Despite a stagnant economy, young doctors in their final year of residency can look forward to being heavily recruited, according to a recent survey by Merritt Hawkins, a physician-consulting firm.
Among the just over 300 respondents to the survey, 78% had received 50 or more solicitations and 47% received 100 or more.
As the nation faces a shortage of physicians and an aging health care workforce, new doctors in nearly every specialty are in high demand, James Merritt, founder of Merritt Hawkins, said in a statement.
“For primary care, I think you pretty much can write your own ticket,” said Dr. Neil Skolnik of the family practice residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital. He added that today's residents look for the best package deal when considering a placement – which could include generous compensation, loan repayment, and regular hours.
“The days are over when doctors want to be on call every night or every other night; they won't do it,” Dr. Skolnik said. “They're not willing to make the sacrifices that many in the older generation will.”
When asked about practice locales, only 4% of respondents said they would prefer a practice in a small (25,000 people or less) or rural community.
Dr. Jennifer Thuener, a family medicine resident at Abington Memorial Hospital, said that she is among that 4%.
“I'm from Colorado so I know that I want to go back out West,” Dr. Thuener said. She added that the same is true for her colleagues. “Most people want to be around their family so they do end up going to where they're from.”
Despite the onslaught of interest most residents see, 28% of respondents to the Merritt Hawkins survey said they would choose a field other than medicine if they could redo their education – up from 18% in a similar survey in 2008.
Whatever is drawing new doctors to their positions after training, Dr. Skolnik said the high demand for residents may help to resolve the physician shortage and make way for a new generation of a health care workforce.
Merritt Hawkins e-mailed its survey to 10,000 final-year residents, with approximately 30% going to primary care residents and the remainder to specialty residents and fellows. The survey's response rate was 3%.