Physician recruitment is all about community

Talk about stress.

I was recently asked to write an article about my hometown of Hinton, West Virginia, for our state’s premiere lifestyle magazine. The assignment was to highlight both the area’s natural beauty and the renaissance of the Hinton Historic District—16 protected blocks being thoughtfully restored into an area that an entire state could be proud of. Hinton, West Virginia, home of PracticeLink headquarters.

Hinton is the heart of PracticeLink. It’s where we chose to headquarter the company, and no matter where I live, work or visit, Hinton is still my home.

But putting a place into words no matter how much you know about its people, geography or history can be stressful. You want to include everyone and every notable feature. You want to get it right. You want to convince others that they, too, could love the place you call home.

You might face similar challenges.

Even if you don’t have to write a magazine article anytime soon, you will write the job postings, the organizational profiles, the advertisements and the emails that together tell the story of your community. The physician recruitment profession itself uniquely intertwines your personal life and community with your work responsibilities. We all know that physician recruitment is much more than a 9-to-5 job. Sometimes that’s because a candidate’s phone call or site visit happens during what falls into other professions’ “off hours.” But mostly, it’s because even after you’re off duty, the physicians you recruit to your community are the people who will care for your friends and family when they need help most.

Your staff recruitment peers and colleagues understand. After all, the physician recruitment community is just that: a community. It’s a widespread group of people willing to help each other out, to share knowledge and contacts and best practices.

I’m looking forward to seeing so many members of the PracticeLink community at the upcoming ASPR Conference in New Orleans. It’s a special time of year when so many of us gather in one place, and our whole team looks forward to seeing you there. If you’re attending, I hope you’ll stop by the PracticeLink booth to say hello and learn what PracticeLink is doing to improve the physician and recruiter experience.

It’s also a chance for us to be reminded of the goal we all share: bringing health and healing to our communities, to the people we love and the places we call home. It’s a goal that transcends us all, and PracticeLink is honored to be a part of it. A sincere thank you to the physician recruiters and medical staff of Hinton’s Summers County ARH Hospital and Charleston Area Medical Center who saved my mom’s life after she experienced a heart attack in March. My family and I are eternally grateful.

Sincerely,