Last year, however, IHS and the Association of American Medical Colleges reported that the U.S. is poised to face “a projected shortfall of between 46,100 and 90,400 physicians by 2025.”
More Baby Boomers are ready to retire than there are Millennials ready to take their places, so finding the best physicians for your practice will be even more difficult.
The good news is that the purpose-driven awareness of Millennials in healthcare means many of them will have the compassion and care necessary to make great doctors. In fact, young people today are among the most sophisticated, in-demand job seekers in recent history. The challenge, however, is finding the ones who can add value to your hospital’s culture, too. Here are two tactics I’ve used to find that fit:
Look for Social Intelligence
The landscape of medical practice in the United States is changing. Bloated national spending has forced the case for healthcare reform, and rapidly advancing technology is opening fresh paths for patients and providers to work more closely together.
But some things remain old-school — and are even more important now — like the need to interact with patients and play nicely with colleagues. We can screen, test, and interview doctors on their medical competence, but it’s often difficult to gauge how socially intelligent someone is without asking about life experience.
With “social intelligence,” I’m referring to how life has molded a doctor’s character in one way, shape, or form. Candidates may have led small or large groups or been a part of something much bigger than themselves and their careers. The point is that they’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, done things besides medicine, and learned to get along with a variety of personality types.
It’s true that many specialties, such as pathology, research, and radiology, require a doctor to reside mostly in his or her own world. But physicians deal directly with patients on a regular basis, so an attitude of avoidance or overdelegation can alienate those around them. Physicians with low social IQs may be less effective and less willing to be part of a cohesive team, and, in many cases, they aren’t as adept at providing personalized, high-quality care.
Whether it’s having military experience, having a child, working in sales, or volunteering to help others in the community, the best doctors are those who have ventured outside their bubbles. Their experience allows them to develop social intelligence, and they not only get along better with colleagues, but they’re also equipped to be better doctors.
Pay Attention to Word of Mouth
I didn’t start medical school until I was 26, having chosen to travel the world and try many different kinds of jobs first. My experience spanned community work, working for a book dealer, working in a photo lab, and much more. Yet my most rewarding experiences as a physician were in places where I knew someone I had worked closely with before.
We have all these processes with increasingly more metrics to screen physicians, but at the end of the day, the people who turn out to be the best are those who work well together. In the medical field, that often means working with those you’ve worked with before or with people who have worked with someone you know.
When it comes to hiring Millennials just entering the workforce, supportive word-of-mouth references might not be as easy to come by. But targeting physician job boards online to search the community for doctors will give you a list of people with a similar work ethic and like-minded values.
Of course, not every new hire has to be a friend or relative. In fact, that’s not always possible. Without personal referrals, though, any new hire is hit-or-miss. You might land a good prospect if you’re lucky, but like most things in life, having a previous history is often the better bet.
Finding the Best
This is not, by any means, a definitive or surefire list for finding and hiring the best MDs for your practice. For instance, doctors who feel like big fish in little ponds can eventually learn to discard their avoidance and become valuable members of a team. Young doctors with little life experience can gain plenty as they go through life, which can help them grow into even better doctors.
By keeping social intelligence and word of mouth in mind, you’ll stand a much better chance of hiring the right doctors the first time around.
Dr. Mark Calarco is the national medical director of American Addiction Centers, a leader in drug and alcohol abuse treatment. He is a pioneer in treating hormone imbalances in recovering individuals and has served as a board member for the State of Tennessee Medical Laboratory Board and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. Dr. Calarco was also the first board-certified anti-aging and regenerative medicine specialist in Tennessee.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
