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The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is redefining recruitment to retention and is the only professional organization where physician and provider recruitment leaders and others who influence recruitment, onboarding and retention can connect, learn and advance their careers.
You have been working as a provider recruitment professional for a few years. While you know what the job entails; just how deeply do you understand your role? How well do you know the roles others play in your success? How confidently do you represent physician and provider recruitment when working with the C-suite?
Reviewing these questions, could you confidently say you are strong in all these areas? If so, maybe you have completed the Certified Physician Recruitment Professional course through the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment.
There is good news, however, if you cannot positively say you are proficient in all these areas. AAPPR is able to help you to develop into a stronger and more confident physician and provider recruitment professional through our CPRP certification program. The CPRP certification program encourages professionals to develop the skills they already have in the field of physician and provider recruitment and to provides them with additional knowledge.
Before understanding why professional certification matters, we must understand what it is and how it differs from a certificate.
The key difference between a certification and a certificate lies in the level of recognition and the requirements involved. Certifications typically represent a higher level of expertise and requires meeting specific standards, often set by professional associations such as AAPPR. Typically, certifications require continuing education to maintain the certification and require those who hold the certification to periodically renew it. On the other hand, certificates signify the successful completion of a training program, course, or workshop without necessarily meeting the stringent criteria associated with certifications such as an examination or continuing education. Both can be valuable in different contexts, depending on the individual’s goals and the industry’s requirements.
At its core, the Certified Physician Recruitment Professional program has an instructional design based on the AAPPR Competency Model’s technical and cross-cutting domains. Each competency has learning objectives based on physician and provider recruiters’ roles. The course breaks down the tasks recruitment professionals must be proficient in and provides the knowledge needed to fully understand the learning objectives.
The course provides an in-depth view of recruiting basics such as sourcing, screening, and interviewing, as well as delving deeper into advanced topics such as interpreting benchmarking metrics and understanding/implementing medical staff development plans. Recruitment professionals who pass the exam at the end of the course to earn the CPRP certification are equipped with resources, best practices, and cutting-edge training that are used every day to recruit and retain top candidates for their hospital and health systems and influence hiring practices in the provider workforce.
AAPPR is committed to continually advancing the recruitment profession and addressing the entire continuum of physician and provider recruitment. To acknowledge changes the recruitment profession has undergone, and to focus its professional development efforts in the future, AAPPR developed a competency model. This model then used to develop the CPRP program.
The competency model defines the skills and knowledge required for recruitment professionals to be successful now and in the future. It serves as the foundation of AAPPR’s core curriculum and illustrates what recruitment professionals need to know now and in the future.
Source: identifying and/or building a provider prospect pool and creating awareness of/interest in practice opportunities.
Among the tasks in Source are researching specialty trends and market data and recommending and implementing a broad-based diverse sourcing strategy to identify a pool of qualified candidates. The learning objectives include identifying requirements for physician and advanced practice provider education, credentialing, and licensing and knowing the sources of specialty trends and market data applicable to sourcing strategy.
Screen: the internal process of pre-qualifying candidates to meet organizational/provider expectations, which may include interviews and site visits.
The tasks for practicing recruitment and retention defined under this objective include adherence to legal and regulatory requirements and organizational policies, the recommendation of whether or not to proceed with the prospect as a candidate, and coordination of the candidate’s site visit itinerary. The learning objectives include identifying critical elements involved in and appropriate approaches to evaluating the applicant’s application for fit to the position and identifying the essential elements involved in and proper procedures to verify licenses and credentials. You must also assess whether screening approaches comply with key laws and regulations.
Select, Offer, and Hire: the process between identifying and selecting the best fit candidate through the extension and closing of an offer.
Tasks under this objective include gathering evaluations from interviewers and the candidate and summarizing and sharing the evaluation feedback with decision-makers. Learning objectives include identifying the critical elements involved in and appropriate approaches to the verbal officer, letter of intent, contract, and service agreement.
Onboard: continuing the recruitment process to meet onboarding timelines and standards, ensuring successful entry and integration into practice and community.
The tasks are to coordinate the handoff of the selected candidate with responsible onboarding contacts and to ensure the timely completion of onboarding tasks with the selected candidate.
Learning objectives include applying IRS regulations regarding physician and provider relocation and evaluating whether onboarding approaches comply with critical laws and regulations while also meeting the needs of the candidate to successfully integrate into the organization.
Retain: data analysis, strategic alignment, and program implementation with the intent of promoting provider satisfaction, resulting in increased retention.
Tasks under Retain are to support and implement organizational provider retention strategies as defined by recruitment and retention leadership. Learning objectives include identifying sources of specialty trends and market data beneficial to retention strategy.
Plan for Workforce Succession: data analysis, strategic alignment, and program implementation to create a viable pipeline for workforce succession.
These tasks are to alert recruitment and retention leadership to potential staffing needs and market influences. Learning objectives are to identify sources for trends in the labor market and workforce planning and to identify critical elements of a medical staff development plan.
Practice Professionally and Ethically: driving a professional and ethical environment.
Tasks under this section include working within personal and professional limitations and abilities and identifying and taking appropriate steps to maintain and enhance competence.
Learning objectives include recognizing the importance of maintaining and enhancing competence, identifying sources of learning for recruiters, and evaluating whether a situation presents a conflict of interest.
Communicate to Establish and Maintain Relationships: fostering and building trust internally and externally.
Tasks include providing proactive communications to report accurate information and reliable data. Learning objectives are recognizing effective communication techniques to avoid confrontations and resolve conflicts. A second objective is the ability to understand effective coaching and influencing techniques.
Champion Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: activities that create synergy and incorporate diverse provider demographics to create value for internal and external stakeholders.
Tasks include developing diverse and inclusive sourcing and screening strategies and coaching internal hiring authorities and recruitment participants on inclusion and diversity policies and best practices. Learning objectives include recognizing barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion. They also include identifying and recognizing implicit and unconscious bias types and how they can influence recruitment and retention efforts.
Use Data in Decision Making: research, retrieval, analysis, and reporting relevant facts and figures leading to evidence-based solutions.
The task requires the use of data in decision-making, including using it to remove bias in the screening/interview process (such as objective vs. subjective candidate matrix). Recruiters also will use labor market data to assess external forces on provider recruitment and retention (supply/demand, third-party salary data, and external turnover). Learning objectives include the ability to identify the critical elements involved in and appropriate approaches to converting data points into meaningful measures. Also, recruiters must identify the key factors involved and proper methods for comparing collected data to national benchmarks.
Physician and provider recruitment professionals usually find themselves in the profession because they have specific natural skills that make them a good fit for the job. While some may have a Business Management, Healthcare Administration, or Human Resources degree, there isn’t a formal degree program for physician and provider recruitment. However, this doesn’t mean that individuals aren’t required to have the necessary skill sets to succeed.
As the leader in physician and provider recruitment, AAPPR offers recruitment professionals the opportunity to demonstrate the value of their skills and continually hone their abilities through the CPRP certification program.
The CPRP certification proves that a recruitment professional has acquired the knowledge and skills required to perform their roles to the highest standard. It demonstrates expertise in the field of provider recruitment but also a commitment to the profession.
By obtaining your professional certification, you signal that you are committed to the profession and are dedicated to maintaining a high level of competence. Because the field of physician and provider recruitment is continually the CPRP certificate requires holders to renew their certification every three years through continuing education. By committing to ongoing professional development, those with the certification stay current with the latest industry trends and technologies and demonstrate their commitment to further advancing the profession.
Professional certifications such as CPRP will help you to stand out in the field and industry. It shows that you are committed to the profession and demonstrates your expertise – setting you apart and placing you at the top of the industry.
We can see physician candidates’ priorities evolving, focusing on family time and better work-life balance. Acknowledging and accommodating these needs has become a pivotal aspect of successful recruitment.
Recruiting physicians from out of state, especially those with families, requires a nuanced approach. While understanding the candidate’s professional motivations is important, diving deeper into their family needs is equally vital.
Even if a candidate hasn’t openly shared details about their family, gentle inquiries can be made to accommodate their needs.
When physicians have high school-aged children or family members with special needs, things can become more complex. Spousal career prospects are important as well in the candidate’s decision-making process.
Depending on the family dynamic, being close to a major airport or assessing the potential impact on a spouse’s career might influence the candidate’s decision.
Building connections between the candidate’s family needs and the prospective community is an integral part of the recruitment process. Understanding if they have ties to the area or if they have visited the area before is important.
Beyond organizing the candidate’s visit, including the spouse by offering information about local attractions and amenities adds a personal touch. It makes the family feel involved and valued in the decision-making process.
During in-person interviews, involving the family by arranging community tours or engaging a trusted realtor to showcase the area can help the family imagine their life in the community. Understanding the spouse’s profession can help to tailor experiences that resonate with their interests.
Hosting joint dinners with other physicians and their partners creates a supportive network, showing support and camaraderie.
Success in physician recruitment isn’t just about understanding the provider; it’s about comprehending the dynamics and motivations of their entire family. By holistically addressing their ” why, ” recruiters forge connections and create a path to success for everyone involved.
As the year winds down and the seasons shift, it’s a natural time for reflection, and this year holds special significance for me as my tenure on the Board will soon come to an end. But before we embark on that transition, I’m excited to highlight the victories of this year, driven by our unwavering commitment to our Mission, Vision, and Values, which are charting a course for our future.
Our AAPPR community has surged to over 2,300 members, and we’ve witnessed the formalization of several affiliates into Shared Interest Groups (SIGs). Just last month, we gathered our AAPPR Team, Board, SIG, and Affiliate Leaders in Ft. Lauderdale, not only to ponder the future but also to share the remarkable strides we’ve already made as an Association. And there’s much to celebrate!
At the end of 2022 I shared that we had secured a media relations firm to help further position the Association and our members as THE thought leaders in our space. With that addition, as well as adding a Senior Marketing Manager in Alysia Gradney to the AAPPR team, our media influence continues to grow. As of December 1st, the Association has remarkably secured a 22% market share of voice through our strategic marketing and communication endeavors. This encompasses sharing invaluable research, establishing AAPPR members and staff as distinguished thought leaders, and nurturing connections with journalists to solidify our position as the leading authority in Physician and Advanced Practice Provider Recruitment, Onboarding, and Retention.
AAPPR has expanded our reach into fresh dialogues with C-Suite leaders, healthcare media, and the public. Our AAPPR Benchmarking report has garnered attention from respected publications like Becker’s Hospital Review, Becker’s ASC Review, Staffing Industry Analysts, and Medical Economics, potentially reaching an audience of 168.4 million people! Board members are slated to speak at the 2024 HIMSS Conference, with more speaking opportunities in the pipeline. AAPPR and its leaders are also participating in interviews with several leading healthcare publications, and even being invited to participate in an IMG taskforce recently in Washington, DC.
This year was also a strategic planning year for the Board of Directors, and you can find that Strategic Plan, along with our updated Mission, Vision & Values on the AAPPR website. The strategic planning process entails months of gathering input from and listening to our strategic partners, our volunteer leadership, our members and our staff. The five-year roadmap projects a vision for the future that will serve to inspire us to create a world where everyone has access to care, guided by our core values of Respect, Equity, Collaboration, Responsibility, Understanding, Inclusion and Trust (RECRUIT).
These are just a few of the many accomplishments, initiatives, and visions that have come to life this year. I could fill months with all we’ve achieved. Ultimately, I’m immensely proud of this Association—a Board of Directors who have joined me on this journey with a collaborative line of sight to the future, a CEO and staff who enthusiastically steer this train for us, and our members who, day in and day out, excel in their roles with unwavering passion. My gratitude runs deeper than any words on paper could possibly convey.
With the annual conference just around the corner, my time on the Board will come to an end but AAPPR in 2024 and beyond promises to continue the trajectory of influence, impact and expertise! Anticipate more white papers, an expanded media presence, and an unceasing commitment to delivering the solutions you need to excel and make a lasting impact in your communities. And don’t forget that registration is now open for the Annual AAPPR Conference in Virginia Beach, featuring Keynote speakers Doyin Richards and Amelia Nagoski—don’t miss out on early bird specials!
As we enter this winter season, take a moment to reflect on your own accomplishments and the exceptional work you do. Enjoy time with your loved ones, embrace your traditions, and celebrate yourselves. Because it is all of you who bring AAPPR’s Vision to life.
The inner critic. Most of us have one. That little voice tells us we’re not good enough, not doing enough and don’t have anything of value to contribute. It can stop us from speaking up, pursuing a goal, or moving into a more influential job. The inner critic is a masterful storyteller who can influence every part of our lives.
The inner critic can be especially fierce in a niche profession like physician and provider recruitment. Professionals find themselves explaining what they do, why it matters, and how it differs from talent acquisition. We may struggle to stand out for our achievements within an organization where the need for new providers in a highly competitive market means one success is overshadowed by the pressing need to fill another requisition, where excitement about closing the deal with one provider is followed by another provider declining an offer.
A highly active inner critic can affect our emotions and self-esteem. It can trick us into thinking we don’t have the expertise to step forward and speak up in meetings. It can convince us we shouldn’t have a seat at the table during strategic planning. Worst of all, it can prevent us from moving forward professionally because we hear that little voice telling us we aren’t qualified.
Silencing the Inner Critic
Learning how to silence or diminish the inner critic’s power is incredibly important for our personal and professional well-being. However, it is much easier said than done for most of us. Here are a few ways to overcome our inner critics.
Awareness and Recognition: Work to recognize when your inner critic is active. Recognize the negative thoughts and self-judgments as they arise. Simply acknowledging their presence can be the first step towards managing them.
Practice Self-Compassion: Treat yourself with the kindness and understanding you would offer a friend. When negative thoughts arise, counter them with self-compassionate statements. Acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes and has flaws; these don’t define your worth.
Set Realistic Standards: Often, the inner critic emerges when you set impossibly high standards for yourself. Set achievable goals and recognize that perfection is not necessary.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others: In a world and industry of intense competition, it’s easy to begin gauging our worth in relation to others. Engaging in comparisons only fosters the idea that we lack the capacity to achieve what others have accomplished. Remember that each person is distinct, possessing a unique set of abilities. Evaluating your skills through others is an injustice to your own potential.
Celebrate Achievements: Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem. This can help boost your self-esteem and counteract the inner critic’s negativity. There is a saying that criticism and failure stick to us like glue, but praise and success bounce off us like Teflon. Challenge that and focus on making the successes and praise stick like glue!
Seek Support: Talk to friends, family, or a therapist about your struggles with your inner critic. Sometimes, sharing your thoughts with others can provide perspective and comfort. As a professional association, AAPPR is a wonderful resource to connect with other professionals who can relate to your successes and challenges. Consider finding a mentor or building a network of colleagues to help build you up when you have self-doubt.
Practice Self-Care: Engage in activities that bring you joy and relaxation. Taking care of your physical and mental well-being can help reduce the power of your inner critic.
Ensuring you take the time for yourself helps combat burnout and keep us at our best.
Learning From Mistakes and Putting Criticism to Good Use
Mistakes happen. Criticism will come our way. But don’t let mistakes and criticism define you or your worth – and don’t allow them to fuel the inner critic. It is important to remember that we all make mistakes and learn from them. Rather than seeing them as failures, view them as opportunities to improve and grow.
For high achievers or perfectionists’ mistakes can stick like glue. The very thought of them can be terrifying. Before giving in to the inner critic, consider this: You have the skills and ability to not only fix your mistakes but to learn and grow from them.
Some of the best progress the world has seen has come from a mistake – penicillin, the pacemaker, and even potato chips (yes, potato chips!) were the results of mistakes. And now we can’t imagine a world without them.
Like mistakes, criticism from others can send the inner critic into overdrive, seeming to confirm all those doubts about our abilities. Before you react to criticism, take a moment to acknowledge and reflect.
Reacting quickly can be a recipe for disaster! It is important to recognize that nine times out of ten, the person delivering the criticism has your best interest and well-being in mind, although admittedly, it can sometimes be delivered in a way that is less than constructive.
However, demonstrating that you are open to criticism can lead to success. It can show people that you care about what you are doing personally or professionally and seek to grow. Criticism can also help reduce mistakes or open our eyes to ways to do things differently. We may even be able to learn something new from it. At the root, criticism is a form of feedback. It can allow us to evaluate and find new solutions or identify ways to grow.
The Path to Growth
Silencing the inner critic doesn’t mean eliminating self-awareness or constructive self-reflection. Instead, it involves managing negative self-talk, challenging unrealistic expectations, and practicing self-compassion.
Silencing the inner critic can significantly impact your mental and emotional well-being, personal growth, and overall quality of life. It can increase self-esteem, reduce stress and burnout, increase productivity, and create resilience. Most importantly, overcoming the limitations imposed by the inner critic allows you to step out of your comfort zone, try new things, and embrace challenges. This leads to personal and professional growth and self-development.
Volunteering has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Volunteering was an expectation in my family, and those who volunteered earned the highest accolades from the matriarchs and patriarchs. My grandparents, father, and uncles were all accomplished community volunteers, and it was clear to me early on that I was supposed to volunteer. The sense of accomplishment and, let’s be honest, the recognition from my family, especially my grandmother, began to be what filled my cup. As I began researching current attitudes about volunteering, I realized that my family set me on a path of “volunteer inertia.” [i] Volunteer inertia is a concept in which volunteering becomes a habit. I have a habit of volunteering, saying “yes!” Some might say too much!
Before the pandemic, I noticed that many volunteer organizations I served struggled to engage new volunteers. We seemed to have the same few people doing the lion’s share of the work, and with the same volunteers each year, an agenda set on repeat. Even with the gift of volunteer inertia, I was becoming a bit burnt out and bored. Then COVID hit, and almost all volunteer projects stopped for over a year. Based on the US Census Bureau study, volunteer participation in the United States decreased by 23.2 percent between 2019 and 2021, the most significant decrease since they started tracking in 2002. [ii] Volunteers across America lost their volunteer inertia during that nearly two-year hiatus, and some never got it back.
AAPPR and our affiliate organizations were not immune to this disengagement. During 2021 and 2022, affiliate leaders reported a lack of interest in re-engaging leadership and committee roles. Some affiliate leaders found themselves juggling the pressures of their full-time jobs and more projects and day-to-day affiliate operations due to a lack of volunteers. Burnout was becoming a common theme among affiliate leaders and committee members, many of whom were well past their term limit and no succession in sight. AAPPR staff also noticed a degree of disengagement among committee volunteers and fewer new faces. The AAPPR Board of Directors and CEO Carey Goryl recognized that our membership’s skills, diversity, experiences, and perspectives were our most valuable resource, and we had to act fast to implement a fresh approach!
The AAPPR staff and Board launched some strategies aligned with current volunteerism research and our strategic plan, including our values of Respect, Equity, Collaboration, Responsibility, Understanding, Inclusion, and Trust (RECRUIT).
AAPPR Volunteer Pool: The AAPPR Volunteer pool focuses on the organization’s strategic plan and volunteer satisfaction. Current research shows that volunteer projects must provide a clear understanding of the project, a flexible schedule, a defined time commitment, an equitable chance to contribute, and a meaningful and gratifying experience. AAPPR’s Volunteer Pool allows members to register yearly to participate in various projects and discussions that match their availability and interests. The Pool is inclusive and accessible to all members—a perfect match for our values- RECRUIT.
To join the AAPPR Volunteer Pool, visit https://member.aappr.org/page/volunteer_pool to become a member volunteer.
Regional SIG (Shared Interest Groups): The AAPPR Board of Directors and CEO Carey Goryl recognized that the education, community, camaraderie, and resources provided by shared interest groups are essential to the AAPPR community. AAPPR has always supported regional and state affiliates to various degrees, but some affiliates needed even greater support. The AAPPR Board and CEO Carey Goryl agreed that AAPPR could help by expanding our SIG (Shared Interest Group) model to include regional/state affiliates. This model allows an affiliate to transfer the nonprofit operational duties to AAPPR and affiliate volunteers and members to focus on education and network activities through AAPPR’s resources. Preserving the affiliate’s identity has been of the utmost importance and will evolve as AAPPR members join the group as part of their AAPPR membership. Six affiliates have fully transitioned to a SIG, and several more have indicated their intent to transition in 2024 or 2025.
As life becomes full, l find myself becoming more selective about my volunteer projects and the experience I have as a volunteer. I know I’m excited to volunteer in the new AAPPR Volunteer Pool and a SIG supported by AAPPR.
Happy Volunteering!
[i] https://longevity.stanford.edu/three-reasons-why-people-dont-volunteer-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/
[ii] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/01/volunteering-and-civic-life-in-america.html
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR)’s annual Internal Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report is officially available. The report is packed with valuable insights designed to transform your recruitment and retention strategies. Most starkly, it highlights the effects of the increasing physician shortage in the United States and the impact it has had on health organizations’ in-house recruitment teams across the country.
As many of you likely know, as recruitment professionals it can be difficult to set tangible goals, productivity levels and benchmarks of success without access to relevant industry data. The benchmarking report provides that exact credible industry data, based on real recruitment professionals’ experience. This report is geared to help our members, their leaders, and the broader physician and provider recruitment industry prepare, plan and forecast to meet the challenges of the evolving healthcare landscape.
Key Takeaways for 2023
More than 150 member health organizations participated in the extensive research study, representing more than 19,000 searches (60% specific to physicians). The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 24,200 openings for physicians and surgeons each year, on average, over the decade, meaning the data from AAPPR’s Benchmarking Report represents close to half of all physician searches in the United States.
Some notable key findings from this year’s report include:
Over 24,000 Ways to Customize Data Outputs
Alongside the 70-page PDF report, recipients gain access to an array of valuable custom online resources. Dive into infographics highlighting nine key takeaways about recruiter data, offering concise yet impactful snapshots of crucial insights. Another infographic unveils 11 pivotal findings regarding search data, providing at-a-glance access to critical trends shaping the industry.
AAPPR’s commitment to empowering healthcare recruitment professionals goes beyond static reports. Our innovative reporting portal offers a dashboard that unlocks over 24,000 ways to customize data outputs. This dashboard lets you manipulate the data of over 19,000 searches in ways that precisely reflect your unique organization, sourcing needs, goals, and objectives. It also lets you filter compensation data on 600 recruitment professionals. Whether you’re fine-tuning strategies, making data-driven decisions, or seeking to optimize staffing solutions, the benchmarking report empowers you and your team to tailor the information to your needs. It’s more than data; it’s a blueprint for shaping recruitment strategies that drive excellence in healthcare staffing, putting the power of innovation firmly in your hands.
If your organization participated in the annual survey to collect this data, you can gain free access to the AAPPR benchmarking portal. The benchmarking portal includes days to fill and compensation calculators and give you the ability to compare a range of data, including organizational profiles, search information, recruiter profile data and recruiter compensation figures.
Utilizing the Reporting
Access to these customized reports is critical to making informed and strategic decisions around workforce planning, growth management, and target productivity levels. The ability to make these strategic decisions goes a long way towards implementing informed recruitment strategies that can ultimately help you better understand the market and fill searches more quickly.
To see how your organization stacks up and gain access to more valuable industry data, you can purchase the complete 2023 Benchmarking report at https://aappr.org/research/benchmarking/.
Today’s physician and provider recruitment landscape has never been more filled with talent supply constraints, economic influencers and pressures, provider burnout, and the growing demand for our industry to be more agile and poised for success.
Just like you, I remain dedicated to advancing our mission-critical work and fueling the acceleration of transformation for our industry; but, as with each decision we make on a daily basis, we’re rooted in the guidance of data (along with some healthy intuition we’ve built over our experiences throughout the years)! Luckily, we have a trusted compass in our toolkit to help keep us on the right path – the AAPPR Benchmark Report. The 2023 survey report represents more than 150 organizations that participated in the extensive annual research study, representing more than 19,000 searches.
As a leader, I am accountable for ensuring our recruitment processes enable efficiency, high performance, and outstanding service excellence. Although a difficult journey, the benchmark report provides insightful aggregate data reported by leaders in our field to allow comparisons of our key performance indicators (KPIs) with those experienced across similar organizational types and sizes. From interview-to-hire ratios to time-to-fill, these data points play a contributing role in determining where a team’s performance gaps are and help to innovate timely solutions designed to create a competitive advantage for top talent.
AAPPR’s Benchmarking Report isn’t just about insightful numbers. It demonstrates the complex interconnectivity between strategic workforce development, timely matchmaking, and the contributions to an organization’s revenue stream. While at the same time, the report begs each of our perspectives for how best to impact the health care industry’s ability to drive care change and how to ensure a great cultural add to an organization as a whole. The report compels and empowers us to better understand the latest trends, identify creative solutions, and implement unique/demonstrated strategies that help move the population of available physicians and advanced practice providers from one practice to another across the United States.
Like a magnetized needle in a compass, the report points to best industry practices. And along that path are the experiences and the stories of the journey of this high-touch profession. While the path to our ultimate destination is never perfect, our ability to calibrate keeps us close to the right path we know will get us faster to our destination.
In today’s hustle and bustle, it’s easy to get distracted and off the path of best practices. Be sure to always calibrate your performance — check out the latest data and see how far on course you really are!
As the national physician shortage continues, demand for physician and provider talent is only expected to grow, giving physicians who are unsatisfied with their working conditions the opportunity to find a similar role with a competing organization.
In fact, AAPPR’s 2022 report on increased provider turnover shows one in three physicians and nearly one in two advanced practice providers (APPs) have departed their employer for a similar position elsewhere. Despite this trend, more than 75% of survey respondents say their organization does not have a formal retention program in place.
With ongoing physician shortages, a recruitment strategy isn’t enough to keep your organization staffed, and it’s critical that your workforce planning strategy prioritizes retaining the high-quality talent you already have. To ensure retention remains a top priority and minimize turnover, we recommend implementing a formal retention program. Here are five things to consider when launching your formal retention program:
Once your organization’s retention program is developed and in place, it’s important to measure its effectiveness and analyze if there is any room for improvement. One way you can measure this is by comparing your previous turnover rate to your present one. Surveying physicians on factors that often drive turnover, including burnout, level of work-life balance and overall job satisfaction, can also help guide the program and identify opportunities for improvement.
As competition for clinical talent continues to dramatically rise, investing in a formal retention program will bring your organization long-term benefits including reduced turnover and increased retention of top talent, while creating a work environment that demonstrates you are an employer of choice.
AAPPR will launch a new course geared towards new recruitment professionals in a few weeks. If you are new to the provider recruitment world, welcome! You have taken the absolute best first step by joining AAPPR to further your professional growth and development. Below are several tips for new and seasoned recruitment professionals. After all, a seasoned recruiter knows our landscape is ever-changing, so our recruitment tactics must also continuously evolve.
Five Atypical Recruitment Tactics
We’re all familiar with the adage, “Speak less, listen more.” While it may appear as a fundamental principle, it is sometimes underestimated. After all, as recruiters, we thrive on conversations! After all, we’re recruiters- we love to chat! We are in this position for a reason: to sell our organization. Listening more actually helps us better connect with and understand our candidates better. Listening more allows us time to craft our responses while we navigate the conversation eloquently.
Know what you’re up against. Setting expectations within your organization is key. Research the competing offers, know how many physicians are available for the specialty needed, and provide average days to fill data. Every organization’s recruitment processes look different, and if you’re recruiting a resident/fellow, this may be their first time interviewing. Setting expectations for the candidate is also critical so they can be prepared for the next steps, and your department can show how organized and efficient it is.
Understanding your candidate’s motivators relates to my initial tip of active listening. It’s a crucial aspect, which is why I prioritize it by making it one of my first questions during our conversation. Understanding what is important to the candidate professionally and personally should be the hub of the conversation. Knowing their interests allows you to connect and sell your community, the position, and the health system.
Quality is better than quantity. Be selective as to who you invite in for a site visit. Our 2022 AAPPR Benchmarking Report shows that 85% of provider recruiters are female, so you will appreciate my following sentiment. While shopping, you should only buy the item if it will bring you joy. Only host candidates you believe will be an excellent fit for the practice and community. Once that candidate is identified, go all out on customizing the visit based on their interests and motivators.
Once the site visit is complete, you are exhausted, and let’s face it, you’ve been away from your computer all day, and the emails have added up. Be sure to close the loop and extend an offer in a timely fashion. Furthermore, after the recruited provider has signed the contract and is preparing to relocate, maintain ongoing communication to keep them informed about the health system and the community. This commitment to communication contributes to successful physician retention. Physician retention is important, and it starts once they execute their contract.
Happy Recruiting!
With my AAPPR Board Presidency term recently ending, along with receiving a promotion into a larger leadership role at work, the concept of good leadership has been on my mind. We are all leaders in what we do to some extent – whether it’s leading cross functional teams or leading our book of work. We have a direct impact on the revenue and success of our organizations. And we seek a seat at the table to influence executives and business leaders because we are the experts in our space. In my first official manager role, I had no idea what I was doing and learned through some tough feedback that there is always opportunity for growth. Managers drive employees, while employees follow leaders. Creating a following can start at any role level.
Here are some key lessons that I’ve learned along the way…
1. A leader is only as good as the people they surround themselves with: I heard a leader say this once and it stuck. I now use it all the time with my teams. Don’t surround yourself with just “yes people.” Make a point to build a team or network of people who challenge you to think differently. Who bring different perspectives and experiences to the table. Who seek to understand, not just do. And empower your teams to be the leaders and owners of their work. A leader’s success is not theirs alone. It belongs to their team, and it is the leader’s job to empower and lift their team to do their best work.
2. Don’t be afraid to fail: The greatest opportunity we have to grow is in our most challenging moments. Be open to feedback. It’s OK to fail, but fail fast and then fix it. Nothing is ever perfect from the start, but it is in failure that we often learn how to thrive.
3. Cast a big shadow: Be purposeful in your interactions and think about how they impact others. Hold yourself to the same standards that you do others and model the behavior that you want to see in others. Good leaders are human – they are accessible and relatable, and they care about interactions at every level.
4. Leadership can be the loneliest place:As leaders we are responsible for making decisions that can have far-reaching consequences. At times, the toughest decisions we make are the ones that others cannot. We must learn how to separate the personal and emotional side of ourselves from our decision-making. Never is this truer than when you are in a position to make decisions that you know will impact the people you care about on your team.
5. When you put people first, they’ll give you their best: This is where authenticity – and even a little emotion – lives. Leading by fear only creates a team that underperforms. Have genuine concern for the well-being and development of your people – strive for meaningful relationships as you work towards a common goal. This is where you find human connection and aligned beliefs and behaviors.
In our often-unforgiving world of navigating executives and business partners while trying to meet hiring needs in a talent segment that’s facing extreme shortages – we lead strategy, we lead relationships, we lead impact. Leadership isn’t a time or point in your career. You don’t have to be in the executive suite to model leadership behavior or influence change. It’s not a title or a team that makes others value your input. It’s the mutual respect and credibility that you develop through your relationships and the demonstrated value that you bring to the table that makes you a strong leader.
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