Blog homeAs the landscape for healthcare providers changes, physician recruiters' work is also evolving. So, what does recruiting look like for administrators and recruiters managing the growing demand for physicians and care? Let’s explore some of the latest physician recruiting trends in the 2024 Benchmarking Report on Search Dynamics and Trends released by the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR).
Physician search volume continues to increase
In 2024, the number of searches for physicians continued to increase. This has remained an overall trend since 2017, albeit with a slight dip during the pandemic. This year, organizations reported a median number of 115 active searches for healthcare providers, an increase from 110 the year prior.
Additionally, the report found that each recruiter was responsible for an average of 44 searches. For recruiters in larger facilities, that number increased to 63 searches; however, it’s also true that larger organizations typically have larger teams to assist them.
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Physician and advanced practice provider turnover rates declined
Physician recruiting trends showed that provider turnover decreased slightly in 2023, after years of slowly rising rates. The median rate for physicians was 7.1%, down from 8% the prior year. A similar decrease was seen for advanced practice providers (APPs), which dropped to 9.2% in 2023 from 10.5% in 2022.
Physicians were much more likely to leave their position due to retirement, with 32% doing so; only 5% of APPs left for the same reason. Conversely, APPs were much more likely to leave for better compensation — nearly a third (30%) who left chose pay as the reason, as opposed to 7% of physicians.
Retention rates also varied by organization size. Providers were likelier to stay at smaller facilities and less likely to leave due to compensation or burnout than those working at larger facilities.
Physician searches remain difficult to fill, while APP searches fare better
Nearly six in 10 (58%) searches conducted in 2023 were for physicians, while nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other APPs made up 42% of total search volume.
Data collected by AAPPR also shows that physician searches have been harder to fill. In 2023, 47% of searches remained open, while only 43% were filled. This is the third year in a row where fewer physician searches were filled than remained open.
Conversely, 61% of APP openings were filled in 2023, while 31% remained open. While fill rates have fallen over the years, from 73% in 2019, rates have held steady over the past three years.
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Family medicine searches were most common
The most common physician specialties that organizations searched for in 2023 were family medicine (10%), hospital medicine ( 9%), OB GYN (6%), and internal medicine (5%). Other top specialties included cardiology, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, and neurology. Four in five organizations (81%) searched for family medicine physicians in 2023, comprising a total of 996 searches.
When filling these roles, recruiters were able to fill 47% of searches for family medicine physicians, 58% of hospital medicine searches, 41% of OB GYN searches, and 48% of internal medicine searches. While these rates may sound low, they are all in the top half of filled searches by specialty, according to the survey.
Days to fill rates remain steady for physicians and advanced practice providers
Physician recruiting trends revealed the time it takes to fill searches continues to remain steady in 2023. The median time to fill a primary care physician search was 125 days, while specialty care searches took 135 days and surgical positions took 131 days. In contrast, the median search time to fill an APP role was 80 days.
When comparing days to fill against the most common searches, specialties like OB GYN, family medicine, and neurology took upwards of 160 median days to fill in 2023. On the other hand, hospital medicine and psychiatry positions were filled in a median of 92 and 91 days, respectively.
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Locum tenens usage declined, but search firm use remains high
After a multi-year increase, the percentage of physician searches using locum tenens decreased in 2023, dropping to 9%. The top specialties using locum tenens were anesthesiology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology, general surgery, and OB GYN. Locum tenens coverage was also used more frequently to fill positions in rural areas.
Three-quarters of organizations surveyed used search firms to fill roles in 2023, with about half using both contingent and retained firms. Smaller organizations, in particular, were more likely to engage a search firm, likely due to having fewer in-house resources.
Download the Physician Recruiting Trends one-sheet by clicking on the image below:
CHG Healthcare can help you find the doctors, advanced practice providers, and allied professionals you need to staff your facility. To learn more about our staffing solutions, call 866.588.5996 or email ecs.contact@chghealthcare.com.
