New research from MGMA and Jackson Physician Search found physicians who completed training in the last six years stayed in their first jobs for an average of just two years. When the question was asked of all physicians (regardless of how long ago they completed training), the average first job tenure was six years. When you consider the time it typically takes for new physicians to reach productivity, it’s easy to see why healthcare employers are increasingly concerned by the trend of shrinking tenure. While organizations explore strategies to improve retention among newly trained physicians, what can residents and fellows do to break the cycle?
As the President of Jackson Physician Search, my team and I work with early-career physicians daily. We spend a lot of time asking them about their specific job search priorities and introducing other important factors to consider. We do this to help them more effectively identify opportunities where they will find long-term job satisfaction.
The Importance of First Physician Job Tenure
While expectations about how long to stay with an employer have evolved in every industry, for physicians, the impact of shrinking tenure can be especially harmful–not just to the healthcare organization and its patients but to the physicians themselves. This is because most physician job contracts have a minimum term length of two years. Those big signing bonuses and/or loan repayments you hear about are only paid if the physician fulfills his or her commitment to the organization and stays for the entire contractual term. If physicians leave before they have completed their obligations, they will be asked to pay back the organization all or part of any bonuses they have accepted.
Additionally, the physician job search and changing physician jobs can be stressful! So, financial implications aside, most new physicians would prefer to find the right fit the first time rather than start another job search just two years later.
Examining First Physician Job Search Priorities
To increase the chances of finding the right fit, residents and fellows must carefully establish their job search priorities. The new research from MGMA and Jackson Physician Search found compensation and location to be the most critical factors driving new physicians’ first job search decisions. This aligns with what my recruitment team sees, and of course, it makes sense. After years of living on a resident’s salary, often while starting families and carrying considerable student debt, it’s understandable that new physicians are looking for the best offer they can find in the location of their choosing. However, they quickly learn that the most competitive compensation is often not found in the most popular cities. This is one reason we counsel candidates to expand their job search radius to include other parts of the state or region.
Asking the Right Questions
The hyper-focus on compensation and location often causes residents and fellows to neglect other factors that may have an equal, if not greater, impact on their ultimate job satisfaction. In the new research, the most frequently cited reason physicians gave for leaving their first jobs is due to practice ownership and governance models. This suggests many physicians are accepting jobs without fully understanding the implications of the types of organizations they are joining.
My team advises young physicians to ask questions about how the organization makes decisions, structures communication, and how well they retain physicians. Candidates should request sufficient time during the on-site interview to speak with people at all levels of the organization–not just the practice administrator but the physicians and support staff as well. In a smaller organization, the physician should ask to meet with the CEO and other executives. Ask questions about tenure, autonomy, job satisfaction, career advancement opportunities, and work-life balance.
Evaluate the Big Picture
There is so much more to a job opportunity than compensation, and it’s often untrue to think the rest won’t matter as long as the money is there. The research shows us this is simply not the case. And even for those who insist on prioritizing compensation, when we peel back the layers on that impressive initial offer, we often discover a practice that is offering a lower base has an income potential that is just as good as, if not better than, the one with the higher starting salary or big recruitment bonus. Seeing the big picture is difficult, but my team and I are here to help. We work with candidates to help them make fully informed decisions so they can ultimately choose a first physician job that lasts.
Whether you are searching for your first physician job or your fifth, the recruitment team at Jackson Physician Search has expertise in helping physicians find opportunities where they will fit, succeed, and stay. Reach out today to learn more, or start searching for physician jobs online.
About Helen Falkner
Helen Falkner is president of Jackson Physician Search, the nation’s largest privately held permanent physician recruitment firm and a member of the Jackson Healthcare® family of companies. With more than a decade of experience in retained physician search, she moved into senior leadership roles, bringing proven expertise in recruitment strategy, team development, and the evolving dynamics of today’s healthcare workforce.
The daughter of a physician and a native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Helen has long understood the profound impact that physicians have on the well-being of both patients and communities. That early perspective continues to shape her leadership approach and her commitment to helping healthcare organizations connect with mission-aligned clinicians who will fit, succeed, and stay.
Helen joined Jackson Physician Search in 2012, quickly distinguishing herself as an award-winning recruiter recognized for excellence and alignment with the company’s core values of Others First, Wisdom and Growth. She later became a partner in the business and regional vice president of the firm’s Western division. There, she led one of the largest recruiting teams and served as a strategic partner to healthcare organizations seeking not just to fill positions but build sustainable, high-performing clinical teams.
A recognized thought leader and frequent speaker at regional and national healthcare conferences, Helen addresses the changing expectations of today’s medical workforce, emerging trends in strategic candidate sourcing, and the critical connection between effective recruitment and long-term retention.
Helen has been named “recruiter of the year” twice, earned multiple “recruiter of the quarter awards, and received a 2023 “career achievement” distinction for her sustained contributions to the firm and its clients. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from the University of Iowa. She and her family reside in Atlanta.
