This isn’t your grandfather’s healthcare market. Disruptors are changing the way we do business, which is impacting how physicians see their roles and what they want from a career. In short, many physicians are looking for another way.
LocumTenens.com surveyed 2,571 clinicians from a wide range of specialties and facility sizes in order to get a full picture of the challenges and opportunities in today’s market. The findings were compiled in The Future of Work: Redefining the Role of Physicians in the Gig Economy.
With physician job satisfaction rates historically low and high levels of burnout, we are seeing more physicians look for new opportunities. Of those physicians who are currently practicing, 61% said they are likely to look for a new position within the next year, according to the report. That is a terrifying statistic for many hospital and practice administrators.
Why are physicians looking for new positions?
In part, the physician role is changing. They have long been the undisputed leader of the medical team, but a greater infusion of technology and shifting care models have led to a new opportunities to impact patient care.
The gig economy is certainly a piece of the puzzle. Work has shifted for millions of people with a greater emphasis on the virtual setting. Healthcare is traditionally considered to be a very conservative industry that is slow to make large scale changes, but in some ways, physicians are pushing the envelope. When asked, only 20% of practicing clinicians said they would not consider non-clinical work. That leaves the vast majority of respondents either interested in or actively looking for new roles beyond conventional, employed positions.
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What types of roles are physicians considering?
This demonstrates an ever-growing list of opportunities physicians can take advantage of. They are exploring the world of technology, academia, entrepreneurship, coaching and recruiting. The gig economy is proving to be a major disruptor to traditional physician staffing and employment models by providing more opportunities outside direct patient care.
We will continue to monitor the situation and look at the impact the gig economy has nationally. The full report takes a deeper dive into this topic, providing a detailed breakdown of the specific dissatisfiers and opportunities physicians experience. Download the report here.
