While compensation is always an important factor in any job search, the pandemic has up-ended a decades-long trend towards growing urbanization and preference towards big city life. Suddenly, there’s been a dramatic shift in our nation’s cities and suburbs. The USPS says over 15.9 million people moved during the past year! Urbanites are looking for more space, and many people have relocated to smaller communities. It’s a phenomenon that has doctors making changes, too. 

Physicians are looking for new opportunities. What factors influence their decisions? 

Let’s start with compensation. Although it varies by location, it's determined by the medical specialty of physician candidates, too. Specialties that require more advanced training and more extensive medical residencies, such as surgery, have significantly higher annual salaries when compared to the national average.

Note: Physician members of Doximity can also compare salaries using Doximity’s Career Navigator, which shows physician compensation and housing cost data trends by county and specialty.

Compensation plays a big role in recruitment, but lifestyle factors have become a more significant part of a physician's decision to join an organization.

It’s important to consider things like the daily commute, access to healthcare for a physician’s family, and even outdoor activities. Beyond ordinary job considerations like compensation packages or on-call requirements, physicians are considering factors outside the job more seriously in their decision-making process, per Becker’s Hospital Review.

Then there’s the community – finding the right place to settle down and practice medicine hugely impacts a physician’s long-term career success. The choice of where a doctor decides to work and live is highly personal, so recruiters should consider a variety of unique factors when discussing opportunities with each physician and their loved ones.  

To help doctors decide where to practice, WalletHub releases a list of Best and Worst States for Doctors every year. They compare various metrics that range from the average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to the quality of the public hospital system. You can check out the full rankings here.

What other factors do doctors consider when looking for a new role? For a doctor to truly love where they live, there are a lot of factors: affordability, quality of education, crime rate, etc. Have you ever checked out the “best places” lists online? It’s a great way to learn how to “sell” the lifestyle factors to doctors. For example, U.S. News published this list of the 150 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2020-21. Cities that made their list had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market, and offer a high quality of life.

How do your opportunities stack up? Do you see anything in common on the various lists?

The relocation package or signing bonus may not be what convinces a physician to take your job. It could be the nearby Trader Joe’s or national park. It could be the possibility of a medical mission or volunteer opportunities. Physicians early in their career, in particular, rank work/life balance, culture, and location among the top reasons they’ll take and stay in a job.

Are you helping physician candidates find the right opportunity in the right place? Hire physicians on Doximity. In case you missed our May webinar, check out the slides and recording for a peek inside Doximity and some tips for recruiting physicians on the tool. If you’re not using Doximity Talent Finder to recruit the best candidates, request a demo today.