A few months ago, it was difficult to imagine many of the circumstances physicians are facing today. For example, that ambulatory care providers would segue into the Emergency Department and other vital departments in hospitals, or that medical students would graduate early to join the battle against COVID-19. 

Unbelievably, the demand for physicians during the pandemic has decreased by 30% (per a recent survey from Merritt Hawkins.) There’s also been a notable increase in the number of physicians seeking employment. That’s because 21% of physicians have been furloughed or have had to take a pay cut due to the crisis (per the same Merritt Hawkins survey).  

The good news is the job crisis for doctors is predicted to be short-lived. Even so, the work environment is changing and all physicians are being forced to adapt in various ways. How can recruiters help physicians navigate career options? Here are a few ideas:

1. Candidly assess their employment standing and discuss the outcome they want. The American Medical Association advises doctors to answer a few questions: What can I live with? What are deal breakers? What is the market for my services? What do I want my practice to look like post-COVID? Once you know where you stand, you can better leverage your legal and contractual remedies and formulate a strategy.
2. Make sure doctors are relying on their network. Building and maintaining a strong rapport with colleagues is beneficial at any time, but it's critical to stay connected now. Doctors can connect easily via Doximity – and they shouldn’t be afraid to pick up the phone! 
3. Take a fresh look at their CV. Keeping an updated CV is always a good idea and remember a CV has two roles: to distinguish doctors as candidates when they’re applying for a position and to keep an up-to-date record of their achievements and skills.  
4. Put the power of their Doximity profile to work. A physician’s profile is more than their online CV – it can help them land a job and find connections. A strong profile also means jobs and referrals are more personalized. Here are a few suggestions to help physicians build a better profile:

• • • Add a profile photo (if they don’t have one). Physician profiles with photos appear higher in search results and get more interest than those without.
    • Include a professional summary. It’s a terrific (and warmer) introduction and succinctly communicates a doctor’s personal brand.
    • Claim their personal URL. It’s a simple, consolidated connection to professional information and can be used in their email signature, social media profiles, and more.  
    • Add more than the basics, including clinical interests, links to abstracts of publications and research, files of presentations and papers, or original content. 
    • You’ll find more tips on how you can help candidates make better use of Doximity here.

The pandemic has certainly changed how we’re all working, but healthcare workers are doing an incredible job and we're confident their resilience will continue to shine through – especially with a bit of extra support from recruiters like you. 

What do doctors want in a new job? What's their favorite way of communicating with physician recruiters? Doximity regularly asks these questions and you can learn all about what we’ve learned at our upcoming August 11 webinar. Simply click the blue button to register for free.