Qualified Physicians Might be Overlooked

Considering the rather serious physician shortage, it would seem unlikely for a qualified physician to get overlooked for a job. After all, new physicians are being aggressively recruited, with 75% receiving at least 50 job offers during training.

A new survey by The Medicus Firm revealed that employers may be accidentally passing over a qualified physician. In particular, the survey showed that experienced physicians who are 16 or more years out of training have a harder time finding jobs than those within 15 years of training.

About 28% of experienced physicians receive a zero response rate on applications, while only 8.2% of those within 15 years of training reported receiving zero responses.

Over the past two years, even while applying for the same number of jobs, younger candidates reported receiving an average of 7.88 offers compared to 2.12 offers to experienced physicians.

International medical graduates are also getting passed over more frequently than American medical graduates. Over two years, 43% of IMG respondents had a response rate to applications of more than 50%, compared to 62% of AMG candidates.

Lastly, the survey revealed that women had to wait longer for responses, although Medicus didn’t report if there was a difference in how many responses they received compared to their male counterparts.

Only 58% of female physicians reported that they heard back within a week of applying. Men had better luck, with 68% reporting that they had heard back within a week.

This is happening despite the fact that by 2020 the physician shortage is expected to reach 90,000 and the Association of American Medic

which was the largest increase over the last decade.

al Colleges had called for a 30% increase in enrollment. And in 2011 medical school applications rose by 3%,