The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) projections show a physician shortage ranging between 61,700 and 94,700, with a significant shortage showing among many surgical specialties. AAMC Workforce Projections.
What do these shortages mean for physician recruiters like you?
Stay ahead of recruitment challenges by being proactive versus reactive. Make sure you are creating succession plans now and “planning for the unknown.” Here are some tips to help you tackle the physician shortage:
Get creative when communicating your compensation packages. Beyond salary, what are physicians looking for? Stipends, student loan repayment, signing bonuses to help with things like cost of a new residence. Do your research. When looking at candidate profiles and the personal needs and professional interests detailed in inDepth Candidate Interviews, start making note of common keywords and phrases that indicate what physicians today want and need.
Cast a wider net. Start recruiting now for specialties that you know will be hard to fill in the future, and look for those candidates who will finish their program in the near future. Always be thinking a couple of years out. Also, if you haven’t started an incentive or referral program, do it now. You need to create some incentive for those current great employees to keep a look out and refer colleagues to your organization.
Increase your number of touch points. What are you using now in terms of technology? If you’re using several job boards, are you looking at analytics? On PracticeLink, are you monitoring your job views? Do you monitor your Message Center to see which emails get the most opens to identify the subject lines that work? Are you using direct mail, and publishing in journals or magazines? Essentially, how many touch points are you putting out there? Marketing experts have long said the magic number of touchpoints is seven. That means a candidate has to hear your message or see your brand seven times before making a connection that counts. Increasing your number of touchpoints will drive your online job responses!
Build your value proposition. Now is the time to hone physician campaigns and strategies to ensure that they accurately portray your organization's best features. Physicians need a good reason to choose your organization and relocate their family to your community. Your value proposition is the most important thing to have nailed down when trying to improve your recruitment strategy. Make sure you are relaying – in every message – why your organization is the best place to practice medicine? What sets you apart from your competitors? Why is your community the best place to live? Convey this message as often as possible. In your job postings and your organizational profile, you can easily communicate your strong, positive brand by adding logos, videos, and slideshows. You can not only tell them why your organization is the best place to practice medicine but actually show them why!
Physician recruitment is ever changing, and I am certain many would agree it is even harder now than it was just five years ago. Just as the Affordable Care Act had great impact on our industry, the projections for physician shortages is yet another hurdle for physician recruiters to overcome. Having a strategy that includes tips like these will ensure your organization stays ahead of the physician employment trends and puts you at an advantage over your many competitors!
Are you interested in exploring more about recruitment challenges like these? Join me at a PracticeLink University Workshop and earn 2.5 ASPR CEU credits. Click here to find out more.
