Recruiting physicians is an ongoing task for departments and practices across academic medical institutions and in private practice. I’ve seen this firsthand in my work as director of radiology administration at a medical school teaching nearly 700 students. In fact, radiologist recruitment is one of my primary duties. 

In five years I recruited 14 physicians and learned valuable lessons in the process. Among these are the following four tenets that, I believe, apply to any manager tasked with physician recruitment in any setting. 

1. Have a plan.

Recruitment timing is often inconvenient, so mapping out time management and follow-up with prospective hires—in advance—is necessary to prevent revenue loss and inadequate clinical coverage. Here at New Jersey Medical School it takes approximately two to three months to recruit and hire a candidate. While the recruitment process is ongoing, the burden of maintaining the same level of patient care shifts to a smaller team. This can lead to a “mad scramble” to maintain productivity levels, which can affect the morale of the team. For this reason, I document each interaction with prospective hires to identify opportunities for concern and to maintain a sense of the candidate’s interest in the position.

2. Stay engaged with your recruits.

Recently, while recruiting a physician from out of state, I learned that she would only accept the job offer if her husband also gets hired as a physician in New Jersey. Maintaining ongoing contact with the candidate made our conversations easy—and made her more comfortable sharing her concerns. With that knowledge, my chair contacted several of his colleagues and secured the candidate’s husband a job interview in our area. Our ongoing communication with the candidate revealed a possible barrier, which we addressed and moved forward with the job offer. 

3. Mix the personal with the professional.

I’ve found that personal-professional referrals can save time in the application review and hiring process. While the initial benefits of the personal connection may seem obviously advantageous to the applicant, the organization also benefits. I involve our attendings when we’re recruiting so they can inform their colleagues about the position. Some of our attendings have taken job ads to their professional meetings and used the conference’s notice board to solicit applications. That approach is cost-effective. It also taps into the connection between colleagues almost immediately, which sets the stage for trust and cooperation on the job.

4. Use phone screenings and other technology-based mediums.

Physician recruitment can be a costly and time-consuming undertaking. To save both money and time, my department uses Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting and other tools that support face-to-face meetings via the Internet. To be sure, virtual meetings are a good substitute for in-person meetings—but they are not equivalent. Strong candidates are always invited to meet our team and tour our facilities. Still, the overall benefits of virtual meetings are real. Online chats allow us to better meet our commitment to conduct a national search and attract a more diverse cadre of qualified candidates.

For me these strategies have proven intentional, meaningful and sustainable. Plus they allow for preparation and execution at all stages of the recruitment process. Taken together, they give a practice or department the ability to successfully triage, track and hire the best candidate for the job. And isn’t that what physician recruitment is all about? 

Julie Chapman-Greene is director of radiology administration at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.