By Bradley Kramer, MD, JD, CEO and president, PROSUMÉS, Los Angeles

The high cost and increased competition for a dwindling pool of physicians sometimes forces practice administrators and department managers to make hasty recruitment decisions, which can lead to excessive turnover. To ensure success, make sure they know right approaches to physician recruitment and retention.

Who do you want?

Distinguish between entry-level and experienced doctors and use appropriate methods for each. To get the former, go to where they are – medical school campuses and the Internet. From 1999 to 2006, the percentage of physicians who cited the Internet as their No. 1 resource for finding practice openings rose from 22 to 77.¹

However, don’t wait for them to click their way to your site. Advertise on medical specialty sites and get your doctors to publish papers on the same sites and on medical blogs. That gets the word out about your practice.

Go to school. Get involved in residency and fellowship programs. Schedule speaking engagements for yourself, managers and physicians. Stay current on medical school and residency trends. That helps you anticipate what new doctors want from practices.

Recruiting experienced doctors often poses more challenges. Before starting, determine what you want in a candidate. Set parameters for how much money and time you can spend on the process – including lost revenue when replacing an established physician.

Know your limits

If your practice is in a rural area, you may have difficulty attracting physicians from major metropolitan areas. On the other hand, you might make a perfect fit for physician seeking a different lifestyle or location.

Know the culture of your practice and determine whether it matches that sought by prospective providers. Does your compensation plan match the model they want? What about on-call schedules and other work expectations?   

When searching for an experienced physician, your odds of success increase when you network with personal contacts. They know your practice and which doctors are compatible with it.

If you have an urgent or specific need, or your group suffers from a recruiting disadvantage, consider an executive recruiting agency. Agencies will cost more, so try to arrange payment on a contingency basis. Participate in medical specialty, physician employment and professional networking Web sites.

Keeping who you have

Do you have a physician-retention problem? If so, don’t assume it’s about the money. Retention rests on whether doctors enjoy practicing at your group. Focusing solely on the money will lead you astray. It might be that your organization is under-staffed. Do your doctors have heavy workloads? Is your patient mix desirable? Is your culture healthy? Do your physicians fit your culture? Based on your answers, don’t make promises you can’t keep when recruiting a new provider.

Sometimes it’s not about your group. Disenchantment with the profession might prompt doctors to leave. In those cases, a sabbatical might rejuvenate a burned-out physician. Likewise, mentoring programs can stanch disenchantment with your practice among younger doctors.

There’s not one right approach to recruitment and retention, but knowing which methods work best for different doctors improves your chances of success.