National Association of Physician Recruiters

The PULSE

The official online publication of the National Association of Physician Recruiters • www.napr.org • Summer 2011

2011 NAPR & NALTO Annual Convention Highlights Recruiters Played, Enjoyed, and Brushed Up on Their Recruiting Skills at the 2011 NAPR & NALTO Annual Convention Click here to view a photo recap of the NAPR & NALTO 2011 Annual Convention held in Chicago. President and President-Elect Take Positions: Patrice Streicher took the gavel as NAPR President at the 2011 Annual Business Meeting. Patrice has served NAPR as a Board member and officer for the past several years, having also served as Chair of the Public Relations Committee as well as speaking at past NAPR educational events and contributing articles to the NAPR newsletter. At the 2011 Annual Convention, Patrice was the recipient of the President’s Award. Anne Folger was elected NAPR President-Elect by the members of the newly-elected NAPR Board of Directors. In addition to serving on the Board for the past several years, Folger served on several NAPR committees and most recently served as Vice President of NAPR. Folger assumed her duties immediately following the NAPR Annual Business Meeting. Other Officers Elected: Jim Stone (right) was elected NAPR Vice President by the Board of Directors. Jim has also served on the Board for several years, most recently as SecretaryTreasurer. Craig Fowler (left) was elected Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Fowler most recently served on the Board of Directors and continues to serve as Chair of the Education Committee which oversees planning of the Annual Convention.

Tammy Jamison was presented the NAPR Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given by NAPR, for her devotion to and leadership of NAPR. This inherent trait that we share — the drive for perfection — is one of the main reasons our Association continues to prosper, and the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award personifies these traits. Tammy has been involved with and actively committed to the Association for many years, serving on the Board, many committees, as well as President in 2009-10. Tammy continues to leave her mark on NAPR with her creativity, perserverance, and vision for the future. President’s Award: Patrice Streicher and Brenda Lewis received the President’s Award for unselfishly giving of their time, knowledge and creativity to support NAPR and its mission. Patrice Streicher, who served this past year as both President-Elect and Public Relations Committee Chair, is the one you can thank for the extensive new Social Media networks through which NAPR is now communicating with you. She was instrumental in setting up NAPR’s Facebook, Twitter, and probably some other electronic communications methods that we don’t even know about yet! In

Continued on page 5

Editor’s Message: It’s Time to Get Happy and Serve: The Professional Benefits of Volunteerism By Susan Masterson, TeamHealth “The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” — Albert Schweitzer In life, and in professional development, giving additional value is the significant difference between those who find happiness and success, and than those who don’t. Volunteering in professional organizations is one of the most important ways we have to guarantee our career enhancement as well as the overall advancement of our profession. In an effort to take the NAPR association to the next level, your new President Patrice Streicher, and I request you step out of your comfort zone, and GIVE some time to helping us make this organization the best it can be for you, our members, and our industry. We recognize that everyone is busy with jobs, deadlines, family commitments,

2011-2012 Board of Directors PRESIDENT......................................Patrice Streicher VISTA Staffing Solutions, Inc.

etc. However although your day-to-day work pays the mortgage, volunteering can pave the way to your future. You brand yourself and your organization, enhance your knowledge, gain experience, contribute to something you believe in, and at the end of the day build a network of valuable contacts...and dare I say it, friends. And, if you really want to look at it from a totally selfish point of view — what better way do you know to make yourself visible to your peers than by volunteering in your professional organization. We challenge you to find the inspiration to not be afraid of trying new things and offer your time and talent to the NAPR. If you are uncertain as to where you may add value, feel free to call our new President or one of our Board Members for advice. I guarantee it will be time well spent!

800-366-1884 x6554 PRESIDENT-ELECT............................... Anne Folger Banner Health 602-747-4557 VICE PRESIDENT.......................................Jim Stone The Medicus Firm 972-759-0331 x225 SECRETARY/TREASURER................... Craig Fowler Pinnacle Health Group 404-816-7853 IMMED. PAST PRES......Pat Doyle-Grace, CPC-PRC Cejka Search 314-236-4466 OTHER BOARD MEMBERS Pam Adams.................. Lehigh Valley Health Network 610-969-0213 Tammy Jamison.......... Lehigh Valley Health Network 610-969-0211

Professional benefits of volunteerism

Susan Masterson.....................................TeamHealth 865-293-5270

Gain incredible networking opportunities. Retain and sharpen old skills. Develop new skills.

Martin H. Osinski........ American Medical Consultants 305-254-8808 Wanda Parker....................... The HealthField Alliance 203-778-3333

Practice skills in a relatively risk free environment. Expand your horizons and explore new career options. ‘ Win satisfaction of knowing you are doing good and being involved in your profession.

NAPR SERVICES, INC......................... Brenda Lewis B.E.L. Associates, Inc. 814-382-6007 INTERNET/WEBSITE......Jo-Ann M. Toldt, CPC-PRC TeamHealth

Increase visibility. Get energized and feel renewed. Create the leader in you. Demonstrates workplace skills/management skills//leadership skills that can be documented in a resume.

856-686-4351 ETHICS...................................................... Jane Born Born & Bicknell, Inc. 561-322-3011 EDUCATION........................................... Craig Fowler Pinnacle Health Group 404-591-4221 EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT...... Bill Kautter, CAE 222 S Westmonte Dr Ste 101 Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 407-774-7880 • 800-726-5613 Fax: 407-774-6440 [email protected]

The Pulse • Page 3 2 • Summer 2011

President’s Message:

NAPR 2011-12 President’s

Acceptance Speech By Patrice Streicher, VISTA Staffing Solutions, Inc. In a telephone conversation with Bill Kautter prior to the conference, Bill asked if I would be comfortable with saying a few words at the awards luncheon. Before he was able to finish his request, I blurted out: “Bill, seriously you need ask if I would be comfortable with having five minutes of uninterrupted time to talk to a captive audience?” Needless to say, Bill did not have to ask twice… And so to start, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Neal Fenster, Rich Glehan, Karen Zeller, Michael Levison, Patrick Schmidt and Marty Osinski who had the confidence that I had something to contribute and provided me with the opportunities to get involved in the NAPR. To all of you, thank you for your encouragement, support and mentoring

through the years. I would also like to thank the NAPR past presidents for the foundation they have built and our board of directors who work exhaustively to make the NAPR a nationally respected organization. Finally, I would like to thank all of the firm, in-house and vendor members who are here today and those who were unable to attend, for your greatly appreciated support and confidence. In the process of selecting an objective for my term, I was inspired by a credit card commercial. The commercial showed happy successful people talking about choices, services and benefits. All of this made me wonder, how many of us have credit cards, memberships to gyms, organizations or associations in which we under utilize its offering for services,

NAPR’s World Job Bank

Less Competition – Level Playing Field The World Job Bank, with over 22,000 registered candidates, is subscription based and exclusive to members. That means you are not competing for candidates with thousands of recruiters, like on other job boards AND your competition for these candidates follows the same Code of Ethics you do. Call 800-726-5613 or e-mail us at [email protected] to subscribe.

The Pulse • Page 3 • Summer 2011

cost savings, advantages and benefits. I further thought why do we make things so difficult in achieving attainable goals when there are means to a simple end? In a time of economic hardships, you would think most of us would be squeezing every financial advantage available to us. Unfortunately, as many of us know, that is just not the case. It was these and many other questions within my stream of consciousness that lead me to my objective. Over the last 18 months, all of us have struggled to stay afloat in an industry where the demand unproportionally outweighed a seemingly unreachable supply. It is to this challenge that I have dedicated my objective. Over my term, along with our talented board of directors, we will focus on shortening the distance from point A to point B and rebalancing the scales of supply and demand offering you increased success and profitability. Some of the targeted areas and initiatives we will be exploring include a membership mentoring program, industry fee retention initiatives, increase utilization of NAPR services, vendor discount and other co-op programs to assist in your cost containment, increase access to physician and advanced practitioner candidates and growing our network of affiliations with national healthcare organizations. Perhaps the most important component of my objective is in the process of achieving these initiatives, to make sure we have a few laughs along the way. To that end, for my closing, I borrow a quote from Albert Schweitzer who said: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Most Valuable Recruiter Award And the winner is... Ty Kelly! Ty Kelly has been with the Delta Physician Placement since January 2006. In the five years that he has been in the industry, he has placed over 100 physicians nationwide. His focus on customer service has resulted in relationships with facilities and systems lasting the majority of his tenure.

NAPR

MVR

Some excerpts from the nominations: Winner Ty Kelly, Delta Physician Placement “…passion and integrity for every position he represents.” “Ty had 23 placements last year.” “No matter how thin we might spread him at times; he always responds promptly to calls and inquiries. I often visit with him at night, on weekends, and often from his car phone. The ultimate ‘recruiter in motion.’” “Ty has been a huge asset to our facility and its success in recruitment of physicians to a rural community in Nebraska.” “His attitude is upbeat and he never has a bad day.” “He has successfully placed hundreds of physicians during this time and has built relationships with both candidates and clients. Ty truly cares about mediating between both client and candidate to ensure there is transparency, and neither party is making a mistake.” “He is a true blessing to have. We love him and all who meet him do as well.” Nominee, Rachel Geller, Vista Staffing “Rachel has become an irreplaceable asset to our division and company.” Nominee, Kurt Scott, Vista Staffing “His attitude and expertise make him a trusted partner for anyone needing help with recruitment of physicians and/or executives.” Nominee, Linda Holt, TIVA Healthcare “…she’s a hard worker that goes the extra mile for her candidates and clients.” Nominee, Cynthia Bane, Martin Fletcher “Cynthia has been the first one in the office, the last to leave, working on the weekends can be the norm, and still she manages to take vacations to see the world. Her work ethic and drive are second to none.” Nominee, Allison Bloodworth, Locum Tenens “She is responsive and dependable. She is smart and has great influence on her team and with her clients due to the deep relationships she forges” Nominee, Charles Humes, Vista Staffing “His attention to detail, professional demeanor & dedication are without measure.  I have & continue to get great feedback from the Docs he has spoken with who echo my sentiment.” Nominee, Cheryl DeVita, Cejka Search “Cheryl exemplifies the model of a dedicated, resourceful and productive recruiter in all aspects of the recruiting profession.”  

The Pulse • Page 4 5 • Summer 2011

Find your physician with

Continued from page 1 addition to this, Patrice continues to take care of updates and distribution of the Physician Practice Search Guide which has proven to be one of the most valuable publications NAPR has ever produced Brenda Lewis took on the job of NAPR Services President last year and, despite economic and industry challenges, she and her Board have not only managed to offer new candidate sourcing products and services to the NAPR membership, but also managed to stay well within budget, even turning a small profit.

THE Society, THE Publications, THE Website

for Internal Medicine. Advertise in SELECT issues of

Outstanding Committee Chair Award: Craig Fowler received the Outstanding Committee Chair Award. Craig has worked tirelessly for the past several years to bring the highest level of excellence to the NAPR Convention, School of Healthcare Recruitment, and, new this year, the MiniMed School as well as the Webinars or, as we have called them, the NAPR Log-Ins, all of which have been extremely successful.

and get a FREE ad in the October Career Guide for Residents! May10_v6-final 4/19/10 1:03 PM Page 1

Vendor Appreciation Award: The NAPR Board of Directors voted to present the 2011 Vendor Appreciation Award to Medical Mailing Services (MMS) for its continued support of NAPR through sponsorships, exhibiting at meetings, and advertising in several NAPR publications. Jane Stormzand of MMS was present to accept the award.

May 2010 Vol. 30 No. 5

American College of Physicians News for Internists www.acpinternist.org

ACPINTERNIST Volunteer internists help to rebuild Haiti

By Janet Colwell

K

aty A. Close, ACP Member, was on vacation in the Bahamas on Jan. 12 when a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti. Eight days later, when she arrived at Hospital Albert Schweitzer in the city of Deschapelles, about 90 miles west of the epicenter in Port-au-Prince, “There were people everywhere with unfixed fractures and open wounds. People were all over the floor; you had to step over them.” Dr. Close, a clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine who spends three months a year volunteering at Albert Schweitzer, helped tend to the hundreds of victims that descended on the rural hospital. Conditions in Haiti have since improved, but physician volunteers now face a new set of challenges as they try to stem the spread of epidemic and infectious diseases and restore decent medical care in a country

Casey M. McMillan, ACP Member, examines a patient after the Haitian earthquake.

that was struggling before the disaster. “In the first phase, it was predominantly a surgical emergency, but now we are shifting into medical issues,” said Arthur M. Fournier, ACP Member, who arrived in Portau-Prince two days after the quake. Dr. Fournier is co-founder of the nonprofit Project Medishare, which, with support from the University of Miami Global Institute, has been sending teams of physicians and nurses to Haiti since 1994. “A lot of crush injuries are leading to renal failure … we’ve had four cases of tetanus at our hospital [in Haiti] and we’re bracing for infectious diarrhea,” said Dr. Fournier, who when not providing disaster relief is also professor and vice chairman of the department of family medicine and community health and the associate dean See Haiti, page 12

Getting to quality and safety by ‘degrees’

INSIDE

Incoming president outlines upcoming agenda

By Charlotte Huff

W

ith the emergence of master’s-level programs in quality and patient safety initiatives, physicians who want to bolster their expertise or their careers no longer have to limit themselves to seminars and online teleconferences. Leaders of these fledgling graduate programs, which only began enrolling students in the past few years, predict that they are on the leading edge of a rapidly evolving educational expertise. Thus far, quality challenges have been addressed more tangentially in other graduate programs such as health policy or public health. Newly established graduate programs that focus on quality immerse students in a body of knowledge that has accrued over the past decade, since the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s report “To Err Is Human” (available at www. nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309068371). “Our target audience is anyone in and

“The deeper I got into it, the more I realized that I had to learn." —Kevin O’Leary, ACP Member out of health care who wants to make a difference,” said David Nash, FACP, MBA, dean of the Jefferson School of Population Health, based at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. “We have a bona fide science for clinical quality and safety that now is ready to be offered at the master’s level. This was not true even five years ago.” Some of the programs are offered

online or are moving to that format, in part to attract a more far-flung mix of students. The degrees, which can be pursued parttime, frequently attract students with some tie to health care, although that might be in marketing or as a hospital administrator, as well as clinical fields. Frequently, students seek the degree to help achieve a management role, said David Mayer, MD, the curriculum director and one of the cofounders of the master’s in patient safety leadership program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Physicians can benefit regardless of their specialty or practice setting, said Dr. Mayer, who also is co-executive director for the Institute for Patient Safety Excellence at UIC. “I think it truly makes them a better health care provider in regards to safety and how to reduce risk in their environment, be that an ambulatory environment or a hospital-based environment,” he said. As a rule, today’s medical training falls woefully short in preparing physicians to address patient safety challenges, according to a March report released by the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Lucian Leape Institute. Besides under-

5

Do retail care clinics create competition for primary care?

8

ACP Internist October issue Deadline: September 3 10 am Eastern

Outpatient safety issues, transitions of care

15

See Quality, page 14

www.acphospitalist.org • March 2011

ACP Hospitalist October issue Deadline: September 14 10 am Eastern 17 February 2009

Annals of Internal Medicine

Annals of Internal Medicine

www.annals.org

TAKE A TEAM APPROACH TO MANAGE COPD

Volume 150 • Number 4

Safely Ruling Out Deep Venous Thrombosis in Primary Care

17 February 2009 Volume 150 Number 4

229

Bu¨ller, ten Cate-Hoek, Hoes, Joore, Moons, and others

Primary Care Physicians’ Links to Other Physicians Through Medicare Patients: The Scope of Care Coordination

236

Pham, O’Malley, Bach, Saiontz-Martinez, and Schrag AD LIBITUM 281 LETTERS 282 COMPLETE CONTENTS I-7

Comparing Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Primary Prevention Strategies for Lipid-Lowering

243

Pletcher, Lazar, Bibbins-Domingo, Moran, Rodondi, and others

Improving Patient Care

Comparison of Methods for Delivering a Lifestyle Modification Program for Obese Patients. A Randomized Trial

Consistency of State Statutes With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV Testing Recommendations for Health Care Settings Mahajan, Stemple, Shapiro, King, and Cunningham

Editorials www.annals.org

pages 6 - 9!

PULLING TOGETHER

Established in 1927 by the American College of Physicians

Articles

Medicine and Public Issues

photo highlights

An Official Publication of the American College of Physicians

Annals of Internal Medicine

255

Digenio, Mancuso, Gerber, and Dvorak

More Convention

ACPHOSPITALIST

Much Ado About (Doing) Nothing Reilly and Evans Primary Care: Too Important to Fail Meyers and Clancy Health Policy and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Yes We Can. Yes We Must. Wong, Mulrow, and Sox

On Being a Doctor

263

270 272 274

You Are a Blessing Carbone

276

Honor, Home, Heritage, and HIV Venkatesh

277

The Birthday Gift Ford

279

Pages

229 292

Annals of Internal Medicine October 18th issue Deadline: September 15 10 am Eastern

For more information, call: Margaret Gardner, (215) 351-2768 Maria Fitzgerald, (215) 351-2667

The Pulse • Page 5 • Summer 2011

October October 2011 2011 CAREER CAREER GUIDE GUIDE

2011 NAPR & NALTO Annual Convention Highlights...

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. — Plato The Pulse • Page 6 • Summer 2011

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. — Robert Brault

The Pulse • Page 7 • Summer 2011

Recruiting and hiring are not the same. — Craig Fowler The Pulse • Page 8 • Summer 2011

People who work together will win... — Vince Lombardi The Pulse • Page 9 • Summer 2011

A special thanks to the napr & nalto 2011 annual convention sponsors For more information on any of our Convention sponsors, click on the logos below.

The Pulse • Page 10 • Summer 2011

NAPR Services, Inc.

New Customized E-Mail Candidate Sourcing Program What is it? This is a specialized e-mailing service to assist you with generating candidate leads. What is it for? It is for individual firms, hospitals or hospital systems who are seeking physician candidates. How does it work? NAPR takes your specific candidate criteria information and constructs an e-mail program to selected physicians. E-mails are sent to practicing physicians or residents/fellows directing them to a special, secure website with only your jobs. Or the physician can be directed to your site. How quickly can the individualized e-mail sourcing be done? It will take approximately 3 days for the e-mail to be sent out. How much does it cost? Cost is 75 cents per e-mail with minimum order of 3,000 emails. Can the price be reduced? Yes! By aligning with two or more NAPR members, the cost will be shared and therefore be reduced. Is there a limit to the number of firms which can combine their sourcing? No! There is no limit to the number of members who wish to align. What is the value of this new service for me? 1. It lowers the cost per e-mail to well below what an individual firm or hospital can obtain. 2. It eliminates the hassle of preparing an e-mail blast and ordering from a list rental company. 3. It increases the number of successfully delivered spam-free e-mails allowing better responses. 4. It allows e-mails to be read on smart phones. Will the candidates who respond to my e-mails be shared? No! All candidate responses are exclusively your use and will only be viewed by an organization you co-opt with.

Download the sign-up form here. Questions: Call or email Victor Fernandez, 407-774-7880! The Pulse • Page 11 • Summer 2011

Tools of the Trade:

Solicitation Etiquette:

The Do’s and Do Not’s By Patrice Streicher, VISTA Staffing Solutions, Inc., NAPR President

Manners are made up of trivialities of deportment which can be easily learned if one does not happen to know them; manner is personality — the outward manifestation of one’s innate character and attitude toward life.... Etiquette must, if it is to be of more than trifling use, include ethics as well as manners. Certainly what one is, is of far greater importance than what one appears to be. — Emily Post Over my tenure in the physician recruitment industry, I have observed behavior unbecoming of professional firm and in-house recruiters alike. As behavior is not arbitrary and motivated by our unconscious or conscious motives, I wonder about the cause that brought these individuals to act guided by ignorance and in some cases, dishonest. Perhaps, it is because they have fallen prey to rationalizing that their actions are an industry standard. Such thinking is often explained to others as “everybody does it that way” or “it has always been that way” to excuse their acts of unprofessionalism. Despite this shallow thinking, I have come to conclude that the heart of the issue regarding poor etiquette is general disregard for ethics and manners combined with the “ergo propter hoc” method of reasoning. The result of this ill thinking and behavior has to some degree cursed the reputation of recruiters and our industry as a whole. While such a statement may be disconcerting, I offer the following definition and discussion for your consideration. Ergo Propter Hoc states that “since that event followed this one, that event must have been caused by this one — A occurred, then B occurred. Therefore, A caused B. When B was undesirable, avoiding A will prevent B.” Between us, does this sound

familiar? Let me jog your memory, you get a marketing lead for a practice, so you email the in-house person who dismisses you and as a result does not give you the business you had hoped to obtain. As a result of this type of undesirable experience, you have concluded that by avoiding the in-house function and going directly to the practice administrator, you will prevent having poor outcomes and increase your ability to achieve new business. Also for your consideration is this example, a recruiter who has either experienced or heard about a colleague’s experience regarding a retained firm being paid fees without being unsuccessful in placing a physician candidate. The recruiter concludes that all retained firms will therefore only provide you with invoices without results. So, by avoiding retained firms you will prevent poor outcomes, right? These represent two examples of coincidental correlation and/or logical fallacy in which the fundamental problem starts with poor solicitation etiquette. In short, predispositions, stereotyping and the inability to critical think for ourselves. To that end, it is my belief that creating awareness about appropriate etiquette, professionalism and ethics are critical in strengthening relationships and moving our industry forward in a positive direction. Over the last year, the National Association of Physician Recruiters conducted two surveys to ascertain the facts from in house and firm recruiters about the Best Practices for marketing. The random survey was sent out to firm and in-house recruiters nationally and the high rate of reply indicated that many

The Pulse • Page 12 • Summer 2011

Continued on page 14

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Solicitation Etiquette... Continued from page 12

of you had opinions on this issue. So what did you have to say? In a review of the findings, the following are a few highlights of the Do’s and Do Not’s from in-house and firm recruiters: In-House Recruiters’ List for Firm Recruiters A whopping 72.5% of in-house respondents reported they outsource recruitment assignments to retained and contingency firms. So if you want their business, you better be attentive to the Do’s and Do Not’s… The Do’s k Do follow their protocol for solicitation communication and who is designated as the point of contact in the practice. k Do use their preferred method of contact. k Do have a designated point of contact in your company/division for marketing. k Do contact them by email about your services (Survey says: 83.2% prefer email!) k Do LISTEN to what they tell you. k Do act in a professional and ethical manner. k Do respect their time and schedules k Do send direct mail solicitation about your services. k Do attend meetings and conferences to discuss your services face-to-face. k Do market being a NAPR member if your membership is active. k Do coordinate solicitation calls within your company to avoid multiple calls from different staff members to the same client prospect in the same day (59.2 % of respondents reported 2 calls per day and 40.7% get 3 or more calls from the same company, in the same day). The Do Not’s k Do not drop by their office without an appointment. k Do not go around the in-house function to market for business by contacting the practice/hospital administrator directly. k Do create and enforce protocol within your company/division on marketing approaches and frequency. k Do not presume “No” means “Yes” k Do not use pushy tactics. k Do not try to use “ghost” candidates as a ruse to get business. k Do not make promises you cannot keep.

Do LISTEN to what they tell you. Do act in a professional and ethical manner.

Firm Recruiters List for In-House Recruiters The firm survey was comprised of companies that varied from 1-10 staff members (70.3%) to companies (private and publicly traded) of 51 to more than 150 employees (18.5%). The Do’s k Do reply to emails you received from companies’ solicitation for your business. (8.4% reported they never stop calling until they get a response or signed agreement.) k Do offer clear and concise direction on how and when to be contacted about services. k Do offer information about your outsourcing policies to companies. k Do request marketing information for your file so you can contact them when and if staffing needs arise. k Do LISTEN to what they are telling you and k Do use critical thinking skills and open end questions before making decisions. k Do explore social media channels as a means to seek vendor relationships. k Do learn about the differences in contingency and retained services. k Do seek information about the advantages and benefits of using a NAPR firm. k Do research companies’ website. k Do check the NAPR website for membership confirmation. k Do request references and/or testimonials from companies’ to evidence their outcomes. k Do explore how outsourcing with a firm can be beneficial for your practice/hospital. The Do Not’s k Do not base outsourcing decisions on hearsay information. k Do not assume all retained and contingency firms, fees and services are alike. k Do not ignore solicitations. k Do not act unprofessional or rude. k Do not mislead or inform callers about your staffing needs or follow up instructions. k Do not schedule or follow up calls you do not intend to make. k Do not make promises you cannot keep. In a review of comments made by in-house and firm participants’ about Best Practices in being solicited or in soliciting, parties agreed that being respectful, professional, cordial, considerate, informed and informative were vital. That said, I guess you might think about it this way — how many good relationships do you have where you treat or are treated by someone who is rude, dismissive, dishonest, annoying or obnoxious? I hope your answer is that you have no relationships where you are treated in that manner. And so, in conclusion, I borrow from a concept central of Plato’s philosophy, The Golden Rule or Ethic of Reciprocity where he asserts that “one should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.” Certainly a phrase we have all heard but perhaps need to practice more often in our daily interactions we others.

The Pulse • Page 14 • Summer 2011

Breaking Barriers:

Myth Busters: Myths

vs. Reality Regarding NAPR

By Jane E. Born, CEO, Born & Bicknell, NAPR Ethics Committee Chairperson Myth: NAPR member firms are all small firms. Reality: Many very large firms such as Cejka Search, The Delta Companies, VISTA Staffing Solutions, Inc., Winston Resources, The Medicus Firm, and several more are members of NAPR. Myth: NAPR doesn’t offer anything to in-house recruiters. Reality: The NAPR Annual Convention features speakers such as the former Surgeon General, leaders for the American Medical Association, and the Chief Advocacy Officer from the Association of American Medical Colleges, to name a few, who appeal to all recruiter audiences. The NAPR session on Ethics and Social Media at the April Convention featured an ASPR member and trainer as a panel member. The NAPR website (www.napr.org) offers a recruiter resource library with information for in-house recruiters as well as firms on basics of recruiting Educational log-in training is available for all recruiters and features trainers/facilitators from healthcare organization inhouse recruiters as well as trainers from firms. NAPR members have exclusive access to the Recruiter Resource Library, which includes a wide range of resources, such as sample contracts, information on Stark Laws, sample candidate screening forms, definitions, etc. Lots of information to help recruiters in their daily work. Daily resources posted on our Facebook page, such as relevant articles on recruiting topics and current healthcare issues. Myth: NAPR membership doesn’t have many in-house recruiters as members. It’s really an association for firms only. Reality: Close to 20% of the NAPR membership is comprised of in-house

recruiters. Some of those members sit on the Board of Directors for NAPR. In fact, several have served as President of NAPR. Myth: NAPR doesn’t care about ethics and does not sanction any offenders of the Code of Ethics. Reality: In 2009 and 2010, the Ethics Committee reviewed 18 cases: four cases were dismissed, one member received the sanction of Caution, five members received reprimands, seven members were put on probation, and one member was expelled. Myth: NAPR doesn’t offer many discounted products/services to its members. Reality: NAPR offers discounts on many valuable products and services: candidate and client lists, job boards, advertising in medical journals and publications, recruitment software, law firms, licensing and background verification companies, and funding companies. The NAPR Vendor Services Committee works in seeking desirable sponsors/vendors and is responsible for developing program/ services by which members can benefit through collective purchasing. This helps make members’ marketing costs more affordable. Myth: It really doesn’t matter if a facility uses an NAPR member firm or not in its recruitment efforts...All firms follow the same rules anyway. Reality: Not all firms follow the same Code of Ethics. By using an NAPR member firm, one can expect consistency because the member firm must adhere to the NAPR strict Code of Ethics (found at www.napr.org). Our members are known

to be professional and ethical, and if an NAPR member firm is suspect of any unethical behavior, the case can be reported to NAPR. The Ethics Committee will investigate and adjudicate. By using an NAPR member, facilities have somewhere to turn in order to report a firm if wronged. The NAPR is dedicated to promoting a positive industry image through a practical but strict Code of Ethics based upon excellence, honesty, fairness, peer review and reasonable industry standards. Myth: NAPR doesn’t offer much in industry trends. Reality: Medical Group Management Association, in collaboration with NAPR, surveys its membership to obtain the most recent physician starting salary placement compensation data. This is the fourth year of data collection and the third year of stand-alone publication for the Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey report. The report provides accurate data on the range of physician placements to assist recruiters and health care organizations in benchmarking salaries and other employment terms. The report also allows users to compare and learn more about the factors affecting first-year placement compensation. All survey participants receive a complimentary copy of the Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey. Myth: It’s too expensive to join NAPR! Reality: Active membership is only $475/ per year plus a one-time $50 application fee. Join a prestigious organization which is celebrating a quarter century of excellence and be recognized as a member of THE leading physician recruitment association.

Join a prestigious organization

which is celebrating a

quarter century of excellence The Pulse • Page 15 • Spring 2011

From the Schools: Are Medical School Graduates Being “Denied” Residency Training? By Jim Acklin, MD Dr. Acklin is a board certified family physician with 25 years of academic medicine experience, and for the last 14 years has been residency director for the AHEC West Family Medicine Residency in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The April issue of the American Medical Association (AMA) GME e-Letter (http://www.ama-assn.org/go/gmenews) looked at the 2011 Match data and noted “a worrisome tightening in the number of Scramble positions available for both seniors and prior graduates of US allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. The bottom line? A growing number of US medical school graduates are being denied a residency that leads to initial board certification.” The word “denied” implies entitlement. Are all medical school graduates entitled to a residency education? Is every US medical school graduate entitled to a residency education in their chosen medical specialty field? This train of thought leads to a few concerns. First, there is a certain “entitlement” attitude that is creeping and growing in our nation. We are no longer a people who believe that working hard is the way to success. Success is an entitlement we have somehow retroactively read into our Bill of Rights. Our kids no longer fail at school, and games no longer have winners and losers, and everybody must be successful, even if they do nothing to deserve it. Perhaps the e-Letter should have noted that “A growing number of US medical school graduates failed to recognize that excessive reimbursements to medical specialists at the expense of primary care physicians and growing time demands and paperwork/insurance hassles/denials and prior authorizations have lead to a health care system spiraling out of control while failing to meet patient needs and, in doing so, these graduates chose to apply foolishly to only the highest paid and bestwork-hours specialties while ignoring what their future patients, our country and our health care system really need.” Maybe he could throw in a little “US medical schools fail to educate their graduates on the health care needs for the future.” Or maybe they do recognize where the need is, but are unwilling to be a part of the solution. Maybe they are motivated by greed or “lifestyle” issues. Second, and sadly, US medical graduates have been passed through courses in medical school with inadequate training, despite enormous increases in tuition. Too much of their “clinical” education occurs on simulators or computers. You can pass a clinical surgery rotation without learning how to do a sterile scrub, prep a patient, or suture a wound. Most students pass obstetrics without delivering a single baby and they have never seen a pelvic exam done when they pass gynecology. Most, however, are quite adept at delivering a plastic fetus from a plastic pelvis. It is time to correct this deficiency in our medical education.

The “clinical” years need to return to clinical medicine. Graduates should be able to suture, scrub, tie knots, maintain sterile technique, give at least a limited differential diagnosis, and write a progress note or operative report. If you can’t do these simple things, you should not be labeled as a physician. Graduates should be able to talk to patients, not input data to mannequins. I know that patient safety concerns have driven education away from direct patient care, but this has simply deferred the patient safety issues until the newly minted physicians encounter real patients in residency. Third, our health care system still undervalues primary care. Don’t get me wrong — I value and appreciate my specialist colleagues for their in-depth knowledge and surgical expertise, and I can’t imagine practicing without them, but do we need so many specialists? Our medical schools brag that some “high” percentage of their graduates enter primary care, but they count family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology as primary care. Most of the students going into internal medicine and pediatrics are going to go on to specialty fellowships — they will never practice primary care. If US medical school graduates want a position in a graduate medical education (GME) program, they generally need to look no further than family medicine or internal medicine residencies, but we have fewer and fewer applicants from US schools to these programs each year. Our medical schools continue to subtly “teach” their students that only idiots and losers go into primary care, then lament that they have unmatched seniors with big loans and no hope of being able to practice. Maybe we need to change the way we do all of this. Let’s determine how many of what kind of physicians we are going to need in 15 years and make the GME funding available to residency programs to support these positions. Medical school applicants will then apply to residency programs before being accepted to medical school. When each residency program has matched the number of residents they will need in four years, US medical schools can then accept them into their schools. All their graduates would then have positions. We would have the right number of generalists and specialists. Throw in a few years of public health service in exchange for student loan repayment, and our health care system would flourish! For more opinions, news, and updates on graduate medical education, be sure to subscribe to the GME e-Letter, at www. ama-assn.org/go/gmenews.

The Pulse • Page 16 17 • Summer 2011

Industry Trends: It’s Not Just About the Money – Physician Incentives, Motivations Evolve Over Time By Andrea C. Santiago, The Medicus Firm It’s not news that physician recruitment remains a competitive market. Even with the economic downturn, there seem to be more available practice opportunities than there are physicians to fill them. Any decrease in hospital recruiting of physicians was countered with a physician pool that also became less willing to make a significant move, so the physician recruiting market remains challenging for those seeking to bring physicians on board or into the community. As a hospital or group attempting to attract a physician, how can you set your opportunity apart from the other opportunities the physician candidate may be considering simultaneously? You can’t control your location, payer mix, or the weather, but you can control what incentives are offered as part of the recruitment package. Even if you are offering a competitive, or above average salary, you may need to “sweeten the deal” with some extra spiffs. Here are four top incentives we see trending in the current physician recruiting market: Signing bonuses: Cash signing bonuses for just about any specialty are not new to physician recruitment, but a more recent trend is a significant increase in the amount of money being offered. Whereas $10,000 – $25,000 is a nice spiff, this amount is no longer sufficient to get the attention of some of the most indemand physicians. Many specialists won’t really take a second look at anything under $50,000, and some sign-on bonuses are now pushing into the 6-figure range for some of the most competitive specialties, such as urologists and orthopedic surgeons. Residency Stipends: As recruiting efforts push ahead earlier and earlier in a resident’s career, many are being offered monthly stipends during their final year of training. It is no longer uncommon for a resident to sign on before the beginning of their final post grad year. Housing/Mortgage Allowance: The steep decline in the real estate market has given rise to housing allowances for physician recruits, especially those who are established and have a house to sell when relocating. These monthly stipends help off-set the cost of paying for two mortgages while the house is sold, etc. Tail Coverage: Tail coverage (for malpractice insurance) is another incentive that has become increasingly popular. Surgeons may require a significant 5- to 6-figure amount to cover their tail policy, depending on the type of malpractice insurance policy and coverage they had in their previous practice. While money and financial incentives are obviously very important, money is not the only factor that motivates physicians. In fact, money may not even be a top motivator, and often it’s not the reason physicians entered into practice in the first place. Many people in the general public tend to vilify physicians as money-grubbing, greedy professionals who only see the bottom

line. But most people who work closely with physicians, as we do, will find that this perception of the profession is farthest from the truth, and that most physicians pursue a medical career out of a passion for healing and treating people, not due to the money. Physicians take on an enormous amount of debt to gain the necessary education and credentials to practice medicine. Many physicians are self-employed, or owners of their own practices and incur additional business operating costs. The ever-increasing overhead expenses required to practice include payroll, equipment, office space, malpractice insurance, and more. So what does motivate physicians? A recent study of primary care physicians, completed by the Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership was outlined at HospitalImpact.org, and here is what they found about what PCPs value in their practice search: • Commitment to collaboration • Development of “support systems” to help doctors meet their goals and needs • A patient-centered practice model that focuses on “healing” not “RVUs” Technology and compensation, while a part of the package, do not alone attract a primary care physician unless the above are in place, according to this particular study. That’s not to say you can offer 40% less pay than competing hospitals and expect to be successful in recruiting. Primary care physicians are already at the lowest end of physician compensation, so under-cutting them further is not realistic either. What should be taken from this study is that throwing money at a physician to get them to sign on the dotted line is not the best strategy for long-term retention, and that money alone cannot compensate for a practice situation where the physician won’t be professionally satisfied. (For more information on these and other trends in physician recruiting, see the Top 8 Physician Recruiting Trends of the Decade on our blog, DocHunterDiary.com.)

The Pulse • Page 17 • Summer 2011

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Calling All

Volunteers... Do you have the gift of persuasion? Want to be a part of something that benefits thousands in the recruiting industry? Need an outlet for that “creative” something that runs in your veins? Then the NAPR Newsletter Committee is for YOU! We are interested in those who can write and solicit articles that are relevant to the physician recruiting industry; those who are willing to work with vendors to solicit advertising space commitments; and those who are just willing to have fun with The Pulse newsletter! If interested in serving, please contact [email protected] TODAY!

The Pulse • Page 21 • Summer 2011

National Association of Physician Recruiters

The Pulse • Page 22 • Summer 2011