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Brett Walker Answers

January 11, 2014 By Brett Walker Print this article Comments

Question:: I am fairly new to physician recruiting and I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how to reach the top of my game and how I will know when I get there.

Our Expert Brett Walker: Wow. That’s a tall order. It is my nature that I do not feel that I will ever get “there”. One should always be striving to grow and learn. I learned early in my career that we never “PERFECT” the physician recruitment process. However, we need to always strive to perfect our own internal processes. I can give you a few tips on the journey.

Physician recruitment is 50% science & 50% art. The science part relates to the old sales term slang. . . “It’s a numbers game”. The more candidates you reach out to, the better chance of finding someone to fill your vacancies. The industry has become so competitive that those who get creative and take advantage of technology typically have the edge. Sourcing methods include: Web advertising; direct-mail; physician job fairs; referrals from your own medical staff; physician job boards; and networking with your fellow recruiters.

The art part is the most unique and creative. At the end of the day, I am a firm believer that physicians will ultimately end up going where they feel most welcome! So what can you and your organization do to help the physician candidates you are trying to recruit “feel most welcome”? Rolling out the red carpet and being a very good listener are a good start. Realize that candidates are all different and sometimes are motivated by different things. Yes, compensation is important but so are lifestyle issues. I find that the more creative and flexible you are in your negotiations, the more you increase the odds of landing the physician your community needs.

Below are a few suggestions to elevate your efforts:

Get Organized & Set Goals

  • Set goals quarterly & yearly
  • Establish a small group of physician recruitment champions in your organization (Examples might include your CEO; CMO; physicians you have recruited in the past; young docs who recently went through the process and are willing to help you!

Get Connected

  • Join ASPR (www.aspr.org) for only $200 per year and learn the hottest industry trends and network with the other 1,200 plus members from across the US.
  • Attend the 101, 201 & 301 Fellowship Educational Offerings of ASPR and earn your Fellowship status. 101- Associate; 201- Diplomat: 301- Fellow (FASPR)
  • Sign up for the ASPR Discussion-List-serve for networking informational sharing
  • Participate in the American Academy of Medical Management events and conferences and become CMSR certified.

Beef Up Your In-house Recruitment Resources

  • Candidate list databases- PracticeLink; PracticeMatch; & Physician Work
  • Web-advertising - HealthCareers; NEJM; Unique Opportunities; CareerMD

Track & Measure Your Efforts

  • Choose the right candidate tracking system such as the industry leader KontactIntelligence; or Doc-in-a-box; Portfolio; and others
  • A good tracking system will measure the time to fill; source used to recruit/find the candidate; interview to hire ratio; cost of recruiting the provider
  • Complete the Annual ASPR/MGMA Physician Recruiter Benchmarking Survey- www.aspr.org or www.mgma.org
  • At year end, review what worked and what did not. Adjust and fine-tune your efforts and try to improve upon your targeted benchmarks.

Author

Brett Walker

Brett is a frequent and trusted resource to medical journals, the Advisory Board Company, the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), the Forum of Healthcare Strategists and others on topics and trends related to physician recruitment and retention. In addition, he often presents at conferences and educational forums throughout the United States.

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