Recruitment Strategies for Hard-to-Fill Healthcare Positions
Our industry continues to face a shortage of professionals, particularly in hard-to-fill roles including specialized nurses, primary care physicians, and rural healthcare providers. To overcome these challenges, recruiters must employ innovative strategies and targeted outreach.
Below, we share key insights into these hard-to-fill positions, including actionable tactics for more efficient recruitment.
Three of Today’s Hard-to-Fill Healthcare Positions
- Specialized Nursing Roles
The demand for these positions, including nurse anesthetists and critical care nurses is rising sharply. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 45% increase in demand for nurse anesthetists by 2031. All of these positions require advanced training, making them more difficult to fill than general nursing roles. - Primary Care Physicians
The shortfall of primary care physicians continues to be acute, projected to reach up to 48,000 by 2034, with rural areas facing the brunt of the shortage. These positions are essential in providing accessible care, especially in underserved communities, but are increasingly hard to fill. - Rural Healthcare Providers
Recruiting physicians to rural areas remains a significant challenge. While nearly 20% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, only about 10% of doctors practice there. Geographic isolation and fewer professional development opportunities make these roles harder to attract candidates.
Recruiting for Hard-to-Fill Roles: Strategies You Can Employ Now
- Leverage Niche Job Boards and Platforms
Utilizing PhysEmp’s job board and services, which are solely focused on healthcare employment, allows recruiters to target physicians actively seeking positions. PhysEmp’s candidate database offers access to a curated pool of physicians and others who have applied for roles in the past year. - Offer Incentives and Benefits
Incentives are crucial to attracting talent for rural or underserved areas. Offering signing bonuses, relocation assistance, or student loan forgiveness are powerful draws. Rural healthcare facilities have had success using loan repayment programs through the National Health Service Corps. - Utilize Technology to Streamline Recruitment
Technology can make recruitment faster and more efficient. PhysEmp’s platform allows recruiters to sift through large volumes of physician profiles, using technology-powered tools to identify candidates based on specialty, location, and preferences. An automated job-matching system ensures that no high-quality candidate is overlooked. Learn more - Engage with Educational Institutions
Building relationships with medical schools and residency programs can provide a pipeline of new talent. Offerings such as mentorship programs, internships, and career fairs mean connecting early with students, creating long-term relationships that benefit both the institution and healthcare facilities in need. - Promote Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
Today’s healthcare professionals increasingly prioritize work-life balance. Roles that offer flexible hours, telemedicine opportunities, and reduced on-call duties are more attractive to candidates and can increase retention rates. Recruiters should work closely with employers to craft job descriptions that reflect these needs.
How PhysEmp Helps Recruiters
PhysEmp services empower healthcare recruiters to fill challenging roles more efficiently.
- Job Board Advertising. On PhysEmp’s platform, recruiters can post job ads targeting physicians and healthcare professionals. With a highly engaged audience, your job postings reach the right candidates faster.
- Direct Access to Candidates. Through a subscription-based service, recruiters gain access to a robust database of physicians who have actively applied for jobs in the past 12 months. The data includes detailed profiles, CVs, and more, allowing recruiters to target top candidates.
By utilizing PhysEmp’s technology and database, healthcare recruiters can stay ahead of the competition and find top-tier candidates for hard-to-fill positions!
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, NIH, AAMC, NRHA, Indeed, and links shown above.
