Recruiting GenX physicians - GenX is here!

Physician Executive, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Rick E. Weymier

IN THIS ARTICLE ...

Making the right hiring decisions with GenX physicians can be a challenge. Learn some strategies for recruiting and retaining young practitioners.

Demographics in the United States are changing dramatically as the large block of baby boomers continue to age, creating an increase in demand for health care services. Many hospitals and physician groups report that it is very challenging to recruit and retain physicians.

It's also expensive and time consuming. Sometimes candidates are hired to practice even if they don't fit well in the organization's culture. Later, when the match appoints both parties, another recruitment cycle is launched.

Cultural divide

The personal and professional goals of younger physicians and upcoming graduates are significantly different from those that have been in practice for years. Generally, the new crop of younger physicians is seeking:

* High income, but they show less desire to sacrifice personal time to build a practice or pay a "buy-in" fee

* Two- to three-year income guarantees whereas recruiting entities would prefer to offer a one-year guarantee with specific performance targets

* Extra pay for living in undesirable areas.

Physicians are not geographically disbursed proportionally throughout the United States with a large number of rural areas and smaller communities find it difficult to meet the income requirements of new physicians. Although it may be less expensive to live in rural or smaller communities, physicians are demanding wages exceeding industry norms in exchange for living in a less culturally diverse community.

* Accommodating hours

According to Dave Gans, MSHA, FACMPE of the Medical Group Management Association, 41 percent of physicians under the age of 35 are women and 48 percent of medical students are female.

The aggregate survey data from MGMA, when com paring male to female, show that hours worked, visits and relative value units are generally lower for females than males. The changing demographics of this group of younger physicians take a different attitude to career and family than those who preceded them.

Women are an asset to a practice, but their priorities are often different during the early stages of their careers. Young doctors, both male and female, also are greatly impacted by malpractice expenses.

In an article recently published on the MassMed.org Web page, one OB/Gyn physician decided to work three days per week in California because her malpractice costs are $7,000 whereas they would have been $72,000 in Massachusetts. This is just one example of what is prevalent throughout the country.

Recruiting factors to consider

As your hospital or practice discusses the possibility of recruiting one or several physicians, there are certain questions that you need to consider before making the commitment. These include:

* Make sure that there is a true demand for the physician or specialty. If the practice is not operating at optimal efficiency, hiring an additional physician to meet a perceived, but not quantifiable increase in demand, only serves to add more expenses to the practice. The added revenue of having existing physicians contribute an incremental amount of time to the current practice often has a greater positive return than adding a new physician.

* What goals are you trying to accomplish? Is this succession planning? Are you trying to offer new or expanded services?

* Whom can you attract? Be realistic in terms of whom yon think will come to work in your community and fit in with the culture of the practice or the hospital medical staff.

* Why would someone want this opportunity? Even though you and your partners are satisfied with your situation, others may not view your group from the same perspective.

* What will you do to attract a candidate? Going through the interview process, checking on the candidate's background and making a job offer is not always sufficient incentive to get a qualified candidate to accept an offer. Housing, education, relocation, income potential, family situation and personal time are all factors of importance to GenX candidates.

* What is your competition doing? Do you run the risk of losing a portion of your business if your competition is able to bring physicians into your service area?

Profile the position

Take the time to work with your physician partners to put all of the critical components of your practice down on paper. Make sure you're all on the same page and are able to present a cohesive and positive impression to candidates. Critical elements include:

* Express in both a qualitative and quantitative manner the mission and values of your practice. What do you stand for and will you be able to objectively determine if your candidates meet those criteria?

* Be up front with your candidates regarding the culture and work ethic of your practice. Do not sugarcoat productivity expectations, salary support and non-clinical work just to get the candidate to accept the position. Misunderstandings are much too difficult to work out after-the-fact and are extremely disruptive to the practice.