How Covid Has Changed the Employer’s Physiatry Search

Covid requires some tweaking of the employer’s search for a new physiatrist.  First, less employers are hiring PM&R doctors during Covid.  So hats off to those employers who have the financial ability to add a physician medicine and rehabilitation physician!  If you’re seeking a new physiatry graduate, it should be easier to recruit from the standpoint of supply and demand although as usual many PM&R residents go onto fellowships.  Hiring an experienced physicial med and rehab doctor may be easier or more difficult.  If you’re in an urban area that has been hard hit by Covid, there probably is a greater supply of physiatrists.  If you’re in a suburban or rural area, I think most physiatrists are deciding to stay put until Covid is over.

In most ways, the physiatry recruitment process will be more difficult.  There is an AAPMR Job Fair but it will be virtual so who knows if it will be more or less effective than in person.  As most of the process will be by phone and electronic, it maybe more time-consuming and most definitely will require more discernment to identify if the PM&R candidate is right for your practice.  The travel difficulties will make the site visit more important because follow-up visits will most likely not occur during Covid.  Please make sure that you plan it well to include everything and everyone that are important to you and the physical medicine and rehabilitation candidate’s ultimate hiring decision.  Farr Healthcare, Inc. can help greatly in this process.

The Impact of Covid on Physiatry Recruitment

I hope you, your families and your practices are doing as best as can be expected during these difficult times.

Physiatry recruitment continues in these Corona Virus times!  Positions may not actually start until after the world comes back to life but some entities continue to want to add physiatrists.  These are mostly national rehab entities and some private practices.  On the other hand, most interventional practices have put their openings on hold.

Recruitment continues.  Some of the hiring entities are meeting with the interested doctors via Zoom meetings.  Entities understand that the recruitment process to include contract negotiation and credentialling takes quite awhile so they continue to recruit so as to not lose time.

I have received some calls from physiatrists for non-clinical or telemedicine positions but unfortunately I don’t have any such openings.  All of the positions I represent are clinical positions.

Be well!