How can hospitals attract qualified physician assistants?
A hospital might be equipped with a skilled team, but growing patient needs can still add pressure on the existing team.
This is where skilled physician assistants can make a difference by supporting doctors and providing quality care for patients.
Recruiting physician assistants will help teams manage their workload.
But onboarding qualified PAs is always filled with challenges.
One such challenge is the growth of hospitals that are now competing for the same skilled professionals.
So, as a recruiter, how can you make your hospital stand out and hire the right PAs? This blog shares proven tips to help you attract qualified physician assistants.
Tip# 1: Create clear and effective job descriptions
Recruiters must remember that a clear and professionally written job description is the first step to follow when you are planning to hire a physician assistant.
A well-written job description gives job seekers a better understanding of the role and encourages them to apply.
To attract skilled professionals, you must provide accurate information about duties, qualifications, salary, and shift timings.
Providing these factors will allow applicants to assess whether the role matches their skills or not.
Mentioning the following points in your job description during the physician assistant recruitment process helps you hire better:
- Mention the primary duties and expected daily tasks of a physician assistant.
- Specify the required qualifications, certifications, and professional experience that are required for the role.
- State the length of employment so that the job seeker can understand if the role is full-time or contractual.
An easy-to-understand job description can strengthen the physician assistant staffing process and make it stress-free. It also helps minimize unsuitable applications, attract more relevant candidates, and improve overall hiring efficiency.
To make your job descriptions more relevant and appealing, stay updated on the day-to-day duties of physician assistants. A detailed infographic is included to help you stay informed about their key responsibilities.
Essential tasks to add to a physician assistant job description
Tip #2. Simplify the recruiting process
Recruiters must understand that qualified physician assistants often have multiple job offers in hand. They are looking for a recruiter who can onboard them quickly.
So hospital owners like you must remember that a complicated or slow recruiting process can lead candidates to choose other offers.
Your hospitals can stand out by following a few steps, such as making it easy to apply and communicating clearly with the applicant. Along with this, you must also keep the candidates informed throughout the process.
Example: If you are planning to hire a physician assistant for your hospital in Alaska, you can use modern staffing platforms that assist your team in scheduling interviews promptly and explaining what candidates can expect at each stage.
This planned process helps the hospital hire qualified physician assistants without unnecessary delays.
Having a planned recruiting process shows applicants that the hospital values their time and is serious about bringing them onto the team.
Tip #3. Provide opportunities for career development
Another proven tip to attract and hire physician assistants is to show applicants that your hospital is employee-friendly and supports their professional growth.
During the physician assistant recruitment process, as a hospital manager, you can make a stronger offer by highlighting opportunities to learn new skills, gain certifications, and the assistance that you provide them to move into advanced leadership positions.
You can also improve recruiting by conveying to physician assistant applicants what your hospital offers, such as:
- Your hospital needs to provide assistance in continuing education, training, and certification support.
- It is essential to team new hire PAs with experienced professionals to enhance mentorship.
- As a recruiter, you must also create detailed career paths for leadership positions and responsibilities.
When applicants feel your hospital can help their career growth, you can attract skilled professionals to improve patient care.
Tip #4. Increase your access to qualified talent
One of the most important staffing tips, which is least used when compared with other tips, is not using multiple sourcing methods.
Using multiple sourcing methods can increase your staffing process as it gives you access to qualified professionals.
So, to hire and onboard skilled professionals on time to maintain quality patient care, you must expand your sourcing channels.
Consulting multiple recruiting sources improves your chances of addressing the physician assistant shortage more quickly.
You can also consider multiple sourcing methods such as:
- As a recruiter, you need to encourage employee referral processes to connect with skilled applicants.
- Hospital managers can also consider partnering with healthcare universities to attract emerging talent.
This proven tip will help you create a skilled talent pool within your budget.
Tip #5. Offer a competitive salary
Recruiters must know that your physician assistant staffing mostly depends on the salary you offer.
Providing competitive compensation is an important tip to follow while you are planning to hire physician assistants.
Many recruiters know the importance of this tip because most applicants compare their physician assistant salary with multiple offers, so make sure your compensation package is competitive in your area.
For example, if your clinic is planning to hire skilled physician assistants in Nevada, your clinic must offer an average salary of $154,800. Along with this, you can also consider providing benefits such as joining bonuses or relocation support.
These add-on benefits can make your job offer more appealing to experienced physician assistants who are comparing multiple offers.
As a recruiter, reviewing local physician assistants’ salary trends can help you create an offer that attracts multiple applicants to hire quickly.
To review, you must also stay updated on the present salary trends in the country. To keep you informed, a detailed infographic is added to make your recruiting process more organized.
Average salaries of physician assistants by state in the USA.
Source: BLS
Tip #6. Increase your access to qualified talent
One of the most important staffing tips, which is least used when compared with other tips, is not using multiple sourcing methods.
Using multiple sourcing methods can increase your staffing process, as it gives you access to qualified professionals.
So, to hire and onboard skilled professionals on time to maintain quality patient care, you must expand your sourcing channels.
Consulting multiple recruiting sources improves your chances of addressing the physician assistant shortage more quickly.
You can also consider multiple sourcing methods such as:
- As a recruiter, you need to encourage employee referral processes to connect with skilled applicants.
- Hospital managers can also consider partnering with healthcare universities to attract emerging talent.
This proven tip will help you create a skilled talent pool within your budget.
How to build a more efficient recruitment strategy with modern platforms
To attract skilled physician assistants, recruiters must follow proven tips to overcome staffing challenges.
An essential point to remember is that recruiters also need to understand along with tips, they also need to know what staffing platform to choose as a partner.
Having knowledge will bring you multiple benefits in your recruitment process. To get benefits for your hospital recruitment strategies, you can try to reduce dependence on traditional agencies.
It is said to reduce dependence because traditional agencies come with multiple challenges. Those include lengthy staffing processes because of the manual work process.
Limited transparency in pricing, high markups, and no credential support.
These challenges make your physician assistant staffing delayed and costly.
To overcome these challenges, you can choose modern healthcare staffing platforms such as MedSquirrels.
This modern staffing platform has AI-powered technology that can simplify your talent acquisition challenges.
MedSquirrels has no markups, and it also comes with affordable plans that help you hire within your staffing budget.
Along with these, it also gives you multiple benefits, such as:
- Assistance with credentials while you hire a professional.
- Complete cost transparency of pay rate, payroll, bill rate, and monthly hours.
- AI-powered tools that help you create better job descriptions.
Healthcare recruiters can book a free demo to see how MedSquirrels makes recruiting easy. Working professionals can also check open jobs and apply for those that match their experience.
FAQs
How can recruiters attract qualified physician assistants?
Recruiters can attract qualified physician assistants by creating clear job descriptions. They should also offer competitive salaries and benefits. A simple hiring process can improve the candidate experience. Career growth opportunities can also make a hospital more attractive.
How can hospitals speed up physician assistant recruitment?
Hospitals can simplify the application process. Recruiters should communicate clearly with candidates. They should also schedule interviews without unnecessary delays. Keeping candidates updated can help prevent them from accepting other offers.
How can recruiters reach more qualified physician assistants?
Recruiters should use multiple sourcing channels. Employee referrals can help reach experienced professionals. Healthcare universities can also connect hospitals with emerging talent. Staffing platforms can provide another way to reach qualified candidates.
How does MedSquirrels help recruiters reduce staffing costs?
MedSquirrels uses a flat-fee model instead of traditional agency markups. You can see the clinician’s pay and your staffing costs clearly. This gives recruiters better control over their staffing budget.
Can recruiters manage the staffing process in one platform?
Yes. MedSquirrels brings several staffing activities into one platform. Recruiters can manage sourcing, interviews, onboarding, credentialing, payroll, and compliance. The platform is designed to connect these steps throughout the workforce lifecycle.
