Use technology to connect with physician-candidates

The new physicians emerging from residency programs were born and raised in the information age. Techno-tools offer a way to communicate with them effectively and demonstrate that your practice keeps up with the times.

Fine-tune the familiar

Though you may not necessarily consider your telephone a high-tech tool, you can improve its effectiveness by having a dedicated toll-free number for applicants to call. Candidates may be reluctant to call on their own dime, and they are even more averse to calling collect—even if your ad directs them to. Offering a toll-free inquiry number will increase the number of applicants.

Similarly, though your fax machine is hardly high-tech any more, directing inquiries to it helps you control daily interruptions from applicants. If you want to encourage response, you can set up a temporary toll-free fax number, too.

This nugget was adapted from Recruiting the Right Physician: A Practical Guide, from Advisory Publications, a division of HCPro, Inc. To order, click here or call their Customer Service Department at 800/650-6787 for more information.