Rural Physician Recruiting Challenges and Solutions

Flexibility Physicians are becoming more diverse in many ways and one practice size may not fit all, particularly when it comes to schedules. Part-time schedules and other flexible practice options are becoming more important to physicians than most others factors, including compensation. Schedule flexibility may be difficult to achieve in rural areas, but physicians should be given as much scheduling latitude as possible, and this may include the use of locum tenens physicians. United Health Centers of San Joaquin Valley, a seven-site FQHC based in rural Parlier, California, has had considerable success recruiting and retaining physicians. Physicians, on average, stay for ten years at the center. One reason is that the practice structure has built-in flexibility. Ron Yee, M.D., former Chief Medical Officer at Parlier and Chief Medical Officer of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) attributes the center’s recruiting and retention success to personal communication with each physician, which leads to practice customization. “I find out if there is a niche physicians want to fill and allow them to do that,” Dr. Yee indicates. “Our staff has flexibility and feels supported.” Below is the Parlier physician recruitment and retention model: Parlier Physician Recruitment/Retention Model

7 weeks of leave, day one. Includes 4 weeks of vacation, 1 week of CME, 9 paid holidays, including the physician’s birthday

Flex-time available, 9 am to 5 pm not required. Physicians can modify schedules to fit family events, etc.

Call not required

40 hour work week

Productivity bonus: $17,000 for those who

Part-time practice is an option. Ten of the center’s 25 doctors are part-time

Three exam rooms and two medical assistants for each physician

Latitude to physicians who want to perform specific procedures

average 23 patients per day; about $29,000 for those who average 25 patients a day

Some physicians earn $200,000 with salary, production bonus and call pay

Additional pay for services provided to the hospital

$5,000 to $7,000 signing bonus

$6,000 bonus for taking call

Not all rural practices can be structured in this way, but rural facilities should make every effort to tailor the practice to the preferences of worthy candidates rather than taking a one size fits all approach. Often, it is the ability of rural facilities to respond to the unique needs of each physician that allows for physician recruiting success. Such personal attention and responsiveness is harder to achieve at larger facilities and can set rural practice opportunities apart.

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