In-house physician recruiters are at the front lines of healthcare, working to find the right candidate to align with mission, culture and care. Chances are “physician recruiter” wasn’t on your list of childhood ambitions, however, new research from LocumTenens.com, Jackson Physician Search and the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) shows that most physician recruiters feel “called” to work in healthcare.
Inspired by our report earlier this year, “Is Medicine Still a Calling? Exploring Physician Attitudes About Purpose in Medicine,” this new study, The Heart Behind the Hire: Exploring the Role of Purpose Among Internal Physician Recruiters, examines the impact of purpose and its influence on how in-house physician recruiters perceive their role in the healthcare landscape.
This report is based on a national survey of nearly 200 physicians and provider recruitment professionals working with healthcare organizations. While much of the healthcare workforce reports rising levels of burnout, recruiters have expressed overwhelming passion for their work and pride in their contributions.
Key findings include:
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87% feel called to their work, 60% rate their ability to live out their purpose as a four or five on a five-point scale and 79% feel high or somewhat high levels
- Two-thirds pursued a career in physician recruitment to serve humanity
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Three in four recruiters say improving patient access is the most meaningful part of the job
Even with their high levels of passion, in-house recruiters face obstacles in attracting and hiring quality clinicians:
- At 34%, physician shortages, increased competition and evolving candidate preferences are common issues that make up market conditions facing today’s recruiters
Despite challenges, respondents report positive feelings towards recruitment, optimistic about the future:
- 93% of in-house recruiters would definitely or probably do it all over again, and 96% would definitely or probably encourage a young person to pursue a career in physician recruitment
These are the professionals responsible for building the clinical workforce and yet, their voices are often missing from the table.
Get the full story by reading the report findings here.
