Most new physicians are contacted about job offers more than 100 times during their residencies, but almost one-third would choose a field other than medicine, according to a survey published Sept. 20 by AMN Healthcare's physician solutions division, formerly known as Merritt Hawkins.
Fifty-six percent of final-year residents reported that they received 100 or more job solicitations from hospitals, medical groups and physician recruiters during their training — the highest number since the survey was first conducted in 1991. Seventy-eight percent received 51 or more job solicitations, also the highest number recorded by the survey.
"Physicians coming out of training are being recruited like blue-chip athletes," Leah Grant, president of AMN's physician solutions division, said in a Sept. 26 news release. "There are simply not enough new physicians to go around."
However, despite the abundance of job offers, 30 percent of residents surveyed said they would not choose medicine if they had their careers to do over again, indicating that residents are experiencing feelings of burnout just like more experienced physicians.
Eighty-one percent of residents said they sometimes, often or always experienced feelings of burnout during training, while 45 percent said they often or always experienced feelings of burnout.
The worrying news for rural communities, which can find it particularly challenging to attract physicians, is that only 2 percent of residents would prefer to practice in communities of 10,000 people or fewer and only 4 percent would prefer to practice in communities of 25,000 people or fewer, according to the survey.
The survey also suggests that most newly trained physicians would prefer to be employed, and that few seek an independent, private practice setting. Sixty-eight percent of residents listed employment by a hospital as one of their top two choices for a first practice setting, compared to only 6 percent who picked a private solo practice among their top two choices.
"The days of new doctors hanging out a shingle in an independent solo practice are over," Ms. Grant said. "Most new doctors prefer to be employed rather than deal with the financial uncertainty and time demands of private practice."