Recruiting physicians and other providers for positions in rural areas continues to be a challenge. Rural populations continue to face deficits in access to healthcare. For these populations, it means a need for more skilled health professionals. There are specific considerations associated with healthcare recruitment in these areas. As a trusted physician recruitment solutions vendor, we aim to help you reach your organizational goals. With that said, we will explore strategies for successful rural recruitment that will help you stay ahead of the curve and attract the best talent for your organization.

First, we need to start with physician’s deterrents from and attractions to rural areas.

Deterrents

There is a whole host of reasons why physicians are hesitant to move to rural areas to practice. More prominent factors include fewer medical staff, fewer amenities, a lack of resources, and a lack of entertainment. These factors can quickly lead a physician to burnout, as they may mean more work for each physician.

Some other deterrents include less diversity, fewer people, and long commutes between them and their family members or between them and work.

Attractions/Incentives

On the other hand, there are a lot of reasons that physicians are interested in working in rural areas. Among the most desirable reasons are less traffic, lower cost of living, work-life balance, higher compensation, and opportunities to work in Telemedicine.

While these factors may attract some healthcare providers, not all providers are motivated by these things. This is why it is paramount to have good recruitment strategies in place.

Marketing Rural Opportunities

When you’re looking for candidates to come work for you in a rural area, you need to make the area attractive to them so they want to move there. Outline any recreational activities, the quality of life, cost of living, and the impact they could have on the community. Talk about how close you are to a major city and what the atmosphere is like in the area. What do the entertainment and nightlife scenes have to offer?

Sourcing Rural Candidates

Once you’ve begun marketing your opportunities, there are a few ways to handle sourcing rural candidates, including social media recruiting, implementing employee referral programs, utilizing niche job boards, maintaining an efficient hiring process, and building partnerships.

Social Media Recruiting

Social media recruiting is a great way to enhance your recruitment strategy, helping you to reach a broader audience and appeal to passive candidates. Healthcare organizations can enhance their appeal to candidates and increase their chances of finding the perfect fit for their open positions by establishing specific recruiting social media accounts and tailoring their content accordingly.

Creating an Employee Referral Program

Another of many effective recruitment strategies is creating an employee referral program. Healthcare organizations can leverage their existing network of candidates and save time and resources in the recruitment process by incentivizing current employees to refer qualified candidates. A higher employee referral bonus can encourage more employees to participate, ultimately leading to a larger pool of potential candidates.

Utilizing Job Boards

Another option for enhancing rural physician recruiting is to utilize niche job boards. Niche job boards, such as those tailored to health professionals seeking careers in rural areas, can help employers connect with highly qualified candidates who are specifically interested in working in rural settings. Organizations can streamline the recruiting process and increase the likelihood of finding candidates for their open opportunities by focusing on these specialized platforms.

Additionally, healthcare organizations should consider posting job ads on career sites that cater to advanced practice providers, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, to increase their chances of attracting the top talent in the field. This approach can be especially effective for physician recruitment, as it targets individuals who have the professional experience and skills necessary to thrive in a rural medical practice.

Featuring job postings on online job boards is essential for any good recruitment strategy. Healthcare organizations can increase their visibility and reach a wider audience of potential candidates by advertising their open positions on popular job boards through a well-crafted job posting. This approach can also help organizations streamline their recruitment process, as job seekers can easily apply for positions directly through the job board platform.

Streamlining Your Hiring Process

An efficient hiring process is crucial for successfully recruiting rurally. Health care organizations can reduce the time it takes to fill open roles and ensure a positive experience for job seekers by streamlining the interview process and using recruitment tools to quickly identify suitable candidates. This efficiency can also help organizations stand out as industry leaders, attracting top talent and ensuring a strong team of healthcare professionals.

Building Partnerships

Building strong partnerships coast-to-coast is an essential component of an effective recruitment strategy. Hiring managers can:

• Share resources and insights
• Improve their recruitment efforts
• Find the best candidates for their open opportunities
• Collaborate with other healthcare organizations

These partnerships can also help organizations stay informed about industry trends, ensuring they remain competitive in their recruitment efforts.

Participating in Recruitment Events

Participating in campus recruiting events is another important strategy for meeting your recruitment goals. Healthcare organizations can tap into a fresh talent pool of potential employees who are eager to begin their careers in the medical field by engaging with college and university students. These events can also help organizations build relationships with educational institutions, ensuring a steady pipeline of new talent for years to come.

Building rapport with the closest residency and fellowship programs and offering free career-focused guidance can help build fruitful relationships and enduring partnerships.

Finally, contacting career services at local colleges and universities can help healthcare organizations in the following ways:

• Connect with potential candidates
• Identify new talent for open positions
• Ensure access to a diverse pool of candidates
• Establish a strong presence on college campuses
• Enhance recruitment efforts

Organizations can achieve these benefits by collaborating with career services at local colleges and universities, as well as participating in job fairs. PracticeMatch offers live and virtual career fairs, including rural virtual career fairs to help you connect with the right candidates and build a strong pipeline of providers interested in rural practice settings.

Successful rural recruitment in 2023 relies on a combination of strategies, including social media recruiting, employee referral programs, utilizing job boards, maintaining an efficient hiring process, and building strong partnerships coast-to-coast. By implementing these strategies, healthcare organizations can attract the best talent and ensure they provide exceptional care to patients in rural areas.

With these strategies in place, your organization will be well-equipped to navigate the challenges of rural recruitment and secure the top talent needed to provide outstanding care to your community. Now is the time to invest in the future of your organization and take the first steps toward a successful rural recruitment strategy in 2023.

To learn more about how PracticeMatch can help you find providers interested in rural practice settings, get in touch! Call us at (800) 489-1440 or send us an email at information@practicematch.com.