Rural Physician Recruiting Challenges and Solutions

Rural Physicians and Spouses In regard to spouses, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in March, 2016, published a study showing that the number of physicians with highly educated spouses has increased significantly over the last several decades. According to the study, “The proportion of married physicians with highly educated spouses increased from 8.8% in 1960 to 54.1% in 2010.” The study also notes that compared with other married physicians, physicians with a highly educated spouse were 38% less likely to work in a rural HPSA. In addition, “Single physicians were also less likely to work in a rural HPSA as were physicians who were young, women, black or Hispanic.” (Association Between Having a Highly Educated Spouse and Physician Practice in Rural Underserved Areas. JAMA. March 1, 2016). Strategies and Solutions: Maximize What You Can Control Virtually all hospitals, medical groups, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other healthcare facilities face challenges of one kind or another when it comes to recruiting physicians. Some facilities are located in remote areas that historically are medically underserved. Others may have a prohibitively high cost of living, or feature weather extremes that make it difficult to generate physician interest, or suffer from depressed economies. These and similar geographic, social and economic factors fall into the category of things healthcare facilities cannot control. They are what they are. Rural healthcare facilities can do nothing about the fact that they may be in remote areas. What rural healthcare facilities can control to a significant extent is the quality of practice they offer physicians. Since physicians will be spending most of their time in the practice, and derive their professional satisfaction from it, it is imperative that the practice be as appealing as possible. Due to the transformational changes taking place in healthcare today, many physicians are looking for a place where the “grass is greener,” so it is particularly important to offer a practice opportunity that stands out from others that physician candidates may be seeking.

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