Recruiting physicians in Oregon: Recruitment theory and practical strategies

This research sought to identify the reasons physicians attributed for practicing in Oregon, the reasons for relocating out of Oregon, and the reasons for failures in recruiting physicians to Oregon. A random sample survey of 494 Oregon physicians identified the presence of economic and non-economic factors related to the recruitment and retention of physicians in Oregon. The research indicated that non-economic factors are overwhelmingly selected by physicians as reasons for locating their practices in Oregon, while economic factors are strongly selected as reasons for relocating out of Oregon, and as reasons for candidates not accepting positions. The data and research design do not provide the information needed to explain these divergent findings. The non-economic factor of Oregon lifestyle would appear to be a substantial recruitment asset as 93% of respondents selected "Oregon lifestyle" as an influential reason for locating their practice in Oregon. 86% of influential reasons to locate a practice in Oregon were non-economic factors. Economic factors were identified in 16% of respondents who reported planning to relocate out of Oregon within five years. The OHSU (2002) Workforce Assessment obtained a figure of 4% for this variable. This suggests future recruitment needs may be larger than anticipated. Physicians commonly contend with recruitment activities as 80% of respondents reported attempting to recruit physicians in the last five years. Of respondents reporting recruitment attempts, 69% reported at least one recruitment failure. Most of these failures were due to economic factors. While non-economic factors dominated the findings for reasons to locate in Oregon, economic factors dominated the findings for reasons to relocate and for recruitment failures. A full range of economic factors such as salary, reimbursement, liability premium costs, Oregon's economy were considered influential. Non-economic factors including lifestyle, collegiality, and family living in Oregon were influential factors identified in this survey. Much of recruitment theory is 'low-level', which appears as the ordinary organizing constructs for recruitment practices. As recruitment is largely an applied endeavor, recruitment theory is little developed and examined and is fertile ground for development and testing.