With Director of Recruiting Josue Alva’s strong network of candidates and close partnership with a West Texas hospital’s CEO, a family medicine placement in Stanton, Texas — expected to take up to a year — was successfully completed in just 90 days.
Stanton, Texas, is a small town, but big things are underway at the county hospital. It recently opened a new 90,000 square foot expansion and earned consecutive years of national recognition as one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the country. Built in 2012, the hospital plays a crucial role as a community hub. The facility served not only Stanton but the entire Odessa-Midland area. It was growing and in need of physicians, specifically a family medicine physician — STAT.
The CEO, who came out of retirement to lead the hospital, was a sharp negotiator with a warm, gregarious personality that made her an effective recruiter. However, she needed to fill several roles, preferably with physicians who would establish themselves in the community long-term. While she loved West Texas, she knew it was not for everyone and certainly not a place that physicians were flocking to. The desert stretches endlessly in every direction, and the seasons bring both scorching summer days and surprisingly frosty winter nights.
A Search Gets Off to a Running Start
Based on her experience and a national time to fill of 7.5 months, the CEO feared a family medicine search would likely take closer to a year, and time was not on her side. She quickly enlisted the help of Jackson Physician Search Director of Recruiting Josue Alva, who also lives in the state, and brought with him loads of local connections in his network. In fact, by the time of the site visit, he already had three candidates ready to present. The CEO was impressed by his initiative and quipped, “Well, maybe we don’t even have to meet today!”
One candidate immediately stood out from the rest. She was a young, talented doctor in Pecos who was working as an FMOB but wanted to make a change and focus on just family medicine — a perfect fit for the role the hospital needed. However, she was already in the interview process with other organizations. Josue tried to temper the CEO’s excitement with an assurance that even if this candidate didn’t come through, he was encouraged by the activity that was already in progress and was certain that he could find an early-career family medicine physician for the hospital.
“If you get people here, I’ll close them,” the CEO challenged.
A Winning Team Strategy Takes Shape
From that point forward, Josue and the CEO worked as a team. Josue had no doubt that she would come through with the promise made when they first met.
“She is completely immersed in the practice and has an inspiring vision for what the future looks like,” Josue recalls of his conversation with the CEO. “And she expresses it with a shine in her eyes. You really get swept up in the magic of the place, so I knew that it was going to be a great experience for any candidate I could bring there.”
Since this was Texas, where football is both a sport and a religion, Josue would quarterback the sourcing, and the CEO would take the ball over the goal line. After their huddle, he immediately reached out to Dr. D, the candidate who had piqued the CEO’s interest. In parallel, he established a strong bench of candidates from Doximity’s robust database of physicians, while also scanning profiles on DocCafe and making personal outreach through text, email blasts, and phone calls to new graduates. He also tapped his fellow recruiters in the Jackson Physician Search Dallas office, with whom he regularly collaborates on searches, to see if they had any candidates to refer.
Welcome to Stanton, Texas: Home of 3,000 Friendly People
When Josue pitched Dr. D on the opportunity in Stanton and shared the glowing comments about the work environment, she was eager to meet the CEO and the team. Dr. D was looking for a practice with a supportive environment where she could receive mentorship, especially as she transitioned from FMOB to traditional family medicine, which Josue assured her she would find at this organization. She was also excited because the opportunity to treat patients across their lifespan was exactly the kind of care she dreamed of providing.
The CEO invited Dr. D to an on-site interview, and as expected, she was enchanted by her experience in Stanton. The new hospital addition felt like the perfect place for a fresh start, and everyone raved about the wonderful workplace culture the CEO had created. It was a place where they felt supported and valued.
“In that four-hour visit — a short amount of time, really — Dr. D got a feel for the design of the environment at the practice, and could really see herself building a career there, with the support she needed to continue to grow,” Josue reflected on the on-site interview.
Keeping in Touch Brings the Touchdown
The CEO agreed Dr. D was the right candidate and told Josue the search was over. She extended the official offer five days after the interview, but it would take two weeks before Dr. D would accept.
Josue spoke with Dr. D nearly every day, helping her break through her defenses with a compassionate offensive strategy. Dr. D’s previous employer had left her with false promises, and she was understandably concerned about finding herself in the same position again. Josue assured her that she would not be repeating her past mistake and could secure a bright future in Stanton.
Meanwhile, Josue worked with the CEO on an attractive package as well as a flexible start date to allow Dr. D to take a break and spend time with family before rushing into her new role. The CEO was receptive to making changes to the contract language and was even willing to add student loan reimbursement to the deal, completing the touchdown.
Secrets of Physician Recruitment Success
A quarterback is usually the team captain, motivating and coaching the other players. In the recruiting game, this plays out in frequent conversations with candidates, where trust is built, concerns are shared, and problems are solved. Fortunately, after Josue made these critical plays, the CEO caught the ball and was ready to run with it.
Through teamwork, trust, and Josue’s impressive bench of candidates, a search the CEO anticipated to take 7.5 months to a year was over in just 90 days.
If you have a tough-to-fill position, the team at Jackson Physician Search has the national reach and industry expertise to accelerate your search. Reach out today to see for yourself why Jackson Physician Search boasts a 97% customer satisfaction score and 90% of clients award us multiple searches.
