Restructuring to Improve Recruitment

A hospital in a small Midwestern community had one hospitalist on staff and was contracting with a hospitalist group who supplied a number of hospitalists when the solo physician was not on duty. The staff hospitalist had a patient load higher than one person could handle. The hospital recognized that to have the continuity and care, a second staff hospitalist was needed.

The hospital recognized this problem and turned to the experts at Cejka Search to recruit for an additional full-time hospitalist.

Cejka Search evaluated the situation from an outside perspective and foresaw a significant power balance issue that might turn highly qualified candidates away.

The current hospitalist was not interested in bringing in a partner to the organization. A new physician would likely face difficulty finding new patients and receiving referrals from doctors with whom the original solo practitioner already had relationships. The job description and setting were not viable unless the hospital was willing to restructure the organization.

Strategy
In this particular case, Cejka Search recommended the hospital create a new coordinator position to serve both an external and internal role. Externally, the position would be a positive face for the community to interact with and internally, he or she would schedule and organize among the soon-to-be three full-time hospitalists. The coordinator would ensure that none of the physicians would be in a position to compete against one another for patients or compensation opportunities.

Results
Since the hospital established a proven and equitable method for distributing patients among the hospitalists, Cejka Search was able to bring in a number of qualified candidates to be interviewed.
After learning about the system’s positive structure, a high percentage of candidates left their interviews very interested in the position and the hospital was able to hire its two top candidates.
The organization now has a hospitalist system that serves the best interest of all parties: the hospital, physicians and most importantly, the patients.

If any organization is planning to grow, it is important to bring all new physicians into fair work environments, which positively impacts physicians’ tenure with the organization.