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Congratulations to the Best of the Best in Physician Recruiting
19 January 2012
The Medicus Firm has one of the most tenured physician recruiting teams in the industry, with an average experience level of about nine years per recruiter. Therefore, our 2011 award winners truly are some of the best of the best, having produced more than some of the most experienced recruiters in physician recruiting.
Last weekend, each office kicked off the new year with a banquet, dinner, and party to celebrate the successes of 2011 and look forward to a great year of 2012.
Congratulations to the following superstars who led by example with top performance in 2011:
Recruiting Resource Coordinator of the Year – Fabian Hernandez
Rising Star Award – Jason Farr
Burning Tire Award – Mark Saurette
Difference Maker Award – Jamie Thomas
The Referral Award – Justin Ballinger
The Placement King – Steve Look
Business Development Top Producer of the Year Award – Lisa Wagner
Recruiter Top Producer of the Year Award – Steve Look
Outstanding Operations Award – John Garms, Director of IT
Congratulations to all of the winners for 2011! We look forward to more great things in 2012!
Is a Career Change Worth the Pain?
16 January 2012
For many professionals, with the beginning of a new year, comes thoughts and hopes for a new career. A new year often prompts us to reevaluate our lives, both personally and professionally, and look for areas in which to improve.
The year 2012 brings with it a great deal of uncertainty and potential change in the healthcare system, so planning and setting goals for your practice or career may prove even more challenging this year. Therefore, it may be best to focus on the “big-picture” issues when deciding if it’s time for you to make a serious practice transition to something new and better for you.
How do you know if your career needs are worth the serious commitment required to make a significant career change?
If you could change something about your career, what would it be? Hopefully you still want to practice medicine, but statistics show that some doctors are burned out on medical practice.
Assuming that you do wish to continue practicing medicine, what changes do you wish to make to your career as a physician? Do you wish to earn more money? Work less hours? See more patients? Offer a new service or learn a new procedure? Live closer to family or friends?
If the goals and wishes you have for your medical career cannot possibly be accomplished in your current practice, it may be a good time to consider a new or different practice opportunity.
Often, with goals and change comes discomfort. You may have to temporarily get out of your comfort zone to get the career you really want. Whether that means relocating to a new area, changing from private practice to hospital employment, or some other major change… chances are, it won’t be easy.
It has been said that the best things in life are never easy. In fact, often it’s those loftiest goals, personal and professional, that require the greatest amount of strength, determination, perseverance, and pain, in order to achieve them.
If you want to make changes in your career, but the prospective hassles, relocation, searching, interviewing, contract negotiating, etc… make you want to give up on those goals and remain complacent with the status quo, there is a little “litmus test” we often recommend to some candidates. It may help you think through how important your goals are to you, and whether or not the long-term desired career improvements are worth the short-term pain and discomfort.
We often advise candidates to think ahead, 20-30 years from now… when you are older, and perhaps retired or nearing retirement. Envision yourself sitting on your front porch in your rocking chair, reflecting on your life, maybe talking about it to your kids and grandkids. In doing so, looking back on your life, would you reflect positively on your current career, should you decide to stay where you are indefinitely? Or would you feel pangs of regret for staying in a career that is not truly satisfying, rewarding enough, or meeting your needs financially or otherwise?
Still not sure what to do? What if we take that exercise one step further…. to your death bed… what would your regrets be then? A recent blog post highlights 5 most common regrets of the dying, as observed and noted by a tenured hospice care nurse.
One of the key regrets, particularly for male hospice patients, was wishing they hadn’t worked so much and so hard. Regret for a lack of work/life balance was one of the very top regrets of those facing the final days of their life. Would that describe you, if you stay in your current practice? If you are working your life away, missing important moments and memories with your family, it may be time for a much-needed career change.
What if it’s not the change itself holding you back, but what others might say about it, that is preventing you from making the transition you know is truly best for you and your immediate family? Many candidates try to please everyone when making a practice decision — their parents, friends, spouse, kids, and for new grads, even program directors’ opinions weigh heavily in their decision…
However, another top regret of the dying, according to the hospice nurse, is to have lived one’s life based on others’ expectations and opinions, instead of remaining true to one’s self at all times. While it’s important to consider your spouse and consider your children when making a significant career move, especially a relocation, no one else’s opinion should really factor into your career decision.
You alone are the one who will spend 40-60 hours per week or more, for many years of your life, working in your medical practice. Therefore, you should be the one most at peace with your decision to make a career transition. If you can tune out the noise from voices of people who are not directly involved in the decision, you will have a much easier time making the right career decision, and one that best meets your personal and professional needs. Chances are, people who truly care about you will want you to be happy, so if you base your career decision on satisfying your own professional needs, you’ll be happy with your new career, and in turn, those around you will be supportive and happy for you as well.
Best wishes for a rewarding, well-balanced, profitable, satisfying career in 2012!
Despite Physician Shortages, Some Qualified Talent May Be Overlooked
7 December 2011
Are Healthcare Employers and Recruiters Overlooking Qualified Physician Candidates?
Physicians are in great demand, and a shortage is looming, according to multiple healthcare industry analysts. While some regions of the country will have plenty of doctors, other regions will feel the effects of the shortage more intensely, particularly in rural areas, and in high demand specialties.
As the population ages, and more than 30 million people gain health insurance coverage over the next few years under the health reform laws of 2010, the potential shortage is expected to be so severe, that the Obama administration recently announced $1 billion for the Health Care Innovation Challenge, which grants funding to physicians, institutions, or organizations who can submit proposals to increase and accelerate the training and deployment of more healthcare workers, including physicians. The program is designed to find innovative ways to increase the physician workforce and alleviate shortages.
At such a critical time of increased demand for the physician workforce, when the government is practically throwing money at proposals for innovative ways to expand the healthcare workforce, many qualified, capable physician candidates are possibly being overlooked by recruiters and employers.
Hospitals and employers of physicians could be making their own searches more difficult if they are not managing processes effectively and efficiently, and they may be overlooking or missing out on many qualified physician candidates.
The Medicus Firm, a national physician search firm, recently conducted a survey to examine the recruiting processes of hospitals and physician search firms from the candidates’ perspective, to help identify areas in need of improvement for better results in physician search and placement.
“We wanted to explore the recruiting processes of direct employers and third party firms, for comparison and contrast,” states Jim Stone, president. “Our goal was to understand physician candidates’ perceptions about the recruiting process of employers and firms, and look for areas of improvement and any trends that may be helpful to us, as well as any other entities that are currently recruiting physicians.”
When the various demographic groups were broken out of the response pool, the gaps in response and recruiting processes widened, emphasizing some different results for applicants of various demographic groups.
Do Recruiters Overlook or Devalue Experienced Physicians?
The survey shows that a candidate’s experience of the recruiting process varies greatly based on his or her level of experience, and even gender or training. One of the largest discrepancies was reported by candidates who are 16 or more years out of training, as compared to respondents who are within 15 years of completing training.
28.6% of candidates with 16 or more years of experience report a ZERO response rate on applications to hospitals and direct employers. Meanwhile, only 8.2% of candidates within 1-15 years of completing their training report a zero response rate from hospitals
Additionally, the average number of offers received (in the past two years) from younger candidates (within 15 years of completing training) is about 7.88, while older candidates have received only about 2.12 offers over the same time period. This is despite the fact that the two groups report applying for approximately the same number of jobs (about eight) in the past two years.
International Medical Graduates vs. American Medical Graduates
Response rates varied widely for AMG vs. IMG candidates, especially when applying directly to employers. For example, 62% of AMG respondents reported a response rate of above 50% over the past two years, whereas only 43% of IMG respondents reported a response rate of above 50% from employers.
Female vs. Male Respondents
Women reported longer response times than men, in general. When applying directly to employers, 58% of female physician candidates report receiving a reply within a week, while 68% of men report the same.
Response Times and Response Rates of Third Party Firms vs. Direct Employers
In all, of the respondents who were actively looking in the past two years, (between 61-81% of the total respondents have applied actively within the past 2 years), they reported that they applied to an average of 9.34 opportunities during that time period, and received 4.91 offers.
When examining the survey responses across the board, there were a few significant differences between third party firms and direct employers.
The survey asked candidates to indicate the response times experienced when submitting applications and/or CVs to both direct employers, and to firms. 66% of respondents indicated that they receive a response from direct employers within 72 hrs or a week. 78% of respondents indicated receiving a response from third party firms within that same time frame of one week or less.
While response times are a strength for third party recruiters, an area of improvement was also identified. One key area firms need to improve is their accuracy in describing the opportunity to candidates. While third party firms scored well on accuracy, they were only ranked above average by 25% of respondents, while direct employers were ranked above average for accuracy by 35% of respondents, when asked to rate the accuracy of the opportunity as presented vs. the reality experienced on the interview.
Stone adds, “For many years, we have understood this can be a challenge for third party recruiters. Therefore, we devote a great deal of time to training and educating our recruiters on the importance of accuracy and detail in presenting opportunities to candidates, and how best to provide both when speaking to physicians about opportunities. Most reputable recruiting firms are committed to a code of ethics and standards set forth by the NAPR (National Association of Physician Recruiters) which helps regulate the integrity of corporate members such as The Medicus Firm. That being said, recruiters at any third party firms can only describe the opportunity with as much accurate detail as is provided by our clients, which is why we encourage clients to communicate as much as possible about the opportunity, including nuances and details that will be later confirmed on the physician’s site visit.”
In conclusion, the reported response times and rates were not the same for all types of candidates, suggesting that employers and recruiters may be too focused on inconsequential parameters of candidates, and may be profiling them based on their applications or CVs. Whether this is done intentonally or inadvertently is unknown. By making employers and recruiters aware of this trend, hopefully recruiters will be more conscientious when replying to applicants and candidates regarding physician openings, focusing on qualifications instead of other non-performance related factors to fill critical physician openings.
Medicare Cuts, Health Care Innovation, and the Physician Workforce
22 November 2011
With this week’s failure of the Congressional “super committee” to save Medicare from projected funding cuts, many healthcare experts are predicting very dire consequences for the physician workforce if the cuts are not prevented. Multiple industry analysts including the AAMC predict shortages of up to 90,000 physicians in coming years.
Darin Haug, D.O., and Dean of the Osteopathic College of Medicine at Kansas City University of Medicine writes:
“Cutting funding for GME programs would result in fewer physicians being trained, and as a result, less access to care and fewer patients being cared for.”
Dr. Haug details the role Medicare funding plays in training physicians, and how the proposed Medicare cuts will directly impact the physician workforce, in a negative way. As he points out, the current $9.5 billion in funding already supports an “insufficient” number of physician training slots. So, one has to wonder, what does the super committee think is going to happen when the already inadequate funding is cut further?
Meanwhile, the federal government has set aside up to $1 billion for the “Health Care Innovation Challenge” to grant funding to organizations, institutions, or individuals who can propose innovative ways to train and deploy more healthcare workers, including physicians, and accelerate the expansion of the workforce to meet growing demand in light of health reform and the aging U.S. population. The program’s website states:
“If your [Health Care Innovation] proposal has strong evidence that it can start quickly, reduce costs, and improve health care, you can qualify for approximately $1 million to $30 million in an up-front investment. Priority is given to proposals that retrain workers and support job creation.”
On one hand, the government has set aside such a significant amount of new funding to help expand and grow the healthcare and physician workforce. On the other hand, they are planning to cut millions of dollars from an existing source of funding for thousands of physician residency training and fellowship programs.
What is wrong with this picture? Why is the Congressional super committee aiming to cut Medicare funding that specifically and directly trains physicians, while the administration is throwing $1 billion at new training/deployment programs which are yet-to-be-determined and may or may not help to expand the physician workforce? Does anyone else think that this is a less-than-effective way for the government to try to alleviate the projected physician shortage?
It reminds me of a time a couple of years ago, when many state governments were laying off teachers due to budget cuts, while another government program was paying people to go to school to obtain their college degrees in education to become teachers. To me, providing funding for something and simultaneously cutting funding for the same sector of the economy or government doesn’t make much sense. Then again I’m just a physician recruiter, not a professional politician or government representative.
More:
- Read Dr. Haug’s article on the impact of the Medicare cuts on the physician workforce
- Health Care Innovation Challenge
- Super Committee failure leaves Medicare cuts in place (American Medical News)
Happy Nurse Practitioner Week 2011!
15 November 2011
The Medicus Firm wishes all nurse practitioners a very happy National Nurse Practitioner Week, November 13-19 2011.
Nurse practitioners are such vital contributors and providers of healthcare in the U.S., particularly in light of an impending physician shortage which is increasing the demand and need for nurse practitioners in many areas, particularly in primary care.
Many employers of nurse practitioners may not be aware that The Medicus Firm also provides search and placement services for nurse practitioners (and other mid-level providers) in addition to our physician search services.
Nurse practitioners are both valuable and controversial in healthcare right now. While NP advocacy groups and some other healthcare analysts are lobbying for increased clinical autonomy for nurse practitioners, many physician groups oppose the use of NPs as sole providers for patients. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) cites research that shows primary care patients of NPs have equal or better outcomes as patients of physicians, as additional evidence in favor of increased authority and autonomy for NPs.
We do not have an official stance on this debate, but based on demand, it seems that NPs will continue to play an integral role in the provision of healthcare nationwide, particularly in primary care but also in other specialties. It may be out of necessity if nothing else that NPs are utilized to alleviate the physician shortage.
Either way, we wish all nurse practitioners and employers of nurse practitioners a very happy Nurse Practitioner Week this week!
Malpractice and Manslaughter in a Mansion: Will Conrad Murray’s Conviction Impact Future Physician Suits?
9 November 2011
What will the conviction of Conrad Murray mean for physicians regarding future malpractice suits, the practice of pain management, and physicians’ culpability, if anything?
On one newscast, prior to the verdict, a legal commentator stated “juries don’t like to convict doctors” (in criminal cases). The commentator went on to add that Dr. Murray was a tall and imposing fellow, and therefore could be less likely to be convicted. As we now know, the commentator’s prediction was incorrect.
Hopefully the justice system, including the Michael Jackson trial jurors, weighed more than appearances during the deliberation.
Apparently they did, because they convicted Dr. Murray of manslaughter. What does this say, if anything, about the practice of pain management, and malpractice penalties for physicians nationwide?
It is my opinion that this case will have little, if any, bearing on the practice of pain management. True, prescription drug use and abuse is widespread and is a “major cause” of death in the nation. However, the case of Michael Jackson’s death was very high-profile, and so unusual, that it doesn’t seem that this case will make much of an impact on future malpractice cases which are much more anonymous than that of a global superstar such as Jackson.
How many addicted patients have a full-time personal physician at their beck and call as Jackson did in Dr. Murray? Most addicts have multiple sources of drugs, including several physicians, pharmacies, identities, and black market sellers. Therefore, in cases of a patient’s death by drug overdose, it is often more difficult to place the blame on one specific physician or healthcare professional. Often, providers are unaware that a patient is shopping their “pain” around to multiple doctors and pharmacists.
Another atypical circumstance of the Jackson case is that the patient died in the presence of the physician, who also failed to call 911. Furthermore, according to reports, Dr. Murray had no back-up medical support, even though he had been administering a drug that is not intended for home use at all. Jurors report that all of these factors, plus the fact that Dr. Murray left Jackson unattended while being administered propofol, contributed to the guilty verdict.
Furthermore, Dr. Murray was not even a pain management doctor by training or trade. He had practiced cardiology for the majority of his career, plus a bit of primary care.
Therefore, it is unlikely that this case will have much of a direct impact on many other cases – unless there are a number of doctors illegally administering hospital anesthesia at patients’ homes, which hopefully is not the case.
Even if Dr. Murray had been acquitted, his medical career was over, and most likely he would have been convicted in the court of public opinion, as more details were discovered and publicized about his suspect behavior surrounding the death of the King of Pop.
Dr. Murray was found to be directly responsible for Jackson’s death. Dr. Murray was hired by Jackson, and, therefore Jackson was Dr. Murray’s boss. Dr. Murray maintains that he was merely following orders, but shouldn’t a licensed physician refuse to perform or administer illegal, unethical, and unsafe procedures or drugs, even if instructed by his or her employer?
Dr. Murray probably never could have imagined he would ever be in such a peculiar, bizarre situation, even when he signed on to be Jackson’s personal physician. As such, Dr. Murray found himself in an extremely unique work environment that probably very few, if any, other physicians have ever experienced. In fact, Dr. Murray may have been under the influence of something even stronger than drugs: the ego and influence of Michael Jackson, a global icon. It has been often reported that superstars like Michael Jackson surround themselves with a team “yes” men for protection and control. The power and influence of world-famous personalities who are larger than life, sometimes seem to intoxicate others, and push ordinary people do extraordinary things, for better or for worse.
The Medicus Firm Among Best Companies to Work for in Texas 2012
26 October 2011
Dallas, Tex. – The Medicus Firm, a national physician recruiting firm, was recently named as one of the 2012 Best Companies to Work for in Texas. This is the 4th consecutive year that The Medicus Firm has been ranked among the best places to work in the state.
Headquartered in Dallas, the firm also has an office in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm employs about 60 people and is currently in growth mode.
“We are extremely honored to have again been ranked among some of the top companies in Texas as one of the best places to work,” states Jim Stone, president of The Medicus Firm and co-founder. “This year is especially exciting due to the fact that it’s our fourth year on the list, as well as the fact that we are currently growing our team. This distinction helps us to continue to attract the top talent in the physician recruiting industry, which ultimately benefits our clients.”
This statewide survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Texas, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The 2012 Best Companies to Work for in Texas list is made up of 100 companies. The Medicus Firm has been named one of the Best Companies to Work for in Texas based on a variety of factors including work environment, incentives, recognition, advancement opportunities, management, and employee benefits. In addition to monthly appreciation days, employees also enjoy fun team outings, volunteer and philanthropy projects, and regular contests with holiday themes and prizes.
The awards program was created in 2006 and is a project of Texas Monthly, the Texas Association of Business (TAB), the Texas State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (TSC-SHRM) and Best Companies Group.
To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:
- Have at least 15 employees working in Texas;
- Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business or government entity;
- Be a publicly or privately held business;
- Have a facility in the state of Texas; and
- Must be in business a minimum of 1 year.
Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Companies to Work for in Texas. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, systems, philosophies, practices, and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Texas and also analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final rankings.
The Medicus Firm will be recognized and honored at the Best Companies to Work for in Texas awards ceremony on Thursday, February 2, 2012 as part of the Texas Association of Business 2012 Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. The final rankings will also be released in a special section of the February 2012 issue of Texas Monthly.
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Medical School Applicants Increase to Record Levels
24 October 2011
The American Association of Medical Colleges released some big news today – that the number of first-time med school applicants reached a record high, increasing in total by 2.6 percent.
Below are some additional highlights:
- Total applicants increased 2.8 percent to 43,919
- First-time applicants were up 2.6 percent, to 32,654
- Nearly all major racial and ethnic groups showed comparable increases
- The average GPA of all applicants was 3.5, and the average MCAT score was 29.
- 82.5% of all applicants reported pre-medical community service in a clinical or medical environment.
- 68.4% reported nonclinical service
- 73% reported research experience
- Total medical school enrollment increased by 3% over last year, with 19,230 students in the 2011 class.
The AAMC also reports that medical schools are gradually increasing class sizes to help accommodate more students to help offset the impending physician shortage projected by the AAMC and other healthcare associations.
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Should Some Doctors Be Required to Work Full-Time?
20 October 2011
Part-time physicians are a growing trend. Just in time for the physician shortage, many doctors are choosing a more balanced lifestyle of blending part-time medical practice with family time or other personal pursuits.
MD News poses an interesting question: should physicians be required to work full-time for a certain number of years upon completion of training?
If that sounds like a completely ridiculous idea, consider this:
Many residency and fellowship programs are partially funded by taxpayers and government monies via Medicare training allocations.
Additionally, the MDNews.com article notes, a physician shortage could ultimately be a public health issue. As professionals who provide such a critical service to the public, and many of whom benefit from federal and state grants and loans, would it make sense to require full-time practice for at least a few years after graduation?
Or, would that only reduce the number of otherwise qualified people who pursue physician careers, particularly women (who are statistically more likely to practice part-time than male doctors)?
It’s very understandable why more doctors prefer to work part-time. That being said, each time a newly minted doctor calls in, who only wishes to work 20 hrs per week, it’s difficult not to think about that fact that there is one less half a doctor for the country… Furthermore, even a “half” doctor takes up a full spot in medical school and in residency training, all of which are highly competitive and limited in capacity, and some of which are funded by our tax dollars.
Perhaps a better answer would be to increase the number of residency training slots and medical school spots… but that is not an easy proposition either. There has been some slight growth but not much in the past few years, and it’s not enough to train enough new doctors for future demand… which is why the physician shortage is an issue that will not be solved easily or quickly, if it is solved at all.
What are your thoughts? Do you think that physicians who benefit from federal or state-funded loans, grants, or tax-payer funded training programs should be required to work full-time?
Read the full story at MDNews.com and then share your thoughts below!
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Is Being a Doctor “Overrated”?
13 October 2011
Is practicing medicine an “overrated” career?
This week, the careers of physicians, surgeons, and psychiatrists were ranked in the top 12 “Most Overrated Careers” list by CareerCast.com. In fact, surgeons ranked second on the list, followed by physicians at number three, and psychiatrists ranked fourth.
CareerCast.com states that the rankings were based primarily upon the stress level, physical demands, and employment outlook of each career. Other factors were also considered but were not weighed as heavily in the ranking algorithm.
These physician and surgeon careers topped the list because they are perceived to be great careers, but often behind the scenes, physicians endure a tremendous amount of stress, long hours, and must often work under intense, critical circumstances.
If you had to do it all over again, would you choose to be a physician or surgeon? Would you recommend this career to your son/daughter/friend or other relative?
Are the stresses, work schedule, and all those years of training and school worth the rewards and earnings you enjoy now?
If your answer is “no” – consider what’s making you feel this way. What is the root cause of your dissatisfaction? Is it the actual role of being a doctor that makes you unhappy or is not as fulfilling as it should be? Or are there some other surrounding circumstances that you may be able to change for a more rewarding practice situation?
If you enjoy being a doctor, but don’t look forward to your current practice, perhaps it’s time to consider a new practice opportunity, not necessarily an entirely new career.
