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Half of All Primary Care, Internal Medicine Jobs Unfilled in 2013

 |  By John Commins  
   August 21, 2014

Nearly 70% of organizations searched for a family medicine physician in 2013. The percentage of primary care positions that go unfilled every year "continues to be a problem," says an Association of Staff Physician Recruiters executive.

The demand for primary care physicians and advanced practice nurses continues to grow, and hospitals are beefing up recruiting efforts as the competition intensifies, the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters reports.

ASPR's just-released benchmark survey details more than 5,000 physician and advanced practice nurse searches by 145 healthcare organizations across the country in 2012-2013.

As in previous years, primary care continues to be in high demand. Nearly 70% of organizations searched for a family medicine physician in 2013; the most common physician search, followed by hospital medicine and internal medicine.


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Half of all family medicine and internal medicine positions went unfilled. The percentage of unfilled positions for both of these primary care specialties grew over the prior year with rates increasing from 36% to 47% for family medicine and from 41% to 52% for internal medicine positions, ASPR said.

"I don't think there are any surprises with primary care continuing to be the top searches for both physicians and advanced practice providers. The percentage of positions that go unfilled every year continues to be a problem," says ASPR Executive Director Jennifer Metivier.

"We had 38% unfilled in the current report compared with 33% in the prior year. The demand continues to increase. The supply is not keeping up."

More than 19% of all searches were for advanced practice providers. Approximately 71% of nurse practitioner and 50% of physician assistant searches were specifically for primary care, an increase from 38% and 43% respectively in the prior year, ASPR said.


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"I was surprised to see the jump for the advanced practice providers," Metivier says. "It goes to show we are relying more and more on advanced practice providers to fill these gaps for primary care. It is not surprising really if you think about the situation we are facing."

More Demand, More Recruiters, More Spending
The survey found that the median number of provider searches conducted per organization increased from 20 to 26, the median number of in-house physician recruitment staff per organization doubled from one to two people, and annual recruitment budgets rose from a median $245,000 to $321,000 from 2012 to 2013.

"These indicators show that some of these healthcare organizations are putting more focus on physician recruitment," Metivier says. "They're realizing the need to put additional staff and money into this so they can be more successful. When an organization has 30, 40, 60 or more physician searches open one person cannot manage that. They need additional funding and staffing."

"Over time it will be interesting to see if we continue to see growth in that area. We don't have historical data on that point, but the fact that they are staffing with greater numbers and it looks like they are putting more money into it shows they realize that they need to do this to be successful to compete against so many people recruiting those same providers," Metivier says.


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Multiple Recruiting Strategies
The report also shows that healthcare organizations with successful recruiting programs often rely on a number of strategies.

"I don't think it is all about money but it certainly helps," Metivier says. "We are definitely seeing more hospitals use payback assistance with student loans, sign-on bonuses and relocation assistance and those types of things. The organizations that are better equipped to offer those incentives are definitely in a better situation and more likely more successful in filling these open positions."

Metivier says ASPR findings show physicians and advanced practice nurse recruiting in rural America remains a challenge.

"Location is definitely a top reason why people decide they are going to accept a position and we clearly see that in more rural areas it is more difficult to recruit," she says.


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"A lot of physicians spend their training in large cities, so even if they are from a rural area they become accustomed to a more metropolitan lifestyle and sometimes it is hard to make that transition back to a more rural area."

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John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.

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