New docs looking for security
A financial package that gives doctors security and a fiscal leg-up in launching their careers could be the major fringe benefit in recruiting them, according to the results of a recent study about the practice preferences of 300 new physicians.
The 1997 Survey of Final-Year Medical Residents by Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, an Irving, TX, recruiting firm, yielded few surprises about the employment picture in primary care except that family physicians, internists, and pediatricians are becoming more confident about their worth and willing to flex competitive muscle to achieve it.
Survey results indicate:
• More than 90% of new primary care physicians expect initial annual incomes in excess of $100,000.
• In choosing an opportunity, more than 75% of them would be affected "somewhat" or "greatly" by a $12,000 signing bonus.
• More than 77% of U.S. trained candidates also would think favorably of an offer that included loan forgiveness, even if it’s attached to a three-year commitment.
The profile emerging from this year’s survey class is one of physicians who are better informed and expect better pay than their older colleagues. They’re turning down entrepreneurial medicine for salaried positions.
More than 60% say they prefer to work in a group setting, up from 53% in 1995. Only 2% are holding out for a solo situation, while 12.7% are still open to a partnership.
When asked about compensation, 86% said they expect to be paid as salaried employees, including a majority (72%) who want a base plus a production bonus. In 1995, 55% indicated that preference.
The numbers reflect a shift in thinking by physicians that fortunately parallels the marketplace, Smith says. Young doctors are looking for salaried positions at the same time the industry is offering them.
They want financial stability, so it’s not surprising that fewer of them, 11.3% in 1997 vs. 41% in 1995, are willing to take an income guarantee, intrinsically more risky than a salary.
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