Senior Search Consultant Katherine Hurford placed three internal medicine physicians at a Coastal Virginia hospital by combining deep client integration with a multi-pronged sourcing strategy — tapping candidate databases, cold-calling, and matching each physician’s personal priorities with the right opportunity.
At the center of every successful physician search is an enduring partnership between our recruitment consultants and the healthcare organizations we serve. Frequent communication, trust, and transparency are hallmarks of our client relationships and key factors in placing the best physicians as efficiently as possible.
A true honor for our consultants is earning the privilege of being treated as a member of our partners’ teams. One relationship that makes us most proud is with a 450-bed regional hospital in Coastal Virginia. Over the past eight years, Jackson Physician Search has built a strong relationship with the hospital’s administration. When the decision to hire a new provider begins, the first call they make is to Director of Business Development Liz Orjuela. This is not unusual, as 90% of our clients award us multiple searches. However, what is unique is the level of integration we have with their team. Not only do our recruiters collaborate with them through calls and emails, but we also have an account in their HR system to track search progress in real time. The result? Over 30 placements, thanks to seamless communication and a proven process that keeps every ball in the air.
It’s no small task. In addition to the main campus, the center has several busy outpatient primary care facilities. “They’re constantly growing, so we are constantly busy,” says Katherine Hurford, Senior Search Consultant at Jackson Physician Search and one of the hospital’s go-to recruiters. “It seems that every time we place a physician, they open up another search.”
A Smart Strategy for Success
When the hospital needed to recruit three internal medicine physicians, Katherine didn’t even flinch. She has become the recruiter they turn to for primary care searches, and always comes prepared with a multi-pronged sourcing strategy.
“It’s a really beautiful place, so I started by finding candidates who had a connection to the area,” she shared. “Then I started cold-calling contacts who were ending their residencies.”
Katherine tapped multiple databases we have access to, including MD Search, Profiles, and Doximity. She quickly connected with three physicians who were looking for a fresh start — with sunshine and sea breezes.
Local Resident Seeks New Residence
MD Search had been sending Katherine profiles multiple times a day, and she cold-called those who caught her eye. One was Dr. B, who was finishing her internal medicine residency in Virginia. She was highly experienced and held impressive leadership accolades despite being early in her career. She was flexible about location and was primarily looking for a safe neighborhood with good schools that served a diverse community. When she visited the hospital for an interview in October, she took advantage of a school tour and realtor services it offered as part of the experience. While she had a competing offer, the thoughtful onsite experience and competitive package made her decision easy. Katherine officially placed her in early November.
“I’ve never had someone interview with this client that hasn’t wanted to move forward,” Katherine said. “They take interviews very seriously and create a personalized, two-day onsite visit. Candidates really appreciate that it invests so much into making the most of their time.”
Cold Call Brings Internist the Warmer Climate He Craved
Having secured one internal medicine provider, the hospital was ready to launch its search for the next.
Dr. S was working at a GI clinic in Ohio when Katherine saw him in the Profiles database. Dr. S has been practicing primary care since 2001 and was ready to transition to general outpatient primary care treating adults only. It sounded like a promising lead, so she decided to cold call him about the position in Virginia.
While the details aligned with what Dr. S was actively seeking, he wasn’t immediately sold on Virginia. After living in rural Ohio, he and his wife had their sights on city living. Virginia sounded too much like the place he was leaving — lots of farmland and little to do. When he mentioned his desire to escape the cold Ohio winters, Katherine found her opening: the beach. He agreed to an onsite visit, and the professionalism of the team organizing his itinerary delighted him. Once he arrived, he met with a realtor, and the coastal setting won him over.
“The beach was a big plus for them because they’d never had that before,” Katherine noted. “He and his wife were really excited to be somewhere warmer.”
The rest was smooth sailing. With competitive compensation, a predictable Monday-through-Friday schedule, and a relocation allowance, they didn’t need to negotiate anything. He signed before the first snowflakes fell.
An Exacting Physician Gets Exactly the Support She Needed
Katherine’s ability to work hand in hand with the HR team was instrumental in the fast, seamless hiring process with Dr. B and Dr. S. For some physicians, a hand to hold is even more important. That was certainly the case with Dr. K, Katherine’s third internal medicine hire.
“This was a very high-touch search,” Katherine recalls. “She didn’t want to leave anything up to chance. I was texting her late at night and over the weekend, which I loved because I really, really liked her, and she ended up in a great place with her contract.”
Katherine connected with Dr. K by leveraging her license to Doximity, which we provide all of our recruiters with. While she initially reached out about another position with a different client, the more she thought about it, the more she realized Dr. K would actually be perfect for the Virginia health system. She was eager to present the opportunity to her. She knew Dr. K would appreciate being part of a large network with a strong, well-organized support staff and a steady patient volume. Most importantly, she was a great cultural fit. For this client, personality could outweigh simply a strong CV.
“She’s very warm and caring, just like all the physicians I’ve talked to there,” Katherine reflected. “I have had candidates in the past that were really great on paper, very interested in the position and even had a Virginia license, but if they weren’t a good personality fit, they wouldn’t hire them.”
Dr. K went through the interview process with flying colors. The school and community tours gave her confidence that her teenage daughters would thrive there. But the production-based compensation made her nervous. She needed more than a one-year salary guarantee. The hiring team escalated her concerns to the CEO, who responded swiftly and extended it for the duration of the contract.
“They’re extremely prompt responding to candidates they think are a good fit,” Katherine summarized. “We were able to answer that request for her very, very quickly — within a week — which gave her what she needed to move forward.”
Communication, Responsiveness and Transparency
Katherine keeps up with the constant flow of open roles because of transparent, frequent, and timely communication with the healthcare organization’s team. Integration into the hospital’s hiring platform and fast responses keep the hiring process humming. Because the client stays on top of market trends and MGMA benchmarks, they offer competitive contracts and sign them quickly. Add a determined recruiter who brings a vast network of candidates with the right skills and personality through the door, and you’ve got a master class in physician recruitment.
If your organization is facing a difficult search, the recruitment team at Jackson Physician Search has the strategy, tools, and persistence to get results. Reach out today to learn more.
