The impact of COVID-19 on front-line healthcare staff will likely be felt for years, and the findings from a recent survey of physicians bring up a key question: is the healthcare industry on the verge of a physician turnover epidemic?
The survey, conducted by Jackson Physician Search, a national physician recruitment firm, included responses from 400 physicians across a range of specialties, and from 86 healthcare administrators from throughout the U.S. The study revealed several insightful findings, including:
- Nearly 70 percent said they are actively disengaged from their employers. Interestingly, when administrators were asked the same question, they said only 35 percent of their physicians felt this way.
- 54 percent of physicians surveyed said COVID-19 has changed their employment plans. Of those, 50 percent are considering leaving for a new healthcare employer, 21 percent said they may hang up their white coat for early retirement, and 15 percent are thinking about leaving the practice of medicine entirely.
- In the survey, conducted during Q4 2020, 83 percent of physicians said their employers have no retention program. However, administrators had a different perspective, with only 30 percent reporting that there was no program in place. Perhaps more concerning, physicians and administrators both felt that even when a retention program did exist, it wasn’t favorable. Only 2 percent of physicians and just 10 percent of administrators rated it highly.
- 1 in 3 physicians reported that they receive no formal orientation upon joining their employer, which some believe is critical to physician performance and retention
- 26 percent of physicians stated there are no programs in place at their organizations to deal with burnout. For those who did have access to programs that are designed to mitigate burnout, the most common options were wellness and mental health initiatives.
These results suggest that the practice of how the healthcare industry engages and retains physicians needs an intervention, according to the researchers. ““Prioritizing physician engagement and retention is critical to the well-being of physicians, their patients and the healthcare organizations they serve,” said Jackson Physician Search President Tony Stajduhar. “The burnout physicians feel today is only exacerbated by long-standing doctor shortages and the perception by physicians that healthcare facilities rarely have a plan in place to retain them.”
Administrators recognize the need and have long attempted to devise retention programs, but it appears that physicians have deemed these efforts as largely ineffective or, at a minimum, poorly communicated, according to the report.
“A single physician vacancy can easily cost a healthcare organization $1 million in lost revenue, which has a detrimental impact on already financially struggling hospitals and medical practices,” Stajduhar added. “When you also consider that recruiting a culturally aligned physician can take up to 6-12 months and cost $250,000 or more – including sourcing, relocation and sign-on bonus – greater emphasis on retaining physicians is key to meeting American’s healthcare needs now and into the future.”
Stajduhar further noted, “It’s difficult to read some of the physicians’ comments throughout the survey, especially knowing the unimaginable sacrifices they’ve made and continue to make to see us through the pandemic.” He added, “They’re struggling. But we’re hopeful that with vaccines now being rolled out, a renewed emphasis will be placed on developing strategies to effectively engage physicians and mitigate burnout, both of which contribute to stronger physician retention and lifelong, fulfilling medical careers.”
