ASK AN EXPERT: How do we find a doctor to join our practice?

You asked: Shortage? What doctor shortage? It isn’t just patients who are feeling it. Dr. Ryan Korda, a family physician in a west Toronto practice, has felt the impact as his clinic searches for a new doctor. Here’s the question Dr. Korda sent in to Ask Us to Ask an Expert: How does one go about recruiting a physician for a family health group practice? We are two physicians in a private practice in the west end of Toronto. My older partner, who has a half-time practice, is retiring. We haven’t had responses from our Ontario Medical Association and HealthForceOntario ads, which we placed near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our expenses are competitive but it seems challenging to recruit these days. Read: Forget fee-for-service: Doctors need a salary, says physician association We answered For an answer, the Medical Post turned to Phil Martin, CEO of Physicians for You, a medical recruitment firm in Coldstream, B.C. Martin, who has 16 years of experience as a recruiter specializing in doctors, had this to say: “HealthForceOntario is a good place to start because it’s free and most healthcare professionals in Ontario are familiar with it. But I would also suggest looking at where other people are advertising these days and see how you can stand out in that space. “When you’re writing your ad, look at it from the lens of the doctors you’re trying to attract. What do you think would draw them to your job listing? I would also look at what other ads are saying. Look at what they’re offering and highlighting in their job descriptions to see how you might be able to compete. Read: N.L. Opposition says premier should learn from Nova Scotia on doctor recruitment “I would also encourage you to consider working with a third-party recruiter. In Canada, unlike many other countries, there’s still some resistance to working with recruiters. Unfortunately the recruiting industry has a reputation for being ruthless and there are loads of agencies who want to charge employers a lot of money but don’t really do the proper research and due diligence. “The way our agency works is we get paid only if we make a placement. There’s no retainer or any other upfront charge. Because of the way we work, there’s very little risk to the client. If we don’t find anyone, there’s no financial loss to them or to the candidate. “In terms of our process, one of the first things we do is have an initial call so we can understand what you’re looking for. Then it’s a matter of finding the right person. We thoroughly do our checks and due diligence—we hear so many stories of people out there looking at physician candidates who aren’t even sure they can get a licence. “We do have access to a lot of candidates but finding the right match can take time. For the candidates it’s about getting the right offer and some will prefer to hold off rather than accept something that’s less than what they want. With one doctor, for example, it took four years to find the right placement. “We get daily inquiries from clinics throughout Canada desperately in need of doctors. We can’t magically fix the doctor shortage situation but we can definitely try to help. We have the network of candidates—at any given time we’re working with at least 300 doctors looking for a job—and we have the experience.” Read: Random selection: Doctor culls patient roster to survive

ASK AN EXPERT: How do we find a doctor to join our practice?

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics