>Back to e-Newsletter

How to Compete for Primary Care Physicians

By Regina Levison – President, Levison Search Associates and Kathy Jordan – President, Jordan Medical Consultants

When you work in the healthcare industry, you see articles on the physician shortage nearly every day. Some articles analyze the maldistribution of primary care physicians, some promote the need to establish more training programs, and others try to predict how a national health program will impact the shortage. The focus of this article is how to compete for primary care physicians in the current market.

With the physician shortage and demand for primary care physicians accelerating, candidates have the luxury of being highly selective about their practice choices. The key to recruitment is to generate interest quickly, maintain interest throughout the process and make an offer that is competitive and accommodates the priorities of the new recruit.

Data Will Help Sell Your Opportunity

Hospitals frequently perform medical manpower studies to determine how many physicians in which specialties are needed to ensure community healthcare needs are met. Medical groups, HMOs, IPAs, and clinics often document need in their strategic planning process. This information is essential to share with primary care physicians considering an opportunity in your community. Candidates want to know there is a genuine need for their services and that they will be welcomed by other physicians in the community. Contact your local hospital's CEO, CMO, or Director of Physician Relations to request access to this information. Don't be shy about sharing data that will help sell your opportunity to prospective candidates!

Write a Description of the Opportunity

Help prospective candidates get excited about what you have to offer by writing a description about your opportunity and community that you can e-mail to them. You'll stand out because you have the position described in writing. Be honest and don't exaggerate, but emphasize the positives and minimize the negatives in your presentation. We recommend you include the following information:

• Brief history of practice including reason(s) you are currently recruiting
• Number and specialty of physicians and mid-level practitioners
• Sources of patients and payer mix; is there an existing practice to assume or a waiting list for new patients
• Ideal candidate specifications including skill sets, experience desired, and foreign language capabilities
• Anticipated schedule including days/hours to be worked, and/or average patients seen per day by existing medical providers
• Call schedule and/or description of Hospitalist service
• Information about office automation including electronic medical records
• Compensation and production incentives, benefit package and partnership options
• Description of local hospitals and website addresses
• Description of community where practice is located including website addresses for Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Bureau
• Contact name, phone number, e-mail address, and practice website address

Having a written position description also provides the advantage of allowing you to reach consensus in the practice regarding the need to recruit another physician. It is essential that all physicians in the group are on the same page.

Be Realistic About Candidate Parameters

Flexibility when considering prospective candidates is essential in a competitive market. The primary care candidate pool is ever-changing with a higher percentage of female and international medical graduates as well as physicians seeking part-time employment. By remaining flexible and incorporating diversity into the practice, you enhance your chances of filling the position in a timely manner. Part-time and job-sharing options are also a draw for many quality candidates and will result in greater job satisfaction and physician retention.

Offer Mentoring From Senior Staff

Recent graduates often seek a mentor in the practice so be prepared to invest time with a newly-trained associate. This includes physician mentors to assist with clinical issues and administrative mentors to help with practice operations and coding questions. Knowing that mentoring is available may sway a physician to join your practice instead of another.

Recruit Close to Home

Primary care physicians often go into practice near their home town or near their families. Focus on utilizing resources that will help you identify physicians with a direct tie to your state/community including where they were born, attended medical school, completed residency, and where their spouse/significant other grew up.

Networking with regional residency programs, local physicians, and your state and local medical associations is a good start. There are select physician search firms who offer a cost effective service of identifying and presenting candidates that fit your culture while your practice manages other recruiting activities.

Be Competitive with Compensation, Hours and Call

In the past, you may have competed with compensation paid by local practices. Now you compete with practices all over the country. Be sure to access the most recent compensation data (such as MGMA and AMGA) to ensure your package is competitive enough to land the candidate you want to hire. Don't be surprised if you are asked to provide a two-year salary guarantee instead of the traditional one-year for primary care physicians.

Physicians younger than 35 are typically focused on the amount of free time they will have much more than previous generations. Generation Y physicians feel work hours, call schedule, and the practice setting are often more important than compensation. Young physicians often seek practices that utilize a Hospitalist service to care for inpatients. To remain competitive, identify means by which a physician can opt-in or opt-out of inpatient care. By allowing physicians the leisure time they desire you enhance your ability to compete for new recruits and ensure job satisfaction.

Medical school debt is especially burdensome for primary care physicians. Be open to requests for loan repayment and signing bonuses. Find out if your area qualifies for loan assistance programs and/or talk with your local hospital to see if they can help cover loans for the new hires. Loan repayment and signing bonus options will often make the difference between hiring or losing your top candidate.

The Early Bird Theory

Yes, it's true in recruitment as well. The sooner you make contact with a candidate, the more likely you are to recruit the best prospect to your practice. With a shortage of primary care physicians you must put your best foot forward and compete to get the candidates to consider your opportunity.

The importance of calling and sending an e-mail or text message to a prospective candidate the moment you become aware of their interest in your opportunity cannot be over-emphasized. Schedule and conduct a telephone interview as soon as possible and if the telephone interview goes well, invite the physician and spouse/significant other for a site visit.

Make the telephone interview and site visit about the candidate. Candidates often say the doctors in the practice talked more about themselves rather than getting to know the candidate. While it is important to tell your story, the candidate needs to feel the practice is interested in their goals and priorities as well. By focusing on the candidate you will be better equipped to determine if they are a good fit for your position.

Don't forget about the spouse or significant other. Experience has shown they will have more impact on the final decision than the physician themselves. Talk with the spouse prior to the interview and arrange a separate itinerary to address their needs. This may include exploring housing options, visiting schools, a luncheon with others that share similar interests or even meetings scheduled with potential employers.

Have the employment contract prepared and ready before you start recruiting. It is extremely frustrating to lose your top candidate because they have other offers in hand and can't wait for a contract to be developed by your attorney.

Keep Your Promises

Now that you have hired your ideal recruit, how do you keep them for the long term? The first step is to keep your promises. Physicians change jobs because the promises they were initially made were not kept. Document your commitments to a newly recruited physician. Meet with your new associate frequently during the first year to ensure the transition has been smooth and that expectations are being met on both sides.

Look for steps to help you develop an effective physician retention plan in an upcoming e-newsletter.