Press Release
When it comes to attracting physicians to Northeast Nebraska, Faith Regional Health Services can only offer a little slice of pie.
But that slice is some tasty pastry.
Recent studies done by Merritt Hawkins and Associates have indicated that about 96 percent of doctors in training aren’t looking to practice in a community the size of Norfolk, but Faith Regional has been able to attract high-quality physicians from that remaining 4 percent.
Sally McKenzie, the director of medical staff outreach and development at Faith Regional, said that since the hospital began recruiting doctors to the area in 1998, 36 of the 48 physicians recruited continue to make Norfolk their home.
Considering the multitude of factors that come into play in the search for new physicians—such as the number of training programs for certain specialties available in the country, the number of people accepted into those programs and the number of doctors looking to work in a town with a population of less than 25,000 in Nebraska—the physician recruiter’s job isn’t always simple, McKenzie said.
McKenzie, along with Jim Naeve and Mary Pratt, are instrument members of Faith Regional’s physician recruiting team.
“Our piece of the pie is small, and it’s maybe hard to get them here, but we don’t take just anybody,” McKenzie said.
To be a part of Faith Regional’s medical staff, physicians must be eligible for board certification, which translates into a higher level of skill. Doctors also must pass a credentialing process in order to be granted hospital privileges. Foreign medical graduates must have completed a residency or fellowship program in an accredited program in the United States. And all doctors have to be able to obtain a medical license in Nebraska, McKenzie said.
Before any new physicians are sought, the hospital looks at the results of an annual needs analysis and staff development to see what types of doctors are needed the most in terms of types of medical specialties.
When seeking new physicians, the team uses any methods available, including databases, job fairs, training programs and referrals from other physicians. That’s how doctors from all over the world hear about Faith Regional, said Pratt, Faith Regional’s physician recruiter.
The hospital puts all candidates through an exhaustive selection process—including background checks, telephone interviews and a visit to Norfolk—but if the physician doesn’t appear to be the right fit, he or she won’t be hired, McKenzie said.
“it’s hard to turn them away when you don’t have a lot to chose from, but we do,” McKenzie said.
Pratt said drawing a doctor to Norfolk can be a three- or four-year endeavor. Pratt said recruiting sometimes becomes very personal to her, and it’s upsetting when something doesn’t work out.
Naeve, the vice president of physician services at Faith Regional, said that when things do work out and a good doctor has been recruited and stays in the community, the effort is worthwhile on many levels, Naeve added.
“When we recruit one physician, that will create 18 jobs and put about $380,000 in local economic impact,” he said. “It all kind of snowballs. It makes what we do an economic development incentive as well.”
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
