The promising candidate who tells you they’ve accepted another offer. The long-time physician who hands you their resignation letter. The quiet sinking feeling that you’ll have to start all over again.
That’s the physician shortage. It’s not just an abstract headline or a talking point for policymakers; it’s your reality.
You’re competing for a shrinking pool of physician talent. No matter how hard you work, it can feel like you’re always one step behind.
I’ll bet you’re finding it’s almost impossible to recruit new physicians and very difficult to keep the ones you do have.
I was recently interviewed about Medscape’s 2025 Impact of the Physician Shortage survey. One of that survey’s most striking findings was that almost 90% of physician respondents were not confident that meaningful progress could be made to address the shortage over the next decade.
That’s sobering. And you should be concerned. But there’s reason for hope.
Yes, there are more opportunities for physicians than there are physicians to fill them. But you don’t need to solve the physician shortage for the whole country. You need to make your practice one where physicians choose to work and choose to stay.
This isn’t about gimmicks. It’s not pizza parties, foosball tables in the doctors’ lounge, or whatever else passes for easy “engagement” these days. Those things don’t get to the heart of what matters.
The practices that win in this environment do something much harder and much more powerful. They manage their physicians like they would manage any other member of the team.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Set clear and reasonable expectations. Physicians, like any other member of your team, want to know exactly how to be successful. They want to feel confident that they’re on the right path.
- Put physicians in the best position to succeed. Remove distractions, streamline their workflows, and give them the tools they need to best serve patients.
- Pay them fairly for meeting expectations. Physician compensation is a complicated topic. How much should we pay? How should that pay be structured? There are an infinite number of answers to that question and it’s important to find the one that will work for your practice.
- Reward them if they choose to meaningfully exceed expectations. This won’t be everyone. After all, if everyone was “exceptional”, nobody would be!
- Hold them accountable if they don’t meet expectations. Avoiding tough conversations doesn’t protect your practice. Instead, it allows problems to fester until they become too big to fix.
I’m not saying it’s easy, but it really is that simple.
Do these things consistently and two important shifts will happen:
- Your physicians will stop looking for greener pastures. Why would they leave an environment where they feel valued, supported, and treated fairly?
- Candidates will take notice. Word spreads quickly in the physician community. A reputation for fairness and respect is the most powerful recruitment tool you’ll ever have.
The question here isn’t whether the physician shortage is real. You know it is. The question is how you’ll respond.
Will you stand by while candidates say “thanks but no thanks,” and your physicians drift toward other opportunities? Or will you lead your practice toward a better future: one where your team, your patients, and your community thrive?
That decision starts with your leadership. But you don’t have to do it alone.
The Best Practice helps medical groups across the country strengthen their physician alignment, improve retention, and rebuild trust between administrators and physicians. We know it’s possible to create practices where physicians want to work, even in the middle of a national shortage.
If you’re ready to take that step, I’d be proud to stand next to you.
