Many physician recruiters will tell you that, for all of recruitment's challenges, it also has its rewards—like moments when the importance of the work hits home. For Steve Jacobs, physician recruiter for WellSpan Health, one such moment came when he saw one of his physicians on the local news. 

"I placed a radiation oncologist in a small community that was part of our health network," he said. "I knew I was making a difference when she showed up on the news a week later, changing peoples’ lives. I felt that was a reason to be doing what I’m doing.” 

Reason indeed! We recently caught up with Steve, who's used PracticeLink for 10 years, to hear more about his physician recruitment experiences—and why and how he uses PracticeLink. Watch the video or read the Q&A below to hear more of the conversation.

What does it mean to you to be a physician recruiter?

“What it means for me to be a physician recruiter is that I’m able to impact all the communities I work on, especially from a medical standpoint. It’s an opportunity for me to bring to the table physicians and specialties that that community may never have seen before or to enhance services they already have.” 

How does PracticeLink help you in your recruitment challenges?

“PracticeLink helps me in my recruitment challenges because it does have far-reaching capabilities. What I like the most about it is that places we cannot go, PracticeLink goes. For example, conferences that they go to that we don’t attend personally, but still they get us the candidates there and share that with us. That’s vitally important.”

What's your favorite PracticeLink tool?

“I use three PracticeLink tools the most. The first is the broadcast email feature, which I can individualize to a specific physician, or I can [bulk email] a variety of different physicians all at one time.

“The second component that I like about PracticeLink is that I have the ability to tell a story in pictures using the Slideshow feature, which allows me to either get out information about our cities or the facilities that we work at. ... It brings a 3-dimensional feeling and not just a 2-dimensional job board. I really enjoy the aspects of creating that display and presentation so candidates can really get an idea of where we work and live.

“The third tool I like with PracticeLink is being a PRO client. Their ability to go out to different conferences ... then get back candidates that are attending that conference is an invaluable tool for any of us.”

How does PracticeLink fit into your daily routine?

“PracticeLink fits into my daily routine first thing in the morning, with my email. We get an email from PracticeLink, or two, every morning that tells us the hot candidates that are coming in that night who’ve signed up for PracticeLink. … We’re also then on to the PracticeLink platform to do our searches and send our emails through the platform.”

What tips do you have for other physician recruiters?

“The one tip I would provide to other recruiters is to stay the course. This job is not a flash-in-the-pan, hit-or-miss type of job. It sometimes takes 6 to 9 months for you to find the right candidate, but you’ll feel that much better having stayed the course.”

We'd love to feature you in our next Recruiter Spotlight! Email editor@PracticeLink.com to share your story.