As physician recruitment professionals wind down 2024 and start planning for a strong 2025, many will look to the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) annual benchmarking report for guidance. Released in October, AAPPR’s In-House Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report reveals key trends in healthcare recruitment. It is an invaluable resource for organizations making projections and plans for the new year.
One notable finding is that the percentage of filled physician searches rose for the first time in five years. This indicates improved recruitment outcomes despite a decline in the total number of recruitment professionals. Nearly one in five recruitment professionals left positions in 2023. AAPPR’s CEO, Carey Goryl, emphasized the need to keep recruitment departments staffed if organizations want to see further improvement.
Key Findings from the 2024 Benchmarking Report Include:
- Surge in Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Searches: As the physician shortage persists, organizations increasingly depend on APPs to meet patient demand. As a result, the number of APP searches continues to rise, comprising over half of all searches per department.
- Family Medicine in Highest Demand: Family Medicine remains the most common physician search. The specialty accounts for 10% of all physician searches, with 81% of organizations seeking this specialty in 2023. Hospital medicine accounted for 9% of searches, with OB-GYN: General (6%) and Internal Medicine (5%) being the third and fourth most common searches.
- Offer Acceptance Rates: After a decline in 2022, the percentage of offers accepted increased in 2023 for both physicians and APPs. On average, APPs accepted 71% of offers, and physicians accepted 83%.
- Time to Hire: The median time to hire physicians varies widely by specialty and is heavily impacted by the location of the reporting organization. In 2023, reported time-to-hire ranged from 77 to 228 days. It’s worth noting that respondents rarely report time-to-fill for searches that require outside assistance. That is, these figures don’t necessarily include the most challenging searches.
- Turnover Rates: Physician and APP turnover has decreased year over year but remains higher than in 2019 and 2020. This suggests that while physician retention efforts are yielding some success, organizations must continue to improve in this area to reduce turnover to pre-pandemic levels.
The full AAPPR report has two parts: one covering compensation and the other detailing searches. The benchmarking portal also allows users to access time-to-fill and compensation calculators, giving AAPPR members one more tool to effectively plan for the year ahead. Looking ahead, family medicine searches, OB-GYN, internal medicine, and hospitalist searches will likely continue to make up the bulk of searches. While timelines vary, it’s safe to say that adding a trusted recruitment partner to the mix is likely to increase your success when facing challenging searches in a competitive market.
As a Signature Partner of AAPPR, Jackson Physician Search is proud to partner with its members. If your organization is facing some tough searches in the year ahead, our recruitment team has the access, tools, and expertise to accelerate your efforts. Reach out today.
