15%+ of Physicians Change Jobs Annually

SK&A has completed a study on the percentage of physicians relocating annually for a new job. According to their study titled Physicians on the Move, the 3 year average of physicians that moved to a new location or practice is 15.2%. This figure also includes those physicians that retired or passed away.

Summer is an interesting time in physician recruiting; most of the residency and fellowship graduates have identified positions but there are still a lot of experienced candidates interested in making a move, and 2011 candidates are ready to begin interviewing. This article is interesting because it reveals the rate of change of office-based physicians by practice specialty, and is targeting established and experienced physicians.

We have found a high percentage of physicians changing their first job out of residency in the first 2 years of practice. Often times new graduates are attracted by high reimbursements or a large salary, and once they have signed with a facility either the promises made are not kept or physicians change their motivating factors, such as location, case load, trauma call, and community amenities. However this article states physician stability and job change has decreased over the last 3 years.

According to the article from SK&A, data from their study suggests that the move rate of physicians has declined steadily in the past 3 years, indicating recent stability among the specialties surveyed. The rate has gone from 18.2% in the 2008 reporting period to 15% in 2009 to 12.4% in the 2010 period.


Read the full article in Healthcare Finance News, or click here:
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/study-more-15-percent-physicians-move-annually