good prospective candidate. These can be effective methods, but can also be a bit of a shotgun approach. Here in Fosston, we’ve come to another somewhat obvious conclusion; people from small, rural communities Senior staff as mentors don’t have to be sold on living in small, rural communities. We were both As stated earlier, retention is necessary but without combining recruitment, we born and raised in small, rural Minnesota communities, and some of our are merely slowing our descent. However, recruitment clinicians (physicians and APCs) share a similar without retention is probably equally futile. We have story. So, it is important for us to seek candidates found it to be universally true that having senior by “looking rural.” Consider working with schools clinicians as mentors is a determining factor for new such as the University of Minnesota Duluth’s clinicians applying to join us. The mere presence of Medical School, which focuses on primary care An engaged medical staff senior clinicians, however, will not suffice. Those and rural medicine. See if you can arrange for a during the interview process clinicians need to be engaged such that they will current medical staff member to guest lecture is of utmost importance. mentor and advise, console and comfort, and maybe and maybe even precept with the family practice even push a little to get their successors up to speed. residency program. Take on an RPAP (Rural Physician Associate Program) student or for less How to recruit candidates of a commitment, a SIM (Summer Internship in It’s very important that recruiting involve all of the Medicine) or Rural Medical Scholars Program medical staff, administrative leadership, and the student. Or you could find a candidate in smaller ways by engaging your broader community. But before you can wow a prospective candidate with whole team and community to identify sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, your engaged and positive medical staff and leadership team, your wonderful second-cousins, family friends, and acquaintances who are either in or facility, and supportive community, you first need to find that potential may be interested in attending medical school and may, by virtue of a rural candidate. The answer to, “How do I go about finding a candidate?” is best upbringing, be inclined to consider practicing in a rural area. posed as another question, “How many ways can I approach this?” Are we being inconsistent? Yes. Is this necessary? Yes. Are we transparent in these approaches? Yes.
We’ve probably all communicated our clinician needs via expensive print or online listings in periodicals or sites frequented by clinicians looking for work, or maybe you’ve printed postcards and sent them out by the hundreds hoping a couple (or maybe even just one) will resonate with a
We have found that starting discussions about recruiting early (when you aren’t desperate) is a far better approach. Creativity is key, whether The rural Minnesota clinician workforce to page 424
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