Final-year residents are extremely high in demand in the U.S., fundamentally because they are the future of medical practice in the country. Owing to this, they are being choosy about what kind of career options should they avail and when to avail them?

According to Merrit Hawkins, a national physicians search and consulting firm, there are eight important findings about young physicians and their career preferences. Understanding these can particularly help recruiters devise their recruiting processes and employment offers accordingly. These findings are based on a comprehensive survey conducted with 391 final-year residents in 2019, with margin of error of plus/minus 4.86 percent.

Soaring Demand for Young Physicians

The primary finding of the survey illustrates that young physicians are particularly high in demand. As many as 65 percent of the respondent residents identified that they had received over 50 recruiting offers, while 45 percent reported having received over 100 offers. According to Travis Singleton, Merritt Hawkins, “Physicians coming out of training are being recruited like blue chip athletes. There are simply not enough new doctors to go around.”

Preference for Working in Hospitals

Young physicians preferred working in a hospital setting at their top-most priority. This was followed by single specialty group and multi-specialty group. Partnering with another physician was identified as the last preferred option. Moreover, only 2 percent reported that they wanted to establish a solo practice.

Physician and dental recruiters, along with others in the healthcare sector, have noted that as many as 65 percent of the respondent residents identified that they had received over 50 recruiting offers, while 45 percent reported having received over 100 offers.

Preference for Practicing in Big Cities

Young physicians tend to prefer working in bigger cities. Around 45 percent of the survey respondents identified they wanted to work in cities with at least 250,000 residents, while 20 percent preferred cities with more than 1 million people. This is primarily because of the plethora of facilities available in urban dwellings including ease of commuting, better housing options, increased exposure and learning opportunities, and better growth prospects.

Location, Salary and Work-Life Balance are the Evaluation Criteria

The residents surveyed identified that the most important criteria while evaluating employment opportunities included geographic location, the compensation, and adequate personal time in terms of work-life balance. The financial package, of these all, remains the top decisive factor when accepting job offers. Moreover, given the fact that burnout rates and physician dissatisfaction is at an all-time-high, young physicians are increasingly seeking work-life balance as a prominent component of their career choices.

Concerns Over Student Loan Repayment

Residents who had loans to meet were typically concerned about repayment. Around 42 percent of the respondents identified that they had over $200,000 in student loans. Hence, young physicians want to seize employment opportunities that will help them pay off these loans well and also allow them to save a handsome few bucks to maintain survival.

Concerns Over The “Business Side” of Medicine

the resident respondents were apprehensive about the business-related topics relevant to their job offers. These included topics such as the legality of employment contracts, compensation arrangements, etc. 53 percent stated that they did not receive any formal training to well-equip them on these topics during the medical school. Hence, 38 percent were totally unprepared to address these issues, 54 percent were somewhat prepared, and only 8 percent assumed themselves well prepared to take the lead.

Top Concerns as Their Careers Begin

Five major concerns were identified by the residents surveyed when it comes to seizing an employment opportunity. These were:

• Earning a good income – the monetary value of the employment offer is perhaps the biggest factor of influence for accept or reject decisions

• Educational debt – the amount of loan taken during the medical school that needs to be repaid also tends to impact employment offer-related decision

• Availability of free time – does the job offer reasonable work-life balance? It’s a win-win if it does.

• Insufficient practice management knowledge – lack of practice management knowledge tends to sway residents away from many lucrative employment offers.
• Dealing with payers – what are the issues and problems that generally pop up when it comes to dealing with payers?

Career Buyer’s Remorse  

Interestingly, medicine was not identified as a preferred career choice if there was a redo option – 19 percent of the respondents stated so. This is referred to as career buyer’s remorse, that is, one regrets after making a career decision. According to Singleton, Merritt Hawkins, “With high levels of physician burnout and continued uncertainty about the direction of the healthcare system, many doctors are under duress today.” This is primarily why many residents regret having chosen medicine as their career path and wish to revert their decision if it was practically possible.