Family medicine and general internal medicine are the top two most-recruited medical specialties, according Merritt Hawkins' 2013 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives.
This trend is not new — primary care physicians have topped Merritt Hawkins' list for the past seven years. The demand for primary care physicians is driven in part by the growth of healthcare sites across the country. "The new mantra in healthcare is to be 'everywhere, all the time.' This means reaching into communities with a growing number of free-standing facilities or other sites that are convenient and accessible," Mark Smith, president of Merritt Hawkins, said in a news release. "These facilities have one thing in common — they all need primary care physicians."
One notable change on the 2013 list is an appearance by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the top 20 — a first in Merritt Hawkins' 20-year history of the survey.
The following are Merritt Hawkins' top 20 most requested physician searches by medical specialty.
1. Family medicine
2. Internal medicine
3. Hospitalist
4. Psychiatry
5. Emergency medicine
6. Pediatrics
7. Obstetrics and gynecology
8. General surgery
9. Neurology
10. Nurse practitioner
11. Orthopedic surgery
12. Physician assistant
13. Hematology and/or oncology
14. Otolaryngology
15. Cardiology
16. Gastroenterology
17. Urology
18. Pulmonolgy
19. Dermatology
20. Geriatrics
Survey data is based on 3,097 permanent physician and advanced practitioner search assignments conducted by Merritt Hawkins and AMN Healthcare's physician staffing companies from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013.
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