As physician shortages continue to threaten every healthcare specialty, here is what five practices told Becker's they are doing to recruit new talent in 2024:
"Addressing workforce dynamics is crucial for the sustainable growth of our ASC. The difficulty in recruiting and retaining highly-skilled staff, especially in the face of less competitive salaries compared to larger hospitals, is a concern that needs immediate attention. We plan to implement strategies such as offering competitive compensation and providing continuous education and training opportunities. We aim to establish a positive work environment to both attract and retain top talent. By investing in our workforce, our goal is to guarantee the utmost level of patient care and operational excellence. Additionally, we are exploring technological solutions to streamline operational processes, thereby reducing the workload on our staff and improving overall efficiency." — Ali Ghalayini. ASC administrator at Munster (Ind.) Surgery Center.
"Ortho RI Surgery Center's growth in 2024 and beyond is focused on expanding service lines that are most impactful to our communities, including spine, pain and joint arthroplasty. To remain mission-focused on cost-effective and patient-centric care, we continue to recruit like-minded, skillfully trained physicians and surgical teams. Ortho RI's leadership in technology and innovation is a catalyst for perpetual growth, and thoughtful alignment between the patient, surgical team, anesthesia and surgeon will truly support effective medicine." — Kyle Anderson. Vice president of finance and ASC at Ortho Rhode Island (Wakefield).
"Continued recruitment of private practice physicians into ASCs. The bulk of these successful recruitments are being driven by the remnant private practice orthopedic and pain management specialists who have continued doing their procedures in hospitals and are now transitioning into established ASCs. The reasons for this transition by these physicians are often related to decreases in efficiency and availability of OR block times secondary to staff shortages at large hospital systems, as well as the potential to drive more revenue through ASC ownership." — Reuben Gobezie, MD. Founder and director at Gobezie Shoulder Institute and Regen Orthopedics (Beachwood, Ohio).
"Through our partnership with AdventHealth, we are able to collaboratively work to assess the needs in each sub-market and recruit accordingly. It is a dynamic time in our market with a rapidly growing population, and we are looking to position ourselves to meet that need." — Jon Schmidt. Vice President of Operations at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute (Orlando).
"An aggressive recruitment effort is currently underway at HSS, and we've made significant progress over the last six months. Our general philosophy is that providing an array of opportunities for advancement is the best way to recruit top talent. For example, we offer our own residency program for nurses, and we're constantly looking for new ways to create professional ladders for clinical staff across the organization." — Bryan Kelly, MD. President and CEO of the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City).