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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.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) has released its annual Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends, offering new insights into physician and advanced practice provider (APP) recruitment activity across the United States.
The 2026 report shows that physician and provider search volume held roughly steady in 2025 following earlier highs, while recruitment teams continue to face significant workloads, lengthy hiring timelines and persistent physician vacancies. The typical organization managed 100 searches in 2025, compared with a peak of 115 in 2023. Recruiters individually managed a median of 36.5 searches, essentially unchanged from 35.6 in 2024. Meanwhile, the median annual budget for internal physician recruitment departments declined 7.4% year over year, from $553,376 in 2024 to $512,500 in 2025.
“We’re watching the physician shortage move from concern to reality,” said Carey Goryl, CEO of AAPPR. “Without meaningful changes to how we train and recruit physicians, patients will feel this first as longer waits for critical care increase. Our data shows that searches in high‑impact specialties like cardiology, urology, neurology, anesthesiology, and gastroenterology are increasingly difficult to fill. This a clear warning sign that our physician pipeline isn’t keeping up.”
The research includes data on more than 10,000 physician and provider searches active in 2025 from recruitment teams that collectively recruit for more than 21,000 unique healthcare locations. Nearly 60% of reported searches were for physicians.
Notable findings from the 2026 AAPPR Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report include:
Median time to fill for APP searches declined from 80 days in 2024 to 65 days in 2025. Physician searches took a median of 119 days, with significant variation by specialty. Endocrinology/Metabolism took the longest at a median of 321 days, followed by Oncology at 244 days.
The typical physician began work 229 days after the position was posted, highlighting the additional time required for credentialing, privileging, licensing and onboarding.
Family Medicine accounted for 11.6% of physician searches in 2025, followed by Hospital Medicine at 10.9% and general OB/GYN at 6.6%.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, 50% of physician searches remained open, up from 49% in 2024 and 47% in 2023. By comparison, 31.8% of APP searches remained open at the end of 2025.
By the end of 2025, 28.3% of urology searches were filled, while only about one-third of neurology and cardiology searches were filled. Anesthesia (40.1%) and gastroenterology (40.5%) searches were also filled less than half of the time.
The industry-level data equips healthcare organizations with benchmarks to evaluate recruitment performance, resources and workforce planning strategies. Participants in the survey gain complimentary access to the AAPPR Benchmarking Portal, which includes advanced search tools, time-to-fill and compensation calculators, and customizable benchmarking capabilities.
The complete 2026 AAPPR Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends is available for purchase online. The companion 2026 AAPPR Recruitment Team Professional Compensation Benchmarking Report is also available, providing additional insight into recruiter compensation and recruitment team structures. To access AAPPR benchmarking research and resources, visit www.aappr.org/research/benchmarking.
On June 25, 2026, 38 AAPPR member volunteers brought their expertise where it matters most – directly to Congress. In a series of meetings across House and Senate offices, physician and provider recruitment professionals made the case that workforce policy is patient access policy, and that AAPPR members are the experts policymakers need to know.
AAPPR members are directly involved in ensuring patients can access care by helping health care organizations recruit and retain the physicians and providers their communities need.
Advocacy Day was designed to elevate AAPPR’s voice at the federal level and to position our members as credible, on-the-ground resources for congressional offices navigating some of the most consequential health care workforce decisions in years.
Members didn’t just arrive with policy priorities. They arrived with stories: unfilled positions, recruitment pipelines that work, communities still waiting for the specialists they need. That specificity is what makes AAPPR’s voice distinct.
Across the day, members held 55 congressional meetings – a collective effort that put physician workforce issues in front of a broad cross-section of legislators.
Conversations were grounded in the real barriers members face every day:
By the end of each meeting, AAPPR’s goal was for congressional staff to leave knowing four things:
Advocacy Day is the beginning of an ongoing commitment. The relationships built on June 25 will be cultivated over time, and AAPPR will continue to serve as a resource to policymakers as they shape the future of health care delivery.
If you attended – thank you. If you didn’t, stay engaged. Follow AAPPR’s advocacy updates and look for future opportunities to add your voice to the issues that define this profession.
Stay connected with AAPPR’s advocacy efforts at aappr.org/government-affairs/.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) has released its 2026 Recruitment Team Professional Compensation Benchmarking Report, revealing significant gains in compensation and retention among physician and provider recruitment professionals, and making a compelling case for why hospital and health system leaders should be doubling down on their in-house recruitment teams, not replacing them with technology.
According to the report, median recruiter compensation increased 10.4% in 2025 to $100,420 – the highest level reported since AAPPR began tracking the data. Recruiter turnover also fell to an average of 12.1% in 2025, down from approximately 20% in recent years, suggesting that institutional knowledge is being built and retained inside organizations that are choosing to invest in their people. These findings are further supported by AAPPR’s The Heart Behind the Hire report, which found that 87% of in-house physician recruiters feel genuinely called to do this work. That statistic underscores that recruitment is not a transactional function technology can replicate, but a relationship-driven profession rooted in purpose.
“Physician and provider recruitment professionals play a vital role in helping healthcare organizations ensure patients have access to care,” said Carey Goryl, CEO of AAPPR. “As demand for physicians and advanced practice providers continues to outpace supply in many communities, recruitment teams are being asked to do increasingly complex and important work. AI can support a recruiter’s workflow, but it cannot replicate the trust a recruiter builds with a physician candidate over months, or the deep community knowledge that comes from years inside an organization. Health system leaders who want to win the physician recruitment challenge need to focus on building their teams, pouring into their teams, and giving them the right tools and compensation to succeed. This year’s findings suggest organizations are doing exactly that – and it’s working.
The report includes two chapters highlighting survey results related to physician recruitment profiles and compensation levels. The first chapter, “Recruitment Professional Profile,” provides data on demographic information, including recruitment professionals’ roles, education levels, years of experience, work arrangements and responsibilities. A total of 428 internal physician and provider recruitment professionals participated in this survey.
The second chapter, “Recruitment Professional Compensation,” examines compensation levels of recruitment professionals by their role, experience, education level, location desirability and remote work status. Of the 428 participants, 396 provided compensation data.
Some notable findings include:
The industry-level data in AAPPR’s benchmarking surveys helps recruitment professionals and departments establish target productivity levels, set goals and expectations, evaluate compensation competitiveness and grow their teams.
Organizations that participate in annual surveys gain free access to AAPPR’s Benchmarking Portal, where they can run custom benchmark comparisons to organizations and departments similar to their own. The Benchmarking Portal includes time to fill and compensation calculators and enables users to compare a range of data, including organizational profiles, search information, recruiter profile data and recruiter compensation figures, helping them make more informed decisions.
The complete 2026 AAPPR Recruitment Team Professional Compensation Benchmarking Report is available to organizations for sale online. To order, visit https://aappr.org/research/benchmarking/. The Heart Behind the Hire Report is also available online, free of charge at: https://aappr.org/research/surveys-reports/
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is the mission-aligned authority on addressing clinical workforce shortages and expanding access to care. For more than 30 years, AAPPR has connected and supported physician and provider recruitment professionals who serve as strategic partners within hospitals and health systems nationwide. Today, AAPPR represents over 2,700 members. Fully integrated into their organizations, AAPPR members lead the full recruitment continuum, designing hiring, onboarding, and retention strategies that mitigate vacancy impacts and strengthen care delivery. Guided by our RECRUIT values – Respect, Equity, Collaboration, Responsibility, Understanding, Inclusion, and Trust – AAPPR and its members cultivate a diverse, data-informed workforce dedicated to ensuring equitable access to care. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR), the leading authority on physician recruitment, onboarding and retention, today announced its support for the Physician Workforce Optimization Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to strengthen the Conrad 30 J-1 Visa Waiver Program and expand access to care in underserved communities.
The Conrad 30 Program allows states to request waivers of the two-year home residency requirement for J-1 visa physicians in exchange for at least three years of full-time service in health professional shortage areas. Each state receives up to 30 waivers annually, including flex waivers for physicians serving underserved patient populations outside designated shortage areas. However, states frequently exhaust their flex waiver allocations while other Conrad waiver slots remain unused, a structural imbalance that disproportionately affects smaller and rural states that depend on flex waivers to deliver care to their communities. Additionally, physicians who apply to states where waiver slots fill quickly have no structured pathway to connect with states that have unfilled slots.
The Physician Workforce Optimization Act addresses these challenges by increasing the number of flex waivers available to each state from 10 to 15 and establishing a national secondary physician match portal. The portal would allow physicians who were not selected or unable to apply in their preferred state to be matched with states that have unused waiver slots, improving physician placement efficiency in medically underserved areas.
“AAPPR strongly supports the Physician Workforce Optimization Act,” said Carey Goryl, AAPPR CEO. “By expanding flex waiver capacity and creating a structured secondary match portal, this legislation provides a practical solution for smaller states that have historically struggled to attract applicants or fully utilize their programs. AAPPR is committed to ensuring that every community has access to the physician workforce it needs, and this bill is a meaningful step toward strengthening healthcare access nationwide.”
AAPPR thanks Sen. Cramer and Sen. Klobuchar for their bipartisan leadership on this issue and looks forward to working with Congress to advance policies that strengthen physician recruitment and ensure every community can access the healthcare providers it needs.
For more information about AAPPR and its advocacy efforts, visit aappr.org/government-affairs/.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is the mission-aligned authority on addressing clinical workforce shortages and expanding access to care. For more than 30 years, AAPPR has connected and supported physician and provider recruitment professionals who serve as strategic partners within hospitals and health systems nationwide. Today, AAPPR represents over 2,700 members. Fully integrated into their organizations, AAPPR members lead the full recruitment continuum, designing hiring, onboarding, and retention strategies that mitigate vacancy impacts and strengthen care delivery. Guided by our RECRUIT values – Respect, Equity, Collaboration, Responsibility, Understanding, Inclusion, and Trust – AAPPR and its members cultivate a diverse, data-informed workforce dedicated to ensuring equitable access to care. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
Alexis Schuchert
Franco
aschuchert@franco.com
Alysia Gradney
AAPPR
agradney@aappr.org
We are thrilled to announce that Russ Peal, CPRP, CMSR, has been named President-Elect for the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) Board of Directors. This two-year appointed term, once complete, will transition to Board President for 2027 – 2028. Both he and the current Board President, Allan Cacanindin, CPRP-DEI, will work closely with the board, CEO and staff to ensure a strategic direction for the Association.
In his employed role, Russ is the Director of Workforce Recruitment and Retention for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
Russ Peal is the Director of Workforce Recruitment and Retention for the VHA, the largest integrated health care system in the US. In his role, Russ provides strategic direction and executive oversight for the agency’s national efforts to recruit, retain, and develop its most critical clinical occupations. He is credited with establishing VHA’s first in-house physician/provider recruitment operation and led the largest specialty recruitment and hiring initiative in its history. He has more than 30 years of direct experience in the profession – including both the public and private sectors.
Russ is a native Chicagoan, graduate of Eastern Illinois University, and a proud Air Force Veteran. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and an Excellence in Government Fellow with the Partnership for Public Service.
Please join us in congratulating Russ Peal on this remarkable achievement by connecting with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/russp/.
AAPPR is proud to announce Russ Peal as its incoming President-Elect. Current Board President Allan Cacanindin, CPRP, CDR, shared the following message on Russ’s leadership and impact:
“Russ Peal’s leadership reflects what is possible when workforce strategy is elevated to a national priority. His dedication to strengthening recruitment, retention, and clinician support across one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems continues to help advance conversations that impact veterans, communities, and healthcare organizations across America.”
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR), the leading authority on physician recruitment, onboarding and retention, joined over 40 national medical associations and patient advocacy groups this month as cosigners of a coalition letter in support of H.R. 7961, the H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act. The bipartisan legislation is in response to the Trump Administration’s September 2025 proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on each new H-1B visa application, which is disproportionately harming the healthcare industry.
The recruitment of physicians and other healthcare workers is a time- and resource-intensive process often spanning over a year for a single candidate. Healthcare employers recruit from a broad pool of candidates, including international medical graduates (IMG), since they are more likely to serve in rural and underserved areas.
The fee, increased by 1900% ,is causing employers to pause or move away from recruiting IMGs despite the urgent need and limited pool of available candidates, especially in fields like oncology, OB/GYN and nephrology, specialties with high days to fill, an AAPPR metric that measures the time from opening a physician search to securing a signed contract.
To address this, the H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act would exempt physicians and other health professionals from the new $100,000 H-1B fee, ensuring employers can continue to fill critical access gaps. The legislation drew international attention, from the New York Times to the Times of India, highlighting the urgency around this issue. As the coalition letter notes, the bill ensures that “physicians and other essential health care providers are not unnecessarily swept into a fee structure designed to address other workforce sectors.”
“The $100,000 H-1B filing fee on health care entities poses a serious challenge to provider recruitment at a time when demand for physicians and other health care professionals continues to grow,” said Carey Goryl, CEO, Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment. “Hospitals, health systems and practices across the country rely on international physicians and health care professionals to meet patient needs. This fee could slow recruitment efforts and make it harder for employers to bring on the providers their communities depend on. AAPPR supports the H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act and applauds Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Sanford D. Bishop (D-GA), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY) for their bipartisan leadership on this issue.”
As AAPPR and healthcare recruitment professionals celebrate Physician and Provider Recruitment Professionals Week, April 20-26, this legislation underscores the vital role recruitment professionals play in ensuring communities across the country have access to the healthcare providers they need.
For more information about AAPPR and its advocacy efforts, visit https://aappr.org/.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is a nationally recognized leader in health care provider recruitment, onboarding, and retention. For more than 30 years, AAPPR has empowered physician and advanced practice provider recruitment leaders to transform care delivery in their communities by providing best-in-class practices, up-to-date industry knowledge, and evolving innovative approaches for hiring, onboarding, and retaining exceptional clinical talent. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
Alexis Schuchert
Franco
aschuchert@franco.com
Alysia Gradney
AAPPR
agradney@aappr.org
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is proud to announce Aya Healthcare as a Signature Partner, strengthening a strategic collaboration focused on advancing physician and provider recruitment through innovative technology, data-driven insights, and shared industry expertise.
As a Signature Partner, Aya Healthcare will play a leading role in supporting AAPPR’s mission to elevate recruitment practices across healthcare organizations nationwide. This expanded partnership reflects a shared commitment to providing recruitment professionals with comprehensive, scalable solutions that address today’s increasingly complex workforce challenges.
“Aya Healthcare’s elevation to Signature Partner underscores the value they bring to the physician and provider recruitment community,” said Carey Goryl, CEO of AAPPR. “Their investment in technology, analytics, and recruiter support aligns seamlessly with our goal of advancing the profession and strengthening healthcare systems.”
Through this partnership, Aya Healthcare will continue to collaborate with AAPPR on initiatives designed to:
Aya Healthcare’s physician and advanced practice solutions includes key offerings such as:
Aya Healthcare’s Signature Partner status also reinforces its long-standing commitment to helping healthcare organizations adapt to evolving recruitment demands while improving efficiency, transparency, and outcomes.
“We’re honored to deepen our partnership with AAPPR as a Signature Partner,” said Mike York, EVP of Digital Advertising & Recruitment Technology at DocCafe. “Together, we’re focused on empowering recruitment professionals with smarter tools, clearer insights, and the support they need to build stronger care teams.”
Each AAPPR partnership is tailored to fulfill the company’s unique business objectives and marketing goals. Partners receive invaluable visibility with more than 2,500 AAPPR members, including sourcing, recruiting, contracting, credentialing, certifying and onboarding professionals, who play critical roles in influencing the advancement of their health care systems.
For more information about Aya Healthcare or the Partner program, visit www.aappr.org or email info@aappr.org. For more information about Aya Healthcare’s physician and advanced practitioner solutions, visit https://www.ayahealthcare.com/physicianrecruitment.
About The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR)
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is a nationally recognized leader in health care provider recruitment, onboarding, and retention. For more than 30 years, AAPPR has empowered physician and advanced practice provider recruitment leaders to transform care delivery in their communities by providing best-in-class practices, up-to-date industry knowledge, and evolving innovative approaches for hiring, onboarding, and retaining exceptional clinical talent. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
About Aya Healthcare
Aya Healthcare is the leading healthcare talent software and staffing company in the United States. Aya operates the world’s largest digital staffing platform delivering every component of healthcare-focused labor services, including travel nursing and allied health, per diem, permanent staff hiring, interim leadership, locum tenens and non-clinical professionals. Aya’s AI-enabled software solutions, which include vendor management, float pool technology, provider solutions and predictive analytics, combined with its digital talent marketplaces, provide hospital systems greater efficiencies, superior operating results and reduced labor costs. While technology drives efficiency and scale, Aya’s 6,000+ global employees power the company to deliver unparalleled accountability and exceptional experiences for clients and clinicians. Aya’s company culture is rooted in giving back and supports organizations around food security, education, healthcare, safe shelter and equity. To learn more about Aya Healthcare, visit www.ayahealthcare.com.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) announced today that CHG Healthcare, has generously sponsored the distribution of the 2025 AAPPR Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends. Through this support, every AAPPR member will receive a complimentary copy of the industry’s most relied-upon resource for understanding recruitment trends, workforce dynamics, and the realities shaping today’s healthcare labor market.
Widely regarded as the most authoritative resource in the recruitment industry, this Benchmarking Report delivers in‑depth analysis of recruitment activity, vacancy trends, days‑to‑fill metrics, and shifts in demand across clinical specialties. Drawing on data submitted by hundreds of health organizations of varying sizes, regions, and specialties nationwide, it is one of the most comprehensive and neutral resources available to the industry. The report provides anyone who hires physicians with actionable insights to strengthen workforce planning, refine recruitment strategies and prepare for evolving market conditions.
CHG Healthcare’s sponsorship reflects the organization’s long-standing commitment to elevating the physician and provider recruitment profession and supporting the professionals who sustain clinical care across the country.
“Data is foundational to strong recruitment strategies, and we’re proud to work with AAPPR to provide this valuable resource to all their members,” said Melinda Giese, Senior Vice President of Client Solutions. “Supporting greater distribution to this report aligns with our mission to make a positive impact on the healthcare community and ensure organizations have the tools they need to succeed in providing consistent accessible care in communities around the country.”
AAPPR members receive exclusive access to research, education, certification and a national peer network that supports success in today’s challenging recruitment environment amid the present physician shortage. This Benchmarking Report is used by forward-planning organizations to guide staffing models, plan for gaps in care, advocate for additional resources and demonstrate the realities of the recruitment landscape with credible, industry-wide data. Complimentary access to this flagship report underscores the high impact of AAPPR membership.
“AAPPR’s benchmarking reports are essential tools for any health organization who hires physicians and advanced practice providers navigating today’s increasingly complex workforce environment,” said Carey Goryl, AAPPR CEO. “CHG’s support ensures that every member, regardless of organization size or resources, can leverage the insights needed to make informed, strategic decisions. This sponsorship reinforces the value of AAPPR membership and the strength of our community.”
AAPPR members can now access the 2025 Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends in the Member Portal. Non-members may purchase the digital report by visiting www.aappr.org/research/benchmarking.
Every health organization that recruits physicians and advanced practice providers – whether you’re hiring one or a thousand – can take part in AAPPR’s next benchmarking survey, opening February 2026. By submitting your recruitment data, you and your organization can receive next year’s comprehensive report (to be published September 2026) for free, plus exclusive access to interactive analytics that let your team run custom reports and compare your organization to national benchmarks. Membership is not required to participate. Join an industry-wide effort to advance recruitment insights with data that is independent, comprehensive, and trusted across the field.
About The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR)
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is a nationally recognized leader in health care provider recruitment, onboarding, and retention. For more than 35 years, AAPPR has empowered physician and advanced practice provider recruitment leaders to transform care delivery in their communities by providing best-in-class practices, up-to-date industry knowledge, and evolving innovative approaches for hiring, onboarding, and retaining exceptional clinical talent. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
CHG Healthcare
As the nation’s leading physician workforce experts, CHG Healthcare connects physicians, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals with healthcare organizations nationwide – helping deliver high-quality care to more than 20 million patients every year.
With more than 40 years of experience as the founder of the locum tenens industry, CHG Healthcare and its family of brands deliver scalable, people-centered workforce solutions across the clinical spectrum – from locum tenens and permanent staffing to technology and advisory services – and are recognized for industry-leading Net Promoter Scores and partnerships with the nation’s largest health systems.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City with offices across the country, CHG is recognized as a top workplace for its culture of care, growth, and purpose. Learn more at www.chghealthcare.com.
Media Contact:
Alexis Schuchert
Franco
aschuchert@franco.com
Alysia Gradney
AAPPR
agradney@aappr.org
A new report from the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR), Jackson Physician Search and LocumTenens.com reveals that in-house physician recruiters — those on the front lines of staffing healthcare organizations — are driven by purpose but often face systemic challenges that can hinder their ability to fully realize their mission.
The report, The Heart Behind the Hire: Exploring the Role of Purpose Among In-house Physician Recruiters, is a companion to an earlier study by Jackson Physician Search and LocumTenens.com, Is Medicine Still a Calling? Exploring Physician Attitudes About Purpose in Medicine. The recruiter research was conducted in July 2025, in partnership with AAPPR, and captures the voices of nearly 200 recruiters working inside healthcare organizations.
“Healthcare starts with hiring, and this research proves what we’ve long believed — our in-house physician and provider recruiters are not just administrative support; they are champions of patient access, community well-being and organizational culture,” said Carey Goryl, CEO, AAPPR. “With 87% feeling called to this work, recruiting and retention are most effective when these advocates for clinicians have a seat at the table.”
What recruiters need now
Surveyed recruiters identified three key enablers that would improve their ability to recruit and retain clinicians:
Additionally, in-house recruiters may benefit from recruiting partners who can extend the team’s capacity and provide tactical support in pursuit of shared goals.
“These findings aren’t just data points — they’re a call to action,” shared Tara Osseck, regional vice president, Jackson Physician Search. “Recruiters play a vital role as problem solvers, ambassadors and connectors. To maximize their impact, it’s important to include them early in strategic discussions, ensuring they have both visibility and voice in shaping hiring approaches, rather than being brought in only after decisions are made.”
The recruiter’s perspective is strategic — not transactional
As recruiting challenges intensify, leaders would be wise to treat recruiters as essential partners, not just service providers. That means surfacing insights beyond the usual metrics.
“Reporting activity is important, but sharing insights — such as why candidates decline offers, where we see drop-off in the process, and what pipeline data reveals — adds valuable context,” added Osseck. “That kind of transparency helps connect recruiting efforts to broader business outcomes, building trust and credibility with the C-suite.”
Creative solutions require collaborative leadership
Caroline Grounds, account director at LocumTenens.com, emphasized that a shift in mindset — both from recruiters and administrators — can unlock real innovation.
“We’re seeing recruiters who act not just as matchmakers, but as true strategic partners,” Grounds said. “The most effective ones are anticipating needs, building proactive pipelines and offering creative solutions. That kind of impact is amplified when leaders actively engage recruiters in broader planning and give them the room to contribute beyond transactional tasks.”
A hopeful blueprint
Despite systemic challenges, the research shows that internal recruiters remain hopeful:
“Every successful placement means better access for patients and continuity for communities,” noted Grounds. “Closing care gaps and improving outcomes is truly a shared mission, from the recruiter’s desk to the boardroom. Alignment across all levels of leadership helps deliver on that mission.”
The Heart Behind the Hire: Exploring the Role of Purpose Among In-house Physician Recruiters can be downloaded from the AAPPR website here.
About AAPPR
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is a nationally recognized leader in healthcare provider recruitment, onboarding, and retention. For more than 30 years, AAPPR has empowered physician and advanced practice provider recruitment leaders to transform care delivery in their communities by providing best-in-class practices, up-to-date industry knowledge, and evolving innovative approaches for hiring, onboarding, and retaining exceptional clinical talent. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
About Jackson Physician Search
Jackson Physician Search is an established industry leader in physician recruitment and pioneered the recruitment methodologies standard in the industry today. The firm specializes in the permanent recruitment of physicians, physician executives and advanced practice providers for hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers and medical groups across the United States. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., the company is recognized for its track record of results built on client trust and transparency of processes and fees. Jackson Physician Search is part of the Jackson Healthcare® family of companies. For more information, visit www.jacksonphysiciansearch.com.
About LocumTenens.com
LocumTenens.com specializes in optimizing healthcare staffing operations with flexible, hybrid and temporary placement of physicians, advanced practitioners, social workers and psychologists. With a presence in more than 90% of the nation’s top healthcare facilities and supporting 150 medical specialties, LocumTenens.com is dedicated to improving healthcare through innovative staffing solutions, connecting clients and clinicians to deliver exceptional and uninterrupted patient care. Founded in 1995, LocumTenens.com is the largest provider of locum tenens services in the U.S and a leader in the healthcare staffing industry, placing more than 7,000 clinicians annually who deliver care to more than 10 million patients. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, LocumTenens.com is part of the Jackson Healthcare® family of companies. Learn more at www.LocumTenens.com.
For More Information, Contact:
Kristen Myers for Jackson Physician Search
kmyers@jacksonphysiciansearch.com
Kelly Street for LocumTenens.com
Alysia Gradney for AAPPR
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) has released its annual Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends, offering new insights into physician and provider recruitment activity across the United States. Findings reveal that although recruitment demand remains steady, the time required to secure physicians, particularly in specialty and surgical fields, continues to rise.
While the percentage of physician searches filled improved slightly over the previous year, nearly half of all searches remained open at the end of 2024, underscoring the persistent challenges recruitment professionals face in addressing healthcare workforce needs. These challenges are compounded by the need to fairly compensate recruitment professionals themselves, as outlined in the 2025 AAPPR Recruitment Team Professional Compensation Benchmarking Report. The report underscores that retaining experienced recruitment team professionals is just as critical as filling clinical roles.
“Healthcare organizations are navigating an increasingly complex recruitment landscape where physician searches now average nearly four months to signing, with specialty searches extending to a year or more,” said Carey Goryl, CEO of AAPPR. “Our research shows that organizations investing in dedicated physician recruitment expertise and adequate resources consistently outperform those that don’t. When healthcare systems treat physician recruitment as just another HR function or reduce staffing during precisely the moment when strategic workforce staffing is most critical, they compromise their ability to serve patients and communities effectively.”
Nearly 130 health organizations participated in the 2025 Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report, providing data on more than 15,000 searches, 61% of which were for physicians.
Notable findings from the 2025 AAPPR Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report include:
The industry-level data equips healthcare organizations with the information they need to refine workforce planning and recruitment strategies. Participants in the survey gain complimentary access to the AAPPR Benchmarking Portal, which includes advanced search tools, time-to-fill and compensation calculators, and customizable benchmarking capabilities.
The complete 2025 AAPPR Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends is available for purchase online. The companion 2025 AAPPR Recruitment Team Professional Compensation Benchmarking Report is also available, providing insight into recruiter pay, staffing levels, and team structures that help organizations attract and retain top recruitment talent. To access, visit www.aappr.org/research/benchmarking.
The Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) is a nationally recognized leader in health care provider recruitment, onboarding, and retention. For more than 30 years, AAPPR has empowered physician and advanced practice provider recruitment leaders to transform care delivery in their communities by providing best-in-class practices, up-to-date industry knowledge, and evolving innovative approaches for hiring, onboarding, and retaining exceptional clinical talent. To learn more or to become an organizational member of AAPPR, please visit https://aappr.org/join-now.
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