For many hospital administrators and HR leaders, the issue of physician recruitment and retention is a serious pain point. And that’s practically unavoidable, given these daunting industry statistics:
But you already know this, as well as what’s behind it. According to the American Medical Association, 63% of physicians are suffering from burnout, which places increased stress on healthcare providers across the system.
As a result, physicians are actively pursuing positions that offer better work-life balance and supportive work environments. Beyond competitive compensation, they seek employers that will invest in their well-being.
So, if you want your hospital to be an employer of choice, your operating principle should be:
Take care of the people who take care of your patients!
Do that, and everything else falls into place, including physician recruitment and retention.
But how do you do that? You start by creating a plan.
If you were to brainstorm the various ways you could improve your staff physicians’ workday, your list would probably look something like this:
We know what you’re going to say next: this sounds great, but it’s all pie-in-the-sky. Implementing change in healthcare organizations isn’t easy. It takes funding, planning, and consensus. In other words, it takes time.
And practically speaking: how can you give physicians more time off until you hire more of them to ease the workload? Talk about vicious circles!
These are valid objections. But if you want to get out in front of the worsening physician shortage, you’ll need to make changes at some point. In fact, you may already be working on such a long-term plan.
But what about the here and now? There are two short-term solutions that you can take in the meantime to show physicians that you care—right from your earliest interactions. Why wait?