The flipside of any negative situation is opportunity. Per Medscape’s Lifestyle Report 2016: Bias and Burnout research, physician burnout is at an all time high. In fact, “the highest percentages of burnout occurred in critical care, urology, and emergency medicine, all at 55%. Family medicine and internal medicine follow closely at 54%.” Those areas of medicine also happen to coincide with many needs that hospitals are desperate to fill. Though these numbers can paint a bleak picture, the opportunity to address the causes is actually ideal for healthcare recruiters.
Per that report, the following are the main causes and ratings of physician burnout based on a scale of 1-7 with 7 being a significant contribution to burnout:
Too many bureaucratic tasks – 4.84
Spending too many hours at work – 4.14
Increasing computerization of practice – 4.02
Income not high enough – 3.78
Feeling like just a cog in a wheel – 3.71
Maintenance of certification requirements – 3.66
Impact of the Affordable Care Act – 3.43
Too many difficult patients – 3.42
Too many patient appointments in a day – 3.40
Inability to provide patients with the quality care they need – 3.29
Lack of professional fulfillment – 3.14
Difficult colleagues or staff – 2.97
Inability to keep up with current research and recommendations – 2.92
Compassion fatigue (overexposure to death, violence, and/or other loss in patients) - 2.88
Difficult employer – 2.83
While hospital employers have limited options to change things like The Affordable Care Act, lots of the items causing burnout can be addressed fairly simply. Here are some basic things you can do to make sure that your recruitment department is utilizing effective physician recruitment marketing in their everyday efforts.
Spending too many hours at work – 4.14
With one of the highest overall burnout ratings from the survey, spending too many hours at work is an easy problem to solve. It all comes down to work life balance. Offer your physicians opportunities to get out and have a life. Encourage them to rest their minds and let them know that they won’t be penalized for self-care. Maybe the solution is as simple as hiring one more physician for your rotations so that each has an easier caseload. Think about your departmental structure and consider allocating additional resources so that you can keep your retention rate high.
Income not high enough – 3.78
According to this article from Becker’s Hospital Review, the following were median compensation levels for physicians from 2014:
Anesthesiologists: $398,240 (0.9 percent increase from 2013)
Cardiologists: $425,000 (1 percent increase from 2013)
Dermatologists: $419,146 (1.9 percent increase from 2013)
Endocrinologists: $233,769 (0.2 percent decrease from 2013)
Emergency room physicians: $316,739 (5.2 percent increase from 2013)
Family medicine physicians: $229,607 (2.6 percent decrease from 2013)
Gastroenterologists: $471,336 (9 percent decrease from 2013)
General Surgeons: $380,778 (2 percent increase from 2013)
Internal medicine physicians: $237,548 (4.7 percent increase from 2013)
Neurologists: $268,096 (5.1 percent increase from 2013)
OB/GYN: $322,423 (3.2 percent increase from 2013)
Oncologists: $367,404 (4.9 percent increase from 2013)
Ophthalmologists: $380,600 (2.2 percent increase from 2013)
Orthopedic surgeons: $538,123 (2.5 percent increase from 2013)
Pediatricians: $232,097 (4.2 percent increase from 2013)
Psychiatrists: $232,750 (3.5 percent increase from 2013)
Pulmonologists: $304,367 (1.2 percent increase from 2013)
Rheumatologists: $239,112 (0.5 percent decrease from 2013)
Urologists: $434,563 (2.3 percent increase from 2013
If your physician salaries aren’t up to snuff, it is really something you should reevaluate. These numbers are from 2014 and if you’re aren’t in the ballpark with these numbers and inflation, you will lose physician talent. Want a tool you can use to directly compare your salaries with these numbers? Check out our worksheet:
Feeling like just a cog in a wheel – 3.71
It might sound a bit trite, but everyone wants to feel special. Consider implementing an employee appreciation program or simply make sure to thank your physicians when they do a particularly excellent job. Recognition or lack thereof can be a big reason why your physicians would allow themselves to be poached by another organization.
Maintenance of certification requirements – 3.66
Recertification and maintenance of licenses is always going to be an issue in any environment, but having resources in place to keep your physician credentials active is one way to show that you care about those you employ. Consider creating a microsite specifically dedicated to keeping your staff’s certifications up to date with tips, tools and helpful links. You’d be surprised how much a one-stop-shop can help busy professionals.
Too many patient appointments in a day – 3.40
How many patients are your doctors responsible for in a day? Is it above industry standard? Do they feel that they don’t have enough time to really care for the individuals? This goes back to the option of hiring an extra pair of hands here and there. The money may seem like an obstacle up front, but having an open physician slot is much more painful when it comes to justifying your recruitment budget.
Inability to provide patients with the quality care they need – 3.29
This one goes hand in hand with too many appointments per day. Reconsider how many assignments each physician should be responsible for and this concern will likely be resolved in tandem.
Lack of professional fulfillment – 3.14
Even within prestigious healthcare institutions it seems like career paths aren’t always defined. Putting career paths into writing and making those trajectories available to your physician staff will ultimately allow them to feel secure knowing that they have a future with your hospital. Don’t let them think they are a temporary solution. Your staff is the reason for your success and upward mobility is key to maintaining that success.
Difficult colleagues or staff – 2.97
While this sort of issue is somewhat inevitable due to personal interactions and issues, promoting a positive company culture is the best way to make sure staff remains at least cordial to one and other. Exercise groups, activities and mixers along with certain perks can make everyone a bit happier and therefore nicer to one and other.
Inability to keep up with current research and recommendations – 2.92
Make it easy! This is another opportunity for you to provide a resource to staff. A microsite focused on research that pulls in the latest articles relevant to your industry might be just the way to keep your staff informed and happy. Also, providing resources that staff didn’t specifically request when a need arises shows that you are a proactive and caring employer. Who wouldn’t want to work for a place like that
Difficult employer – 2.83
Do you have a bad reputation? If you’re considered difficult by your own staff, good luck competing for top physician talent against those with a better recruitment brand! Building a quality recruitment brand is essential to recruiting and retaining the best in the business. Celebrate staff achievement, work with them to help them reach their goals and most importantly promote these positive things to the outside world. The more excited your current employees are to work for you the better your future recruitment will go. If you don’t know how your employee feel, think about sending out a comprehensive survey of current staff or consider checking out our interactive tool, 23 Elements of Employee Satisfaction below:
Overall, a lot of physicians are still seeking the right fit when it comes to a healthcare employer. According to Mayo Clinic research, “satisfaction with work-life balance declined in physicians between 2011 and 2014 (48.5% vs 40.9%; P<.001).” Though it seems alarming that almost half of surveyed doctors aren’t totally happy with their work-life balance, it could also mean that the world of passive physician candidates is wide open for the right employer. Review your policies and strive to be the employer physicians compete to work for if you want to retain and recruit ideal candidates.
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