The Hospital Responds We first asked the hospital to give us an update concerning what is being done about physician recruitment. Their response follows... Submitted by Gordon Memorial Hospital Physician Recruitment a Challenging Endeavor Editors note: The following is the first article in a two part series about physician recruiting. The second article will appear in next week's paper and feature Gordon Memorial Hospital's Provider Recruiter, Diana Stevens. While finding a needle in a haystack might be a bit of a stretch, the analogy isn't too far off the mark when it comes to recruiting physicians. According to Merritt, Hawkins, and Associates, one of the nation's leading physician staffing firms, the United States is in the midst of a severe physician shortage. It is estimated that the nation is currently experiencing a shortage of about 90,000 physicians and predict that by the year 2020, the nation will be short by about 200,000 physicians. So why is there a physician shortage? According to the US Census Bureau, the number of people 65 years or older in the nation is currently 35 million and projected to be 70 million by 2030. The number of Americans 85 years or older is expected to double by the year 2030. Coupled with the aged population spike, advances in medicine, health care technology and social indiscretions have driven health care utilization. While health care treatment may be more complex today, statistics show it is working. People are living longer and are able to enjoy a more active lifestyle well into their golden years. The trade off is the shortage in medical providers who can keep up with health care demands. The low number graduating from medical schools each year is a concern. Medical Schools are producing the same number of graduates they were 20 years ago, according to Merritt, Hawkins. They predict that by 2016, retired physicians will exceed the number of medical school entrants. According to MGT of America, a health care consulting firm, the physician population is aging, just as the population at large. Currently, 30 percent of physicians nationwide are over age 55 and 38 percent are over the age of 50. Opening doors to foreign trained doctors or foreign individuals who receive their medical training in the United States has helped fill the gap. In Nebraska, 33 percent of physicians are not U.S. citizens. This number is very close to the nationwide total of 36 percent of physicians who are foreign. "The fact is, we're just not training enough physicians fast enough to meet the needs here in the United States," said Diana Stevens, Gordon Memorial Hospital health provider recruiter. J1 Visa physicians, those physicians without American citizenship who have received their U.S. Visa strictly to practice medicine in rural areas, have helped Gordon resolve immediate placement issues on several occasions. "However, the trade off is that they are only contracted to the hospital for three years," Stevens said. "While three years isn't ideal, it sure does keep our hospital doors open," she said. It doesn't matter whether it's Gordon or any other small town in America, recruiting physicians is a difficult task. Nationwide, the physician recruiting environment is extremely competitive. In order for local hospitals to stand out among physicians in the job market, they must work extra hard to generate attention and be very intentional in their approach. Merritt, Hawkins estimates that less than 11 percent of the nations total physician population currently practices in rural areas and only 4.8 percent of surveyed physicians actually want to work in towns with a population less than 10,000. Physician recruitment is a strategic, extremely competitive, high stakes endeavor, Merritt, Hawkins attests. Having a plan is vital.