Physician recruitment is harder than ever before.
In this blog series, we answer questions most frequently asked by the Healthcare Administrators we communicate with on a day to day basis. This first question comes from an administrator of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
“I don’t have the money to offer a salary even close to what the hospital in town can offer a Primary Care Physician. How can I compete with that?”
Fortunately for these administrators, not every physician is solely focused on money. While physicians want to be paid a fair wage for their services, other benefits go a long way for the right individual. Let’s take a look at a few different physician profiles.
PHYSICIAN PROFILES
The Mission-Minded Physician: Most mission-minded physicians are, well, more focused on serving the community in providing healthcare services than they are the amount of money they take home. Their heart is for people and helping others, not themselves.
The Quality of Life Physician: This physician spans a wide range, and ultimately, they care more about their quality of life than their salary. You have to remember that not everyone’s motivation is money. These physicians are okay making thousands less than others in the same specialty because they would rather spend more time at home, on vacation, enjoying a hobby or with family and friends.
The Seasoned Physician: Physicians who have been in medicine for quite some time have most likely been making great money and might be looking for a practice that provides a change of pace in terms of patient base, workload and “on-call” schedule to name a few.
DON’T DISCOUNT YOUR PRACTICE
Ultimately, the point is not to discount your practice because you cannot offer the same compensation as the hospital down the street. Below are other benefits we see provided in the industry to compensate for a lower salary.
- 4-Day Work Week
- No Call or Weekends
- Student Loan Reimbursement
- Extended PTO
- Encounter-Based Production Bonuses
- Directorship, Leadership or Administrative Opportunities
FOUR DECISION FACTORS IN TAKING A JOB FOR PHYSICIANS
Time has shown us that decisions come down to four fundamental factors when a physician is debating on whether to take a job or not. Those four factors, in no particular order, are:
- Quality of Life
- Quality of Practice
- Geography
- Money
Suppose you treated these four factors as a whole equaling 100%. Each physician will place a different value on each of the factors. You might have a candidate who is more interested in location because they want to get closer to their kids, grandkids, their brother or sister or want to be near the beach or mountains.
This physician is going to put a higher value on geography than money because the geography factor has more meaning for them. Inversely, some candidates place the highest value on money, and that’s okay. You are most likely not going to convince those providers to come to work for you, and in reality, you don’t want them, for the second they get a better offer, they are gone
MOVING FORWARD
The takeaway is not to focus on what you can’t pay versus your competition but to focus on the physician who fits the compensation model you are offering. Targeting the candidates that best fit the model you offer will lead you towards the outcome both you and the “right” physician desire.
Adaptive Medical Partners is a full-service physician recruitment firm serving clients nationwide. If we can be of any assistance to you and your team, don’t hesitate to call. Even if you merely have a question and want to talk to someone on our team, we would love to hear from you. You can reach us at 888-885-5009 or inquire@adaptivemedicalpartners.com.
