Doctors who’ve just completed their residency training are entering the healthcare workforce and beginning to face the same challenges all doctors face in addition to their own set of concerns. It’s important that healthcare recruiters understand this younger group of doctors so you can better relate to them and set them up for a successful, long term career. Here are some of the top stresses among newly minted doctors today:

1. Fear of making a serious mistake.Or concerns about developing the skills they need to thrive in their chosen specialty. Although they have completed extensive training to get to where they are now, physicians are never finished learning, and taking that first leap into a career after formal training can be daunting.
   
2. Maintaining a work-life balance. Surprising to some, non-clinical concerns like work-life balance are cited by new physicians as being more important than compensation. In fact, in a recent American Medical Association survey, off-the-job issues rank higher than on-the-job issues. 33% of survey respondents say work-life balance is a top priority.
3. Paying off medical school debt. Education loans are still a key concern for many new doctors coming out of training. According to the National Center for Education, the average medical school graduate has $232,300 in loans and often isn’t able to pay that back until after completing residency and beginning their full time job. 

Here's how recruiters and mentors can help these new doctors feel at ease with their new career:

1. Communicate new roles clearly. In your job posting or outreach, make sure you clearly outline the specialty of the position, practice type, geography and compensation plan from the get-go. Most graduating residents are solicited with an overwhelming amount of jobs, and it takes time to sort through them and get in touch with the recruiters and hiring doctor. On top of that, they are likely still going through residency and have an overwhelming schedule. All this is to say, send them all the details as early as possible.
2. Emphasize the relationships. Any successful physician recruiter is aware of the burnout facing physicians today. One way of combating this is to encourage physicians to get to know their colleagues. Dawn Baker, MD, MS, shares that in her experience, “a nice consequence of my change in status has been getting to know the medical team members on a more personal level. Whenever possible, greet them in the morning and try to spend a few minutes going over some details of patient management for the day, which makes for a smoother, more efficient flow overall."
3. Establish Mentorship Programs. Taking relationships to a new level, new and veteran physicians can work to establish a support system. Recruiters can help connect more experienced physicians to new doctors by creating a sort of mentorship program. This can be mutually beneficial, as new physicians may be able to share insights into modern medicine, while more experienced physicians can help with difficult cases and provide a second opinion. 
4. Remind physicians to maintain professionalism. Millennials might be known for being more casual about their relationships, but a reminder to always be professional can never hurt! This applies to both patient interactions and with members of their healthcare team.  
5. Encourage innovation and idea sharing. It’s true that many hospitals are stuck doing things “the way they always have” and Findings from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions show that hospital CEO’s report needing more innovative leaders and clinicians, as well as employees with technology and data analytics skills.
6. Value patient care. Increasingly, patients expect to partner with doctors instead of relying passively on them to make treatment decisions. On top of that, physicians report anticipating that approximately 50 percent of their total compensation will be paid through value-based payment models in the next 10 years and that they expect to need new business, health information technology (HIT), and communication skills to practice effective value-based care (VBC).

Are you recruiting newly minted doctors? If so, social recruiting is a great way to reach this talented pool of candidates. We invite you to sign up for Doximity’s Online Social Recruitment Certification to learn more!