Physician Recruitment Resource Center

Physician Staffing Services

In addition to providing one of the largest free online physician job boards, LocumTenens.com has created an online resource center specifically for healthcare facilities. You will find a variety of information about physician staffing, physician recruiting and other industry related news.

Featured Physician Recruiting Article

Why healthcare organizations use locum tenens

Physician staffing is a tough business these days. It can take 7 months to a year to hire a staff physician - possibly even longer for physicians in high-demand specialties like orthopedics or radiology. So what do you do in the meantime?

Well, a whole industry has evolved over the last 20 years or so to solve that specific physician staffing problem. The term "locum tenens" is Latin for "to hold the place of, to substitute for." A locum tenens physician is a licensed and credentialed - likely even board-certified - physician who fills a gap in your medical team.

View the full version of this article on physician staffing.

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Improve Physician Retention and Boost your Bottom Line

A growing U.S. physician shortage means organizations are demanding more of staff and contracted physicians at a time when physician frustration is on the rise.

Surveys conducted in 2006 by both LocumTenens.com and the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) indicate that issues like low reimbursement levels, high workload volume and loss of autonomy are challenging physicians to find great satisfaction in practicing medicine.

Read the complete whitepaper, "In Their Words: The Real Story on Physician Turnover"

Physician staffing
LocumTenens.com Survey of Physician Recruiters in U.S. Healthcare Organizations

In summer 2006, LocumTenens.com surveyed the 700+ members of the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR) to gather information and identify trends in physician recruiting and retention.

Highlights of the survey findings included:

  • Almost half (45%) of respondents reported they had recruited more than 20 physicians in the past year, compared to 27% of 2005 respondents. Among those, about a third of respondents (32%) recruited more than 30 physicians in the past year.
  • Forty percent (40%) said their organizations plan to spend more than $300,000 on physician recruitment in 2006. Of those, 19% said their organizations planned to spend more than $500,000.
  • The number of organizations using no locum tenens physicians decreased, from 32% in 2005 to 20% in 2006. The number of organizations reporting they had used up to 10 locum tenens physicians in the past year increased by 10%, from 50% in 2005 to 60% in 2006. The percentage of respondents reporting their organizations used more than 10 locum tenens physicians in the past year increased by 5%, from 20% in 2005 to 25% in 2006.

Physician Recruitment Resources

RecruitRx: Add this to your physician recruitment toolbox

Your healthcare organization faces a recruiting dilemma when a staff physician leaves the practice unexpectedly. Whether it's for a vacation, a death or parental leave, how will the sudden physician vacancy affect the growing practice and your annual physician recruitment budget?

Traditionally, you have had to decide if you would spend time picking through curricula vitae one-by-one, or spend money conducting the search through a physician recruiting agency. Now there's a third option called "RecruitRx."

A precedent in the physician recruitment industry, RecruitRx is a web-enabled broadcast email tool that saves you time and money. Essentially, the software application gives non-agency physician recruiting staff access to the agency's physician database.

Learn more about Recruit Rx

The ROI of Locum Tenens

Healthcare executives are often concerned about what they see as the high cost of locum tenens physicians / CRNAs. But the lost revenue associated with leaving a physician vacancy unfilled for months on end can more than justify the hiring of a locum tenens doctor. Consider this: without the cost of payroll taxes, benefits, malpractice insurance, and CME expenses, the total cost of locum tenens doctors is comparable to the cost of salaried doctors.

Although the potential lost revenue in professional fees and ancillary services can be significant, the value of hiring locum tenens doctors touches more than just your bottom line. For an in-depth analysis of the ROI of locum tenens read: "Locum Tenens: A Smart Investment".