Many hospitals recruiting doctors continually

Many medical employers are always on the lookout for physicians either for current openings or for those expected in the future. CareerBuilder.com, a jobs website, surveyed 253 health care hiring managers from May 14 to June 4 and found that 51% were recruiting for expected future openings, including those for physicians. Forty-three percent said they had built a talent pipeline of potential job candidates.

Physician recruitment experts say the survey’s message to doctors is that they should send their resumes to institutions where they want to work, whether or not an appropriate opening is listed.

But this doesn’t mean doctors should send out resumes to any and all hospitals in hopes they will be next in line when something appropriate opens up. Physicians are in high demand, which means the response rate to their inquiries could be overwhelming.

“Just shotgunning their C.V. out can result in a lot of extra work on their part,” said Jim Stone, president of The Medicus Firm, a physician recruiter with offices in Atlanta and Dallas.

Stone is president-elect of the National Assn. of Physician Recruiters, which has a job board. He said a physician posting his or her resume can receive 200 to 500 solicitations within 24 to 48 hours.

“They usually don’t do it again,” Stone said. “Physicians need to think of a strategy that makes sense.”

A good strategy does not mean waiting until a desired position is listed. Physician recruiters suggest a more targeted approach to make it more likely to find a good fit or persuade an institution to design a position that will work. Stone recommends that physicians contact hospital CEOs or those in charge of physician relations at the institution where they want to work.

“They are certainly going to have the best feel for the lay of the land,” Stone said. “And in most cases, they will be able to make introductions.”