With the physician shortage putting pressure on healthcare organizations nationwide, finding and keeping qualified doctors has become more challenging than ever. Depending on specialty and location, the average time to fill a physician vacancy can range from four months to over two years. With experienced physicians in short supply, many healthcare organizations look to physician residents as a potential solution. Residents bring up-to-date training, fresh perspectives, and the potential to build long-term careers. This makes them excellent hires for organizations willing to invest in their development. However, recruiting residents isn’t just about filling a gap. It requires understanding their unique needs and creating the right environment for them to fit, succeed, and stay.
As Regional Vice President of Recruitment for Jackson Physician Search, I work with many organizations open to hiring residents. I’m always pleased to hear this is an option for them, but before we go too far down that path, I make sure they understand both the opportunities and challenges of hiring a physician right out of training.
Recruiting Residents: 5 Must-Haves
1. Robust Mentorship and Development Programs
Residents are at the start of their careers and need ample support to transition successfully into practice. Not all jobs will be right for these new physicians. Most importantly, newly trained physicians often need mentorship and supervision. Organizations must have experienced physicians who are willing to serve as mentors to new hires. A strong mentorship program is essential for new physicians to build confidence and develop their skills.
2. Flexible Hiring Timeline
Hiring residents can shrink the time to hire. However, the wait time between offer acceptance and the new physician’s start date can be significant. Residents begin the job search one to two years prior to completing their training, so it’s not unusual for them to accept offers with start dates more than a year in the future. Some specialties, like OB-GYN, urology, neurology, and ENT, require recruitment efforts up to two years in advance. This waiting period can be challenging. As I’ve written in the past, organizations must work to keep the candidate engaged and retain the new hire in the year (or years) leading up to the start date.
3. Ample Recruitment Incentives
Organizations must not assume that hiring residents means they can get away with lower recruitment incentives. In fact, residents seeking their first jobs are especially hungry for big recruitment incentives, especially those with loan repayment. The AAMC reports that physicians leave training with an average of over $200K of student loan debt. This significant financial burden causes physicians to prioritize employers offering repayment options. Organizations hoping to attract residents must have sizeable recruitment incentives and the flexibility to use them to meet the residents’ unique needs. Stipends are also increasingly common. Five years ago, a resident was happy to receive a $1K monthly stipend as a benefit of committing to an employer. Now, we’re seeing stipends reaching $5K+ per month. Some of my clients are shocked by this news, but I want them to prepare for what a resident may expect and/or request.
4. Schedule Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
Residents today have different expectations from previous generations of physicians. My colleagues have estimated it takes one and a half new physicians to take over the caseload of one retiring physician. This is due to the increased importance of work-life balance. Older physicians saw medicine as their life’s work and were more willing to prioritize patient needs and work commitments over their personal lives. This is no longer the case, which is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, physicians who maintain a healthy work-life balance are presumably less likely to feel burned out and more inclined to stay active in the profession. However, the shift means employers must get creative with scheduling and perhaps hire more advanced practice providers and support staff to ensure they meet patient needs. Four-day or even three-day work weeks, seven-on/seven-off schedules, and remote days for admin work are common expectations of physicians of all ages, but especially those fresh out of training.
5. Clearly Articulated Mission
The focus on competitive compensation and work-life balance may leave you thinking the new generation of physicians is not passionate about the work. However, new research from Jackson Physician Search and LocumTenens.com suggests this is not the case. According to the report, “Is Medicine Still a Calling? Examining Physician Attitudes About Purpose in Medicine,” 73% of all physicians and advanced practice providers cite helping others and serving humanity as their primary motivators for pursuing medicine. When looking at the youngest generation (those currently in residency), this figure is even greater (85%). This suggests that residents feel a strong need to make a difference. Organizations that demonstrate how these potential candidates can impact the lives of patients and the broader community will have a competitive advantage over other employers.
Tips for Recruiting Residents
If your organization can check off the above must-haves, consider the following tips to improve your chances of successfully recruiting residents.
- Speak directly to residents in the physician job ad. Craft job postings that address residents’ specific concerns and motivations, including loan repayment incentives, residency stipends, schedule flexibility, work-life balance, and impacting patients.
- Be flexible with compensation and benefits. Residents are entering a job market where supply-and-demand dynamics allow some to secure competitive compensation and desirable schedules. Offering both is not always feasible, but indicate to candidates that you are flexible and willing to make trade-offs to meet their needs.
- Emphasize mentorship and development. Newly trained physicians need support and collaboration in order to develop. Make sure candidates understand how your organization will invest in their development. Introduce them to potential mentors and highlight how the team collaborates and supports one another.
- Understand what you’re competing against. Organizations may offer shorter workweeks and/or higher compensation in some markets. Know what your competition is offering and emphasize what makes your opportunity unique.
- Highlight your organization’s mission. Compensation and flexibility are critical, but sometimes, the deciding factor is how well an opportunity aligns with the candidate’s desire to serve others. Articulate how your organization is serving the community and how it empowers physicians to make an impact as well.
Recruiting residents is an investment in your organization’s future. It requires thoughtful planning and flexibility. By addressing residents’ unique needs, aligning with their motivations, and offering competitive packages that balance compensation with quality-of-life considerations, healthcare organizations can position themselves as attractive employers for the next generation of physicians.
Is your organization recruiting residents? The recruitment team at Jackson Physician Search can help you prepare to meet the unique needs of this new generation of physicians. Contact us today to learn more.
About Tara Osseck
With more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Regional Vice President of Recruiting Tara Osseck specializes in matching healthcare organizations with physicians who are a strong fit for the role and the culture. Her healthcare career began as a physician liaison. It quickly expanded to include physician recruitment, strategic planning, and business development, working for various hospitals throughout Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri. Based in St. Louis, Osseck leads the firm’s Midwest Division, placing providers across the Midwest and Upper Midwest. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Truman State University and a master’s in health care administration and management from the University of Memphis.
