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Clinician burnout combined with a fiercely competitive labor market has led to a perfect storm for the healthcare industry. A 博亚国际娱乐城 survey found that and another 8% retired during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Medscape reports that 20% of physicians have thought about , and 19% changed jobs as a way to .
鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling that pain right now,鈥� says Tarese Dubiel, director of physician and APC recruitment and onboarding for . The organization, like most healthcare systems, has many providers nearing retirement. 鈥淭hree years ago, they'd work into their 70s 鈥� sometimes 80s 鈥� because they just weren't ready to hang up the white coat yet. Now, as soon as they hit 65 or even before that they're saying 鈥業 don't want to do this anymore; this is hard. I don't want to put myself at risk and the work is a lot different than it was two years ago.鈥欌��
But even amidst the turmoil, healthcare systems are finding new ways to hold onto providers. Here are seven ways Marshfield Clinic Health System and six other healthcare organizations are working to retain providers and keep them happy.
1. Reevaluate provider compensation
High demand has caused wages to increase for many healthcare professions. If your facility is losing a high number of providers, it may be time to reevaluate salaries.
鈥淲e are looking at salaries and making sure that everyone is within or above a fair market value,鈥� says Amy Burns, manager of physician recruitment for . Additionally, Ascension is fighting back against the lure of sign-on bonuses with retention bonuses of their own. 鈥淵ou might get a bonus when you start, and then if you stick around for a year, you get another bonus,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are working toward making sure that we are competitive so that people don't want to leave for a few dollars more somewhere else.鈥�
鈥淲e are offering incentives to providers that I鈥檝e never seen in the past,鈥� says Amber Latham, HR recruiter at . 鈥淲e want to meet their need and make sure they鈥檙e going to be happy in choosing our facility and want to stay. We鈥檝e offered bonuses and raises, so we鈥檙e definitely trying to keep up with some of the competitors within our region.鈥�
2. Make retention a focus of onboarding
focuses on retention from the moment a provider joins the organization. Onboarding is 鈥渕ore than coordinating scores of paperwork and sending them on their way,鈥� says Angela Pulcini, director of provider services for Parkview Health. 鈥淚t's staying in touch with our providers throughout their first year. They have a physician mentor assigned to them as well as a navigator who guides them through the pre-hire process and then stays with them throughout the first year.鈥�
3. Survey providers and take action on the results
Provider engagement surveys can help you pinpoint problem areas. But surveys are just the first step for Marshfield Clinic Health System. 鈥淥ur leaders are expected to meet with our teams and provide action plans back to our one-up manager,鈥� Dubiel says. 鈥淪o, I have to go to my team and say, 鈥楬ere's our results; here's the things we should be working on to improve.鈥� And then, 鈥楬ow do we take that up to the next step to show we're going to be accountable to improving those things.鈥欌��
4. Facilitate meetings between providers and senior leaders
Senior leaders at meet directly with physicians to ask them what they need. 鈥淚t starts with listening and being present,鈥� says Barb Martin, director, ambulatory care recruitment. 鈥淥ur senior leadership team sets intentional time to sit down and listen to what providers have to say. This is critically important in understanding how we may best support them to improve engagement, satisfaction, and reduce burnout.鈥�
5. Focus on meaningful communication
The pandemic changed the way many healthcare organizations communicate with providers as they struggled to roll out new policies and procedures. Good communication with providers is just as important post-pandemic.
Marshfield Clinic Health System strives to make sure providers are aware of positive things happening within the organization. 鈥淔or many years we were doing really cool things, but we weren't telling people about it,鈥� Dubiel says. For example, Marshfield was an early leader in telemedicine, and they grew their organization from one hospital to 10 in five years. 鈥淲e just didn鈥檛 tell anybody about it,鈥� she says.
鈥淣ow we're doing weekly email updates from our CEO to all staff and providers across our system highlighting the things we're doing,鈥� Dubiel says. 鈥淚t's never fun when employees or providers are hearing about the cool things we're doing on the news 鈥� they want to hear it from our leaders internally first, so we're getting a lot better at that.鈥�
6. Help providers and their families build community connections
Healthcare providers 鈥� and physicians in particular 鈥� can live and work nearly anywhere they want. If you want to retain them, it鈥檚 crucial to help providers build lasting ties within the community so they will be less inclined to leave.
鈥淲e work with our chamber of commerce, which has great programs to help people get integrated in their community. When family, partners, and spouses find opportunities within our community, their job is not the only thing keeping them here,鈥� explains Jessie Pondell, manager of talent strategy for .
That effort to foster community connections begins during the recruitment process for . 鈥淚t鈥檚 just letting them know right up front that we have amazing resources 鈥� anything that they need, they can reach out to us,鈥� says Nicole Kiser, locum tenens recruiter for Aspirus Health. "We literally have resources for everything in the community: daycare, making sure your family is a good fit, if you need help with this and that. Providing as many possible resources as you can upfront during the recruitment process 鈥� that's really something that sticks with them.鈥�
7. Take exit interviews seriously
Exit interviews can help provide a blueprint for improvement. 鈥淒uring those exit interviews or even during that time of receiving that resignation, we鈥檙e trying to see what, overall, the reason they鈥檙e leaving is and what can Presbyterian do better,鈥� Latham says.
Provider retention is a major challenge for nearly every health system, but following these strategies can help and increase loyalty to your organization.
博亚国际娱乐城 can provide your healthcare facility with the physicians and advanced practice providers you need to grow your organization. To learn more, contact us by phone at 866.588.5996 or email ecs.contact@chghealthcare.com.
