Medical Economics asked UHC Solutions the following question, “What tips do you see in your physician recruitment business that would entice young physicians to join practices or clinics?”
Tim Mulvaney, President/CEO and Alphonse Bilicic, Director of Physician Recruitment came up with 5 key effective inducements. These are components that early tenure physicians value when joining a group within the FQHC/Community Healthcare market across the country.
1. Mentorship
The early career physician is at a stage in their learning process called – Conscious Incompetence. In other words, they clearly understand that they do not know everything in medicine. Having a good mentor or two can help young physicians grow and learn at the beginning of their clinical careers is of the utmost importance. Therefore, when recruiting young physicians, it is important to introduce the organization’s “best and brightest!”. Show the would-be associate how they will be indoctrinated, coached and mentored in the organization. You should also provide examples of recent success stories. Every newly graduated resident has choices. It is important to put on your “recruiting hat” and show how the organization provides them personal and professional growth.
2. Provider-Centric EMR
Very rarely do you hear a front-line provider say, “I just love my EMR system! It’s as if they designed it for me, the physician. I find it so provider friendly that it really helps me offer quality care to my patients….” This never happens. However, getting your best physician in a room and demonstrating 3-5 ways your EMR/technology helps them to be more patient-centric and provide top-quality medical care goes a long way to recruiting the person. Most recently graduated residents are tech savvy and know that systems that are not friendly to them or their patients. They can spot systems that are only geared for revenue cycle management a mile away. It is very important to remember their biggest fear: Finding themselves coding and charting into the wee hours of the morning.
3. Student Loan Repayment
Fortunately, in the FQHC market, full-time primary care physician’s receive student loan forgiveness through the National Health Service Corps In many states there are additional programs that can be run concurrently or sequentially after the Federal monies have been exhausted. Many healthcare companies are offering substantial loan payments, forgivable loans and even home buying assistance outside of state and federal programs to help these newly minted physicians start their careers.
4. Patient Load
“No margin no mission.” “Non-profit is but a check mark on a tax return.” We have heard them all. Great administrators understand the need for efficiencies so that the competing dynamics of “productivity vs profitability” are not always a combative issue in a health center. A physician is fine having a higher demand on patient visits. However, you must demonstrate to the candidate that you have the resources to help them give superior patient care. A few examples of resources that get the attention of the applicant are, having a strong IT department to help with technology issues, a scribe to capture patient information, a great system for scheduling, good interpretation services, a truly integrated healthcare system that provides services on a single visit, etc. etc. You will not attract new providers by saying you must see 25+ patients per day, finish your charts before you leave, return all calls and emails before the next day and being on-call during nights/weekends.
5. Favorable Work Schedule
Every one of these new docs desires work/life balance after having just completed a grueling residency program! One trend we are seeing that is proving effective is providing a 36-hour clinical work week with 4-hours spent charting at home. This is very attractive to someone that may be starting a new family or frankly, would like to refresh a bit from very long work weeks in residency. Many health centers are even offering 4 10-hour shifts or 3 12-hour shifts, which provide the physician the ability to have 3-4 days off a week for optimal work/life balance.
Partner with UHC Solutions
If you’re a young professional looking to find a job in the healthcare industry, partner with UHC Solutions. At UHC Solutions, we are industry experts in the recruitment of top talent in the healthcare industry. Contact a top healthcare recruiter today to learn more!
