Although many hospitals think tech-savvy recruitment strategies will help them overcome the physician shortage, the traditional elements of honesty, trustworthiness, and open communication remain the key factors to successful physician recruitment, according to physician recruitment firm Jackson and Coker.
The hospital must trust the judgment and sourcing skills of the recruiter, while the recruiter must earn that trust by accurately representing the hospital throughout the hiring process, notes Damian Grzywacz, national director of physician recruitment with the Acute Care Division at Universal Health Services Grzywacz, in an interview.
When looking to recruit new doctors, hospitals must be honest in discussing all aspects of position openings. Similarly, recruiters must be honest with the hospital as they help find the right candidate, according to the interview.
Grzywacz also recommended that recruiters be accessible and keep the lines of communication open throughout the hiring process.
In addition, hospitals still need to acknowledge healthcare's changing environment, and combine the fundamental recruitment strategies with a digital- and social media-based approach.
"A lot of these new physicians coming out of training--as well as physicians out there in practice--are using EMR systems, tracking their patient vital signs off their multimedia devices, text messaging more, and are more Internet savvy than ever," said Grzywacz. "So you really have to adapt to what's going on right now in terms of physician recruiting and how to reach these doctors.
But hospitals must keep in mind that solely relying on those IT tools won't guarantee physicians join their healthcare community, notes Jackson and Cocker.
For more:
- check out the Jackson and Cocker press release
- read the full Q&A on physician recruitment