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As a healthcare employer, standing out from the crowd is more important than ever in the current labor market. A recent 博亚国际娱乐城 survey found that during the pandemic and more are looking to make a move, and that turnover has been fueled primarily by a desire for an . That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 critical to prioritize physician work/life balance in your organizational planning 鈥� and promote it as a differentiator in your recruitment strategy.
Build schedules that allow for better balance
The 博亚国际娱乐城 survey found that while Millennial physicians strongly value work/life balance, more experienced physicians are interested in achieving greater balance as well.
鈥淭he older doctors almost mirror the younger doctors because they鈥檙e in the slowdown phase; they also want that work/life balance,鈥� says Lisa Goldstein, a senior consultant on 鈥檚 hospitalist, emergency medicine, and infectious diseases recruitment team.
Making it easier for physicians to spend time with their families or pursue outside interests is one way to prevent burnout, , and give them some balance. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, offering PTO that can be used in blocks enables physicians to take extended vacations. 鈥淧TO has never been more important to physician job seekers,鈥� Goldstein says.
鈥淩ound and go鈥� is another increasingly common request, she says. With 鈥渞ound and go,鈥� hospital physicians aren鈥檛 required to remain onsite at the hospital for an entire 12-hour shift. Instead, when they鈥檝e finished seeing their patients, they can leave and be on call if they need to come back.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 efficient and I get through my census, why do I have to stay in the hospital?鈥� Is a question Goldstein says she gets regularly from physician job seekers. 鈥淭hat can make a big difference because 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, seven days in a row, you鈥檙e not home for dinner. They don鈥檛 want that anymore. They want to be home.鈥�
Some hospitals stagger the ability to leave after the census is complete. For example, if there are four hospitalists on a shift, two will stay the full 12 hours, while the other two can leave early, when possible.
Creating accommodations in scheduling can be implemented in a variety of ways. For some it鈥檚 a four-day workweek. For others it鈥檚 a no-call or low-call burden so that when you鈥檙e off, you鈥檙e really off.
Ease workload stress
Relieving the pressures of a physician鈥檚 workload can forestall burnout and promote a sense of wellbeing and balance.
has worked hard to create a manageable workload for its physicians 鈥� even though the organization has been growing at a tremendous rate. The Villages Health serves a retirement community of more than 140,000 residents in Florida.
The Villages Health鈥檚 value-based care model is attractive to patients and physicians alike. 鈥淲hen we鈥檙e recruiting and I ask candidates, 鈥榃hat interested you in The Villages Health?鈥� the very first thing they say is, 鈥業 love your care model,鈥欌�� explains Bob Trinh, CEO of The Villages Health.
The Villages Health provides 30- to 60-minute primary care patient visits. Additionally, physicians are supported with an 鈥渆ntire care team,鈥� he says. Each physician has two medical assistants and a nurse practitioner or physician assistant to help with the patient panel, and these providers have their own clinical assistants as well. Primary care physicians have a panel of 1,250 patients, about half the national average, according to Trinh.
鈥淲e encourage our physicians to delegate as much as possible to their care teams so that the physician can focus on patient care,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also done things to make it a better work environment for our team members.鈥�
All of this has proved to be attractive to physicians who are seeking a better work/life balance. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e on a fee-per-service model and they want to get off that treadmill. And when they hear about the care model that we have in terms of being able to spend more time with the patient, the resources that we support our physicians with 鈥� that鈥檚 very attractive,鈥� Trinh says.
Promote your community advantages
At in Wisconsin, the number of open physician opportunities has skyrocketed since the end of the pandemic. Marshfield鈥檚 facilities are in rural communities, which can make even more challenging. But Jennifer Waters-Plemon, CPRP, assistant manager and physician and APC recruitment and onboarding for Marshfield Clinic Health System, has turned the low-key setting into a selling point for families looking for better work/life balance.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to deal with traffic, and you can be home with your family right away after work,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou have better work/life balance because when you are done with work, you can be home quickly to watch your kids鈥� sporting events or go to dinner or a show. Those are definitely things that we try to communicate in our ads and when we talk to potential candidates.鈥�
Whether it鈥檚 scheduling flexibility, a supportive care model, or unique community attributes, promoting the ways your organization better support physician work/life balance will give you an edge in a competitive hiring market that shows no sign of cooling down.
博亚国际娱乐城 can help you find the doctors, nurses, and allied professionals you need to staff your facility. To learn more about our staffing solutions, give us a call at 866.588.5996 or email ecs.contact@chghealthcare.com.
