the applicant to explain frequent moves-why he or she left training programs, group practices, or hospital staffs-and ask for the names of individuals who could be contacted to confirm the applicant's explanation.

• If the applicant has not been recruited to the area by the hospital, ask what initially attracted the applicant to the geographic area and to your hospital in particular. 

Remember, these are just a sample of the types of questions you should ask during this critical interview period.

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