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Member o f the Na t iona l Assoc ia t i on o f Locum Tenens Organ i za t ionsPre fe r red Par tner fo r Temporary Phys i c ian and Advanced Prac t i ce S ta f f ing o f the Nat iona l Assoc ia t ion o f Communi ty Hea l th Centers
©2015 Staff Care, Inc8840 Cypress Waters Dr, #300 | Dallas, TX 75019(800) 685-2272 | www.staffcare.com
2015 SURVEY OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENTS
CERTIFIED BY THE JOINT COMMISSION AND THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE
1 2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents
For additional information about this survey contact:
©2015 Staff Care, Inc8840 Cypress Waters Dr, #300 | Dallas, TX(800) 685-2272 | [email protected]
Overview
Methodology
Questions and Answers
Trends and Observations
Conclusion
2
3
4
6
10
2015 SURVEY OF FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENTS
2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents 2
Summary Report2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents
OVERVIEW
Staff Care is a leading healthcare staffing firm
specializing in matching temporary (i.e., locum
tenens) physicians, physician assistants, nurse
practitioners, dentists and other healthcare
professionals with hospitals, medical groups,
government facilities, Federally Qualified
Health Clinics (FQHCs) and other healthcare
organizations nationwide.
Established in 1992, Staff Care is a company
of AMN Healthcare (NYSE: AHS), the leader in
innovative healthcare workforce solutions and
the largest healthcare staffing organization
in the United States as ranked by Staffing
Industry Analysts. Staff Care is proud to be
certified by the Joint Commission and by the
National Committee for Quality Assurance
(NCQA) and to be the sponsor of The
Country Doctor of the Year Award.
Each year, Staff Care conducts a survey to
track trends in locum tenens staffing, both
among healthcare facilities that use temporary
doctors and among physicians choosing to
work temporary assignments. Staff Care’s
Survey of Temporary Physician Staffing
Trends is the industry’s leading resource of
information concerning the rate at which
hospitals, medical groups and other facilities
use locum tenens providers, their reasons for
doing so, how they rate the skill level of locum
tenens clinicians and related data.
Staff Care also conducts surveys on other
staffing topics, such as our Survey of Nurse
Practitioners, and produces a series of white
papers on various healthcare staffing and
delivery trends, including population health
management, the rise of convenient care,
physician supply and demand projections, the
growing role of women in medicine, the aging
physician workforce and related subjects.
The 2015 Survey of Family Residents
marks Staff Care’s first effort to track the
practice preferences and perspectives of
family physicians in training who are soon
to enter the workforce. Survey data may be
useful to healthcare facility managers, policy
makers, media members and others who
track physician workforce and staffing trends.
3 2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents
METHODOLOGY
Staff Care’s 2015 Survey of Family Medicine
Residents was conducted at the 2015
American Academy of Family Physicians
(AAFP) Conference for Family Medicine
Residents and Medical Students held in
Kansas City, Missouri in July, 2015.
The survey was self-selecting and was taken
by family medicine residents attending the
AAFP Conference who visited Staff Care’s
booth or otherwise interacted with Staff Care
representatives at the conference. A total of
133 surveys were completed. The survey was
only available to those conference attendees
who had the opportunity to interact with Staff
Care representatives, therefore no response
rate or margin of error can be calculated and
the survey should be considered anecdotal
rather than scientific in nature.
Nevertheless, it does provide what Staff Care
believes is a useful indication of the practice
preferences of family medicine residents,
particularly in regard to locum tenens. The
2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents is
the only source of which Staff Care is aware
that reflects how knowledgeable family
medicine residents are about locum tenens
and indicates their potential interest in this
growing practice style.
2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents 4
Have you ever worked as a “locum” during your residency?
Which best describes your attitude toward your first job post-residency?
What is your gender? In what year will you complete your residency training?
3
Questions Askedand Responses ReceivedBased on 133 Survey Responses
21
Which best describes your current job plans post-residency?
Which best describes your view of locum tenens?
34%
66%
FemaleMale 2015 2016 2017 2018
2%
55%
36%
7%
4
5 6
I have put little to no timeinto considering job offers
I have considered job offersbut have not interviewed
I have interviewed for jobsbut have not accepted one
I have accepted a job offer
ALL 2016
50%
36%
10%
4%
19%
57%
20%
4%
I am unfamiliar withthe meaning of this term
I am vaguely familiar withthe meaning of this term
I am somewhat familiarwith the meaning of this term
I am very familiar withthe meaning of this term
21%
12%
38%
29%
3%
97%
NoYes
Will consider jobs in a wide number of locations
Will seek a job out of statein a pre-determined location
Will seek a job withinthe state where I trained
Will seek a job locallywhere I trained
51%
18%
16%
15%
5 2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents
7
8
Rate your preference for the following practice settings:
9
10
How open would you be to “test driving” various practice styles and geographic locations by working temporary assignments post-residency?
What is your annual salary expectation for your first job post-residency?
What is your preferred schedule for your first job post-residency?
Group practice
Community health center
Academic medical center
Hospital employed practice
Urgent care center
Locum tenens
Concierge practice
Veterans Administration
Independent solo practice
Retail clinic
Indian Health Service
Military base facility
Correctional facility
0
4%
4%
6%
8%
5%
6%
14%
20%
25%
24%
26%
32%
34%
1
1%
0%
2%
2%
2%
1%
2%
6%
3%
5%
7%
9%
11%
2
0%
2%
2%
3%
8%
8%
6%
5%
15%
12%
10%
7%
10%
3
2%
5%
6%
8%
12%
8%
2%
13%
8%
11%
12%
11%
11%
4
2%
5%
6%
6%
7%
5%
8%
8%
6%
10%
6%
8%
9%
5
24%
19%
20%
19%
21%
28%
20%
23%
21%
21%
22%
18%
14%
6
8%
15%
11%
13%
9%
12%
10%
11%
8%
7%
6%
4%
4%
7
15%
18%
22%
18%
14%
17%
14%
7%
6%
6%
8%
7%
3%
8
24%
13%
11%
8%
12%
8%
15%
4%
5%
2%
2%
1%
2%
9
6%
11%
3%
7%
3%
2%
4%
1%
2%
1%
0%
0%
1%
10
14%
8%
11%
8%
7%
5%
5%
2%
1%
1%
1%
3%
1%
Avg
6.7
6.3
5.9
5.7
5.3
5.2
5.1
3.7
3.4
3.2
3.1
2.8
2.5
L i t t le P reference St rong P reference
85%
15%
Full-time (31 hours per week or more)
Part-time (30 hours per week or less)
$100,000 or less
$101,000 - $150,000
$151,000 - $200,000
$201,000 or greater
50%
36%
10%
4%
Very Open SomewhatOpen
Not VeryOpen
35%
52%
13%
2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents 6
Trends and ObservationsFamily medicine residents represent
one of the most sought-after groups of
professionals in the United States – if not
the most sought after.
Due to a nationwide shortage of primary
care physicians, doctors about to enter
the primary care workforce are a key
hiring target of hospitals, medical groups,
community health centers, and other
healthcare facilities nationwide.
Staffing firms such as Staff Care receive
more requests for primary care physicians,
particularly family medicine physicians, than
for any other type of doctor. Primary care
physicians have been Staff Care’s most
requested staffing assignment for five
consecutive years, including 2015, and that
trend is not likely to abate soon.
Primary care physicians are in growing
demand due in part to patient
demographics, including population growth
and population aging, that accelerate the
need for more doctors.
Demand also is being driven by changes
in the healthcare system, which is
becoming more primary care focused.
Primary care physicians are essential
to the implementation of population
health management, in which healthcare
organizations take on responsibility for
providing care to large groups of patients
within a defined budget that includes
rewards for quality/outcomes. In this
rapidly proliferating model, the primary
care physician is the patient’s main point
of contact and directs his or her care,
incorporating other clinical professionals
who are on the delivery team when needed.
Primary care physicians also are essential to
the implementation of “convenient care,” a
growing model of care delivery offered by
urgent care centers, retail clinics, community
health centers and other outpatient sites of
service (for more information on population
health management and convenient care
see the Staff Care white papers Population
Health Management and Convenient Care).
The nation’s 8,441 family medicine residents,
all of whom will soon be entering the job
market, therefor are a coveted resource.
Staff Care’s 2015 Survey of Family Medicine
Residents reveals some insights into the
practice plans of family medicine residents,
particularly in regard to locum tenens.
7 2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents
LOCUM TENENS, AN EMERGING PRACTICE STYLE
Physicians substituting for their peers –
filling in while their colleagues are absent
due to illness, vacation, continuing medical
education, or other reasons – is a time
honored tradition in medicine. Working as
a substitute, or working “locum tenens,” is
something physicians typically have done on
an ad hoc basis for many years.
Since the late 1970s, however, locum
tenens has become a significant part of
the healthcare staffing industry, and most
physicians now work locum tenens through
staffing companies such as Staff Care.
Staff Care estimates that approximately
44,000 physicians worked as locum tenens
in 2014, up from approximately 26,000 in
2002. In a national survey of over 20,000
physicians conducted by Merritt Hawkins
on behalf of The Physicians Foundation
(www.physiciansfoundation.org), 9.1%
of physicians indicated they plan to work
locum tenens sometime in the next one to
three years, up from 6.4% in 2012.
Many locum tenens physicians are older
doctors who may no longer be in full-
time practice. Staff Care’s 2015 Survey
of Temporary Physician Staffing Trends
indicates that 66% of locum tenens
physicians are 51 years old or older, but
there is some data that suggests that
younger physicians also are gravitating to
locum tenens. Staff Care’s 2015 Survey
of Temporary Physician Staffing Trends
indicates that 21% of locum tenens
physicians began working temporary
assignments right out of residency, up from
14.3% in 2012.
FAMILIARITY AND INTEREST
The 2015 Survey of Family Medicine
Residents confirms that the majority of
residents in family medicine have at least
some awareness of locum tenens. Sixty-
seven percent said they are somewhat or
very familiar with the term, while 12%
said they are vaguely familiar. Only 21%
said they are unfamiliar with locum tenens.
However, only 3% have worked as a
“locum” during their training.
The majority of family medicine residents
surveyed, 55% of whom will complete
their programs in 2016, are still undecided
about their first jobs. Fifty percent said
they have put little to no time into
considering job offers, 36% said they
have considered job offers but have
not interviewed, 10% said they have
interviewed but have not accepted a job
offer, and only 4% have accepted offers.
2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents 8
Though they are highly recruited, the survey
indicates most family medicine residents, even
those coming out of residency in less than a
year, are still considering their job options.
When asked to rank various job settings that
typically employ family medicine physicians,
residents surveyed picked group practice
as their highest preference, followed by
community health centers, academic medical
centers, hospital-employed settings, urgent
care centers, and locum tenens. At the
bottom of the list was correctional facilities
and military base facilities.
Locum tenens is a non-traditional practice
option for medical residents but nevertheless
ranked 6th among 13 common career choices
for family medicine physicians responding
to the survey. In addition, 87% of family
medicine residents indicated they are either
somewhat open or very open to “testing
driving” various practice styles by working
locum tenens post-residency, while only 13%
said they would not be very open to doing so.
The survey therefore suggests that family
medicine residents represent a logical
resource of potential locum tenens
candidates, even though residents are
highly recruited and even though most
locum tenens physicians traditionally have
been older, more experienced doctors.
FINANCIAL EXPECTATIONS, SCHEDULES AND LOCATIONS
The majority of family medicine residents
surveyed (78%) expect to make $151,000
or more in their first practice post-residency.
This is in line with market realities, as
Merritt Hawkins, a permanent physician
search firm which, like Staff Care, is a
company of AMN Healthcare, indicates the
average starting salary for family medicine
physicians is $198,000 (see Merritt Hawkins’
2015 Review of Physician and Advanced
Practitioner Recruiting Incentives).
In general, locum tenens physicians earn
less than physicians in permanent practice,
though their incomes can be comparable
depending on the number of locum tenens
assignments worked and the availability of
higher paid overtime hours.
The majority of family residents surveyed
(85%) would prefer a schedule of 31 hours
or more a week, while 15% would prefer
a part-time schedule of 30 hours or less.
These numbers reflect a growing preference
among physicians for flexible schedules,
particularly as more women enter the
medical field in their child-bearing years.
Reflecting this trend, the majority of
family medicine residents who completed
the survey (66%) are female, while
55% of all family medicine residents are
9 2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents
female. Among male survey respondents,
9.3% expressed a preference for a part-
time positions, while 16.3% of female
respondents expressed an interest in a
part-time position. Locum tenens may be
an increasingly attractive option for younger
doctors, both male and female, as it allows
for the flexible hours and schedules that
many younger physicians prefer.
The survey indicates a near equal division
between family medicine residents who
are open to a variety of job locations in
their first practice and those who have
a more specific location in mind. A bare
minority (51%) of family medicine residents
indicated they would consider jobs in
a wide number of locations, while the
remaining 49% have a predetermined
location in mind or will limit their job
search to within the state where they
trained or the locality where they trained.
It is widely perceived in staffing circles that
medical residents generally base their first
practice selection on a preference for a
particular geographic location, and may
subsequently leave shortly thereafter when
they discover the practice itself does not
fit their needs. The 2015 Survey of Family
Medicine Residents, however, suggests that
over half of family medicine residents are
not committed to a specific geographic
location and therefore could be amenable
to working locum tenens, which requires
geographic flexibility.
2015 Survey of Family Medicine Residents 10
ConclusionDue to demographic changes and the
current rapid evolution of the healthcare
delivery system, primary care physicians
are in increasingly high demand. Family
medicine residents are particular targets
of recruiting activity. The 2015 Survey of
Family Medicine Residents indicates that
the majority of family medicine residents
are familiar with locum tenens, are open
to considering this emerging practice style,
and may make appropriate candidates for
locum tenens assignments.
For additional information about this and other
Staff Care surveys and white papers, contact:
8840 Cypress Waters Dr, #300 Dallas, TX 75019800-685-2272www.staffcare.com
Certified by Joint Commission | 8840 Cypress Waters Dr, #300 | Dallas, TX 75019 ©2015 Staff Care, Inc. 2015 | (800) 685-2272 | www.staffcare.com
