Useful Service (Back to Job List)

Tips To Help You Find A Good Doctor And Make The Right Hire For Your Business

If your healthcare business is scaling at a reasonable rate, you should look to invest in new employees to give your company a chance to expand into new areas and grow where you've already met with success. Doctors play a central role in providing high-quality care in hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, identifying a range of conditions early on and prescribing treatments that make a difference, so you might struggle to find the talent you need. Whether you're hiring a specialist or a primary care physician, you must onboard the right person for the company. At the end of the day, you have to make sure they can do the job while being a good fit for the balanced office culture.

There's a good chance your hiring process can be improved to better serve your business needs. Here are some suggestions to bear in mind:

Who Are You Recruiting? Decide What Type Of Practitioner You Need

Putting time and work into finding the right person, you'll improve your chances of hiring the best doctor and avoiding a costly and painful mistake. Do you need someone who can practise independently? Or do you need to accommodate a professional who will require onsite supervision? You may be called upon to act as a mentor. Some of the most in-demand doctors in the UK are general practitioners, oncologists, haematologists, radiologists, ophthalmologists, and child psychiatrists.

Determine what type of worker you actually need and consider the ideal background you'd like them to have before you start to hire.

If The Doctor Has Ever Been Sued, There Are Records Of It

By now, you know how to comb social media for prospective hires or at least do a Google search. Still, it's not enough. While it might seem like a luxury, a background check is something you can't afford to skip, so enter the doctor's seven-digit number on the General Medical Council's website, and you'll find the record. If there's a warning or agreed undertakings, it'll be shown for 12 months. You're free to reject candidates if you can fully justify your decision with legitimate reasons. Team members can begin to see the new hire as a liability.

NHS compensation payouts amounted to £2.8 billion in 2023/24. Since 2020, the number of clinical negligence cases has slowly but surely increased, and this is indicative of wider problems in the healthcare system. Patients' awareness of their rights has the potential to yield numerous benefits, such as increased quality of care, decreased costs, faster recovery, and, above all, increased dignity by allowing them to participate in the decision-making. Despite this, doctors' practice behaviour goes in the opposite direction, practising defensive medicine, failing to report incidents, and hesitating to disclose information to patients.  

Try Out A Few Different Recruitment Strategies

Using multiple strategies when you recruit and retain candidates can increase the number of applicants and shorten hiring times, so you can avoid the costs related to interviews, assessments, and overhead. Among the suggestions considered by hiring managers are:

Attend Medical Conferences

Medical conferences offer the chance to learn and connect with people immersed in a specific area of expertise, encouraging attendees to share opinions that can benefit patient care for a private practice or healthcare facility. As a rule, the medical professionals you come across at conferences aren't actively looking for a job, but some of them may be interested in new opportunities. Take your time introducing yourself, get to know everyone you talk to, don't spend too much time describing the position you're hiring for, and send a follow-up email.

Collaborate With Medical Schools

Medical schools ensure their applicants have a strong grasp of what they're getting into, so having a certain number of clinical hours is a typical expectation. Interns and residents are capable of providing high-quality care to their patients and bringing invaluable diversity to the workforce, which ensures cultural competence and fosters a more inclusive environment. Additionally, they have expertise in specific medical specialties that are in high demand. Medical schools are a prime source of talent, as they have exclusive networks within the industry, connecting you to promising candidates.

Use Your Network To Find The Right Candidate

Take advantage of your existing network, especially on LinkedIn, by reaching out to fellow peers or connections to identify potential candidates. Only those who've left a good impression on their existing team are likely to apply for the role(s) you're sharing, so you may not have to advertise the job to get a few candidates ready to interview. You must be able to articulate the positives of your workplace in a clear, concise manner because the people you're recruiting are casting a wide net and have many offers.

Post Your Job Online

And finally, post your job opening on a web-based job board rather than on your company website or social media profiles. Many replies appear in real-time, so you can attract more qualified candidates or even stop candidates from applying if you've already found the right person for the job. Anyone can post a job advertisement because established platforms make the process straightforward – all you have to do is craft a clear title, include a detailed description, and highlight your company's mission, values, and culture.

Beat Your Competition When Attracting Medical Talent

A successful healthcare business is one that has a vision, mission, and goals, and a lack of attention to these details could make you look unprofessional and raise concerns about whether you give consideration to your brand. If you're competing with another business in the local community, you'll want to avoid making derogatory statements about your rivals. They won't be forgotten and, worse, might be shared. You may not be able to match the dollar amount of larger organisations, but you know all the things that foster joy in medicine. New graduates are looking for more than a reasonable salary, such as stability, culture, and mentorship.

Be the First to Apply for Jobs Like This

Browse All Jobs

Browse More Jobs from the "Useful things to know..." Category

Newsletter
To sign up up for GlosJobs weekly newsletter, please click here.