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Postcards from the Edge… Of A Physician’s Tenured Career
23 March 2012
Simple Recruiting Postcard Sets 57-Year-Old Physician On New, Unexpected Career Path
From a recent American Medical News article about a physician’s career hange from private practice:
“As Dr. Steinberg was assessing his options, he started looking at the recruiting postcards [being sent to] his office.”
In this particular physician’s case, the postcards were from the U.S. Army, recruiting physicians to join. At age 57, having never worked in the military before, the U.S. Army is probably the last place this particular physician would have envisioned practicing at this point in his career.
This story of a physician leaving private practice at such a late stage in his career, to join the military, may sound unbelievable, but so are the circumstances in which many physicians find themselves today. This physician, after decades in private practice, would have never imagined that he’d close his practice and join the military at 57. His family was initially shocked as well. And it all began with a basic little postcard mailed to his office.
Why is that of note? Because, not surprisingly, so many people have very little faith in the effectiveness of direct mail. Many healthcare administrators believe that direct mail has been completely replaced by mass email campaigns.
It’s true that direct mail doesn’t always work. It’s not 100% effective. However, more than HALF of the physicians placed via The Medicus Firm are sourced and identified via direct mail campaigns, including letters and postcards. When direct mail works, it works well. And by working well, that’s not to say you’ll secure ten, or even five, interviews from it. But the 1-3 interviews you do acquire via direct mail will most likely be the best candidate prospects you’ll see throughout your physician search. And in most cases, you only need to place one physician to fill a need at any given time.
Direct mail is only one part of a multi-faceted arsenal of tools, tactics, and strategies that should be utilized in every physician search for optimal success. To learn more about the role of direct mail in physician recruiting, see 4 Myths About Direct Mail for Physician Recruitment.
More:
Physician Recruiting Trends – Based on 2011 placement patterns of 100+ employers
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Most Admired Medical Facilities 2012
6 March 2012
Clients of The Medicus Firm Among “Most Admired” Companies
CNNMoney and Fortune have released the 2012 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies”.
The Medicus Firm is excited to congratulate many of our very admirable clients who made the list! Below are the clients and their ranking:
1. HCA
2. HMA
5. Kindred Healthcare
Additionally, Community Health Systems, LifePoint Hospitals, and Tenet Healthcare were all listed as “contenders” in the medical facilities category of the Most Admired Companies.
The team of recruiters and staff at The Medicus Firm is happy to provide recruiting services to some of the top healthcare systems in the nation, including this latest group of facilities and systems which are among the most admired healthcare facilities. It is an honor for us to help these companies grow their physician teams.
According to CNNMoney, the Most Admired Companies were determined via a survey of 3,855 executives, directors, and securities analysts. The survey was conducted by Hay Group, a global management consulting firm. The “Most Admired Companies” list has been published since 1997.
More:
- Most Admired Companies – Full List (All industries)
- Most Admired Companies – Medical Facilities Only
- Physician Recruiting Trends from 100+ Employers
- Competition to Employ Physicians Heats Up (FierceHealthcare)
- Connect with The Medicus Firm: Facebook | Twitter
A Physician Recruiting Story as it May Have Been Told by Dr. Seuss
2 March 2012
On Dr. Seuss’ birthday (today), it’s a great time to share a Dr. Seuss-ish version of a physician recruiting story:
Physician candidates are often understandably apprehensive initially about interviewing in places relatively unknown to them, much less relocating there. With apologies to Dr. Seuss, here is how I would imagine the physician recruiting version of the Dr. Seuss classic, Green Eggs and Ham:
I will not go to the deep south
I will not go there with my spouse
I would not be able to sell my house
I could not put grits or okra in my mouth
I do not like living there
I would rather stay here than go anywhere
I will not go to a small town
I’d rather hang from my toenails upside down
I could not should not leave the city
The countryside is not so pretty
I will not go up to the north
I’d shovel snow back and forth
I will not go where it is cold
I could not live there when I’m old
I do not like those places, man
I will not go there, Doc-I-Am!
And our candidates are absolutely right – we can’t make anyone go somewhere that wouldn’t be the best opportunity for them. And we don’t want to. Our role is to inform candidates what the practice options are and how each of the options availalbe to them meet their professional needs.
We want our candidates to find the best opportunity for themselves and their families, and for their careers. And like Sam-I-Am, sometimes all it takes is one taste to realize that you really do like something you never thought you would, could, or should. And that’s all we ask, is for you to have one taste. The ultimate final decision as to where to go is entirely up to you!
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” –Dr. Seuss
ASPR 2012 Conference Focuses On Physician Recruitment and Retention
1 March 2012
Hospitals and healthcare organizations across the country are constantly seeking expertise on effective physician recruitment and retention strategies to address the physician shortage impacting in their communities. The upcoming Association of Staff Physician Recruiters’ (ASPR) annual conference, held on August 11–15 in Los Angeles, provides education exclusively for in-house physician recruitment professionals (physician recruiters employed directly by healthcare organizations). The conference will address how healthcare organizations can successfully recruit and retain physicians in an increasingly competitive market.
Conference topics include coming changes in the healthcare delivery including Medical Homes, ACOs, and reimbursement related issues. Nationally known healthcare futurists David Houle and Jonathan Fleece, co-authors of “The New Health Age: the Future of Health Care in America,” will speak on the future of healthcare in America and will address dynamic physician and healthcare trends that every recruiter will find insightful. Other leading experts will speak on issues ranging from marketing and recruitment strategies to onboarding and retention strategies designed to retain physicians and other healthcare professionals.
“The conference offers targeted education for healthcare organizations on innovative techniques for attracting and retaining physicians in today’s competitive environment,” says Jennifer Metivier, MS, FASPR, executive director of ASPR. “The conference offers information for all levels of physician recruitment professionals — from the C-suite to recruitment coordinators. Our learning programs focus on practical solutions and case studies.” The conference also features exhibits from the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, American College of Physicians, and many others.
For more information about the ASPR annual conference, please visit http://www.aspr.org/, or on Facebook.
About ASPR: The Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR), a professional organization for in-house physician recruitment professionals, is the leading authority on physician recruitment and retention. ASPR’s members are employed by hospitals, clinics, physician practices, academic medical centers, and managed care organizations from across the United States and Canada. For more information, please visit http://www.aspr.org/, or on Facebook.
More Doctors Relocating as Hospitals Compete to Employ Physicians; Signing Pays
3 February 2012
Physician Placement and Relocation Patterns Reveal Hospital Hiring and Recruiting Trends
How much is your autograph worth? Unless you are a Hollywood celebrity or a famous athlete, probably not much. However, a new group of professionals who are not entertainers or players are finding that their signature is becoming increasingly valuable.
Celebrities are no longer the only people whose autograph is worth some serious cash. Physicians are often paid for their autograph as well – as long as it’s at the bottom of an employment contract.
In 2011, 88 percent of physicians were paid to sign on the dotted line – up from 73 percent in 2010. How much is a physician’s “John Hancock” worth? The 2011 average signing bonus was more than $20,000, according to physician placement data from over 100 healthcare employers nationwide. The signing bonus is paid in addition to full reimbursement for the physician’s relocation costs.
The Medicus Firm, a national recruiting firm specializing in the recruiting and permanent placement of physicians, has compiled physician placement data from 103 healthcare systems, revealing several physician practice trends and recruiting trends on a national level and among a variety of employers including large national and regional systems, rural or community hospitals, academic centers, and a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit employers.
“Hospitals and physician employers are stepping up their game to remain competitive in the battle for top physician talent,” states Jim Stone, president and co-founder of The Medicus Firm. “As more hospitals compete to employ physicians, the stakes get higher and administrators are realizing that what used to be extraordinary is now average, or expected, when it comes to attracting physicians.”
More Physicians On the Move
Although the housing market remains slow, the percentage of relocations increased in 2011, as compared to 2010. Of the physicians placed in 2011, 93 percent moved to a new community for their new career opportunity.
Primary care remained the largest proportion of physician placements, but demand and placements in psychiatry and neurology increased dramatically. Additionally, placements in subspecialties of internal medicine grew from 12 percent to 18.6 percent.
Hospitals are employing physicians much more often than in recent years. Among the physicians placed in 2011, 83 percent were employment agreements with the hospital, (as opposed to ‘recruiting agreements’ consisting of a forgivable loan to start a physician-owned private practice) and less than 5 percent of physicians placed (about 4.2%) were placed in solo practices.
“The growing popularity of the employment model is dramatic, and is reminiscent of a similar trend in the 1990s,” states Stone. He adds that the employment trend of the 1990s reversed itself when physicians rebelled against hospital control over their practices, and the hospitals tired of the hassles of managing physicians’ practices. “This time, hospitals’ employment of physicians may have to succeed. Due to the economic environment and the state of healthcare today, hospitals and physicians are going to have to make the employment arrangement succeed financially, and qualitatively under the new health care reform laws.”
Other notable trends:
- The need for Psychiatrists and Neurology has risen rapidly. “We expect those specialties to account for 15-20% of our placements in 2012 based on new searches we are being asked to represent,” adds Jim Stone.
- Primary care placements remain the highest percentage of total placements, at 34%. Surgical specialties were the second highest percentage, at 20.9%
- Signing bonuses were offered to 88% of physicians placed. (This is a 15% increase over the previous year.) Employers are doing what it takes to beat out their competing systems when vying for top physician talent.
- Relocation allowances increased in 2011. This is most likely attributable to the housing market crisis – it takes longer to transition out of a home as they are sitting on the market longer before being sold or leased. Surprisingly, relocations increased in 2011, with 93% of all placements involving a relocation to a new community, compared to 81% the previous year.
- Female physicians are accounting for a much larger percentage of placements. “We expect this trend to grow another 10-15% in 2012 based on the interviews occurring with clients,” Stone states.
About The Medicus Firm: The Medicus Firm, based in Dallas TX and Atlanta GA, specializes in permanent placement of physicians in hospitals, clinics, and practices nationwide. For more information visit www.TheMedicusFirm.com, or contact Andrea Santiago (800) 779-8804 x.224.
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!
