Leading trends in physician recruitment part 2 — Partnerships

Challenges in recruiting specialized medical staff

We are seeing a persistent deepening of the challenges in recruiting specialized staff in the medical industry. We have decided to take a look at some of the most interesting ideas for recruiting doctors that could help reverse this trend.

Recruitment allies

The environment for medical entities includes not only competitors but also potential allies. Establishing and nurturing the right relationships can significantly facilitate reaching potential employees. Medical associations are particularly valuable partners for building a positive image among young medical professionals. They have ready-made databases containing contacts for doctors of various specialties, methods for engaging them in their activities, and they readily use modern communication tools such as Facebook groups or Slack.

Examples of medical associations

For example, the "Young Doctor" Association has nearly 5,000 followers on Facebook, almost all of whom belong to the target group we want to reach. The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA-Poland) has a strong infrastructure not only on social media (over 5,600 likes on Facebook for the general profile, 3,500+ in Warsaw, 2,000+ in Łódź and Szczecin, etc.) but also on the ground (12 local branches).

Collaboration with organizations

This should not, of course, be a one-sided collaboration. Both the association and the medical facility must offer benefits that provide added value to the daily operations of both entities. It is worth remembering that a young doctor is primarily looking for opportunities to deepen their knowledge, gain valuable contacts, and participate in events that enhance their professional prestige. With this in mind, you can propose the following to a partner:

• organizing training sessions at our facility – it is good to leave a trace of these in the form of a report, further enhanced by comments from speakers and participants,
• scientific conferences where we can effectively position our brand,
• webinars, i.e., online training sessions that engage younger doctors, who can gain knowledge and get to know our facility better without having to leave home,
• joining as an organizer for activities conducted by the association, such as social campaigns, conventions, symposia, or anniversaries (e.g., the Doctors of Hope Association specializes in helping homeless people, and IFMSA is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, inviting doctors and students from all over the country to the event),
• establishing cooperation and exchanging experiences with foreign entities.

Collaboration with medical platforms

It is also worth remembering to collaborate with the creators of online platforms and websites, as well as providers of medical applications. Students and doctors readily use websites that help them deepen and organize their knowledge. Young doctors are particularly interested in databases of LEK, LDEK, and PES exams, lists of textbooks, and the ability to interact with other medical students on forums.

A leading platform meeting this demand is EgzaminyLekarskie.pl, which brings together students, medical interns, and doctors in the process of specialization. Another popular medical site, Konsylium24.pl, has over 58,000 registered doctors, whose activity translates into 136,000 logins per month and 93,000 topics submitted for discussion. You can also find job postings on this site – at the time of writing, there are over a thousand offers available.

Internet marketing and content marketing

Especially in the 20-45 age group, we have many medical professionals active online. Our efforts should therefore be calibrated to reach them through internet marketing and content marketing. We can advertise our facilities in a simple and straightforward way, e.g., by placing a banner or a sponsored article on a website dedicated to the medical industry, or more subtly – by including expert commentary from our doctors in the texts published there.

Collaboration with career offices

Don't overlook career offices at medical universities, which are also great partners for joint ventures aimed at providing value to students:

• posting job openings on the career office website,
• featuring our facility's profile there,
• participating in career fairs organized by the office,
• carrying out joint educational and training initiatives.

Compensation and benefits

Of course, for a young doctor, especially an intern, work is not just a passion but also a livelihood. That’s why it’s worth mentioning any bonuses for night shifts and incentives for staying with our facility in the job posting.

Partnerships with charitable initiatives

An innovative way to draw attention to a hospital or clinic network brand could be partnering with initiatives that help those in need by leveraging community-based mechanisms. Good examples of such entities are charitable crowdfunding platforms like SiePomaga.pl or Pomagam.im.

B2B cooperation

Another form of partnership is B2B collaboration. By building relationships with business entities, we can gain access to our target audience, even through barter arrangements. In cooperation with a publisher of medical journals and books, we could organize a contest for doctors or medical students, with medical titles as prizes.

Accommodation and staff support

In agreement with apartment rental owners, we can sponsor accommodation for potential employees or for a renowned specialist who, for example, might provide training to our staff at our facility. By offering a company that caters to doctors the opportunity to participate in our events, we can count on reciprocity—such as having them send information about our recruitment or innovations at our facility to their contact database.

Seeking new solutions

The most important thing is to constantly look for new solutions and leverage your own resources to offer real value to your partners.

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