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Our world is ever evolving, so people in most industries must be flexible and learn to adapt to changes that may affect their jobs. To retain doctors, employers in the medical field would be best served to acknowledge changes and how physicians might process them. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), understanding what originally motivated a physician to take a job might help an employer retain that physician as their career progresses.

A survey conducted by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and recruiting firm Jackson Physician Search found that novice physicians remain at their initial positions for under two years. Examining data accrued from upwards of 250 physicians and administrators, the survey investigated how participants view aspects that motivate most residents and fellows to sign on to, but also to stay committed to their initial position. While the survey found that practicing physicians of all ages averaged approximately 6 years at their initial post-residency or fellowship position, the mean duration at an initial job for physicians who completed their residency or fellowship since 2018 was less than 2 years. Researchers concluded that a disconnect about job satisfaction exists between healthcare organizations and novice physicians.

Based on survey results, only 45% of administrators confirmed that, after the initial three years of work, their organization still employed at least 75% of physicians, while 5% of administrators confirmed that not a single physician hired for their first job remained after their initial three years. Although the researchers found that less-than-desirable compensation motivated 50% of physicians-in-training to leave their jobs, 35% cited their healthcare organization’s ownership or governance as the main driver for their choice to leave. The survey found a significant link between physicians choosing to remain at their jobs for five or more years and healthcare organizations with highly ranked ownership/governance models, stellar reputations, desirable compensation, and benefits. Added to that are the immense technological changes in today’s world and the need for healthcare organizations to include artificial intelligence (AI) in their clinical environment. The researchers found that it would behoove employers seeking to retain newly hired physicians to include those doctors in any AI changes about their healthcare organization, as AI is part of this younger generation’s wheelhouse.

To keep physicians satisfied at their workplace, the AMA put together several resources, like a newswire to help physicians gain a better grasp of employment contracts and the AMA Young Physicians Section, which pertains to issues affecting physicians under age 40 and/or those engaged in their initial 8 years of post-training practice.