Nurse Practitioners Pass Physicians As Most Recruited Providers

Nurse practitioners (NPs) topped the list of most recruited providers in Merritt Hawkins’ annual report on advanced practitioner and physician recruiting trends. The results indicate a shift in the market, as physicians have consistently ranked first for the past 27 years.

The COVID-19 pandemic may partly explain the sudden shift. Nurse practitioners make up a significant amount of the staff at urgent care and outpatient clinics. In addition, NPs are being recruited for telehealth services as an alternative to primary care, a trend that skyrocketed during the pandemic.

The annual report provided data on which practitioners are in the greatest demand, what practice settings practitioners are being recruited for, and the financial incentives that are used to recruit them.

Advanced practitioners, including physician assistants (PAs), NPs, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) accounted for 18 percent of Merritt Hawkins’ recruitment search engagements, which was a 13 percent increase from the previous year.

Over 60 percent of search engagements were for physician specialists such as psychiatrists, gastroenterologists, and radiologists, signifying the growing demand for specialty physicians.

Meanwhile, only 18 percent of search engagements were for primary care physicians.

“Part of this decline over the last year can be attributed to the inhibiting effect COVID-19 had on physician office visits. However, this trend predates COVID-19 and is tied to a shift in primary care utilization patterns away from the traditional office-based model,” the report explained.

Mental health practitioners are in high demand, as the fourth most requested search engagement and fifth in absolute demand. COVID-19 likely fueled the increased demand for mental health services across the nation.

“Today it is widely acknowledged that the shortage of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, has developed into a public health crisis,” the report acknowledged.

In terms of salary, NPs saw a 12 percent year-over-year average starting salary increase, at $140,000. NPs and PAs were the only groups that saw increases in starting salary.

Interventional cardiologists maintained the highest physician average starting salary, at $611,000, while pediatricians saw the lowest average starting salary among physicians, at $236,000.

Consistent with past years, hospitals sought to recruit physicians more than solo practices, academics, or other settings.

Despite some positive starting salary increases for select practitioners, COVID-19 hurt the healthcare market significantly. Over 40 percent of physicians reported having to reduce staff in 2020, and 72 percent experienced reduced income.

“The number of physicians contacting Merritt Hawkins regarding job opportunities increased and some physicians reported difficulty in securing a practice opportunity,” the report explained.

“These included physicians coming out of training as well as in-practice physicians who had been furloughed or laid off, occurrences that were next to unknown pre-pandemic.”

As the healthcare industry slowly recovers, physician burnout and staffing shortages are rising exponentially. The majority of surveyed physicians reported experiencing burnout, and more than a third reported wanting to retire in the next year.

Almost 30 percent of active physicians are over the age of 60 and nearing retirement, the report stated. Meanwhile, the aging US population will likely increase the demand for physicians as shortages rise.

“Long-term, the dynamics of physician supply and demand, including an aging population and an aging physician workforce, remain in place,” the report reiterated.

“Over time, physician shortages are likely to once again emerge, stimulating demand for physicians and advanced practitioners and exerting upward pressure on their starting salaries and other recruiting incentives.”