Where to post job ads for your medical practice

Building a successful medical practice depends not just on your expertise as a physician, but on the strength of your team. The patient experience doesn’t start and end in the doctor’s office. It stretches from when they first hear your name to when they pay their bill and beyond — and your staff is a vital part of that. 

A significant 53% of surveyed patients want welcoming staff from their healthcare provider, according to Tebra’s 4th annual Patient Perspectives report. That means that even as a solo provider, you need a strong team managing all the other tasks necessary to run a thriving practice, unless you want to take on all of them yourself.

The challenge? Staffing a medical practice from the ground up — or even filling new positions as you grow — is no easy feat. But it’s critical to your success. 

To start, you need a job description that’s clear, concise and direct, and a way to get it in front of the right job seekers. Discover where to post your healthcare jobs and how to attract the right people to your growing team.

What should you do before posting a job listing? 

Ideally, you’ve laid out your staffing model in your detailed business plan. This should include:

If you’re just opening your medical practice, you’ll likely start with a few key positions and add on new hires as business increases. Consider hybrid roles, such as an office administrator who handles insurance claims or a nurse who can manage patient files.

Hybrid roles may be effective at first, but duties should be separated as you hire additional staff. This ensures there’s no confusion as you add new roles. Make sure to compensate and reward staff members for doing more than their typical role requires of them.

Once you’ve narrowed down the number of people you’re hiring and have a general idea of their roles, it’s time to get specific and put it in writing. Creating a fully fleshed-out job description will help you define the role and identify quality candidates. Consider the following:

This information will help with both the description in your job ad and also set clear expectations for the person who fills the role.

Where you put the job description is important, but what it says is even more critical. You have to do more than just list job duties and qualifications — you have to sell the position to the right person.

Start with your job description using the information you defined above to inform it. A complete job ad should include:

You’ve budgeted for fair compensation, put together a thorough job description, and now you’re ready to post a job. There is no shortage of places to post your job ad, both free and paid. 

Let’s dive into the top places to post your healthcare job ad.

When it comes to how you approach job listings, you can go wide and try to get as many eyeballs on your job as possible, or you can go narrow and try to get it in front of fewer but more qualified candidates. 

Healthcare job boards give you a bit of both. While they’re niched down to the healthcare space, there are several options with large audiences. Niche healthcare job boards are likely to charge you for posting. But you’ll get a much more curated list of qualified candidates.

Popular healthcare job boards include:

If you’re looking for physicians and nurses new to the field, medical schools, nursing schools, and universities are great resources for quality candidates. 

Start by contacting career centers at local medical schools and universities. They typically have school job boards or newsletters that can share your job listing with their recent graduates and alumni. They may even have a database of active job seekers and can help you curate candidates. 

Posting on medical school job boards is great for when you’re searching for hard-to-find specialties. There are many that have few graduates per year, so you’ll want to jump on potential candidates as soon as possible.

Posting jobs through local and national professional networks and associations can attract high-quality candidates to your practice. For example, the American Medical Association (AMA) has job boards for physicians. You can also find associations for specialties, like the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Many don’t require that you or your business belong to the organization, but not doing so may result in extra fees.

You don’t have to limit your search to medical job boards. If you’re hiring for positions that require fewer years of experience or lower expertise, try casting a wider net. There are many free and low-cost options available.

Popular job search sites include:

Posting on social media is a great way to share your job openings with followers. Consider platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but don’t ignore TikTok and Instagram if you have a sizable follower count. You can even run Facebook and Instagram ads that target potential candidates in your local area.

Don’t underestimate the power of your professional network. LinkedIn is the best social media site for posting jobs since it walks the line between being a professional and a social platform. It also comes with robust recruitment tools to help you narrow down your search for the ideal candidate.

Post job openings on your healthcare practice website. Maintain a separate careers page with a list of open job opportunities so anyone coming across your website can find them. You can even call more attention to your careers page with a banner across your homepage when you’re hiring.

Having a careers page on your website also gives you a place to direct people when they’re searching for more information about you and your practice.

In the tight job market, you should use every opportunity to find qualified candidates. Let your network know that you’re hiring, and share the job description with everyone you know. Even local practices may be able to refer employees who weren’t the right fit for them.

There’s even a trend of practices trading staff when both the worker and the practice are looking for a change. One person may find an office with a better commute time and swap with someone with a more relevant skillset. 

If you’re not ready to hire a full-time position, try sharing an employee with a nearby practice. You’ll both benefit from the extra help, and you’re more likely to attract talent with a full-time opportunity.

Posting job ads across multiple platforms can lead to overwhelm, but it’s important to take your time on finding the right candidate. Once you do, spend adequate time training and acclimating your new hire. Even nurses with years of experience need to be shown the ropes to be effective. Rushing the process can lead to bad or short-lived hires, and your patient experience can suffer. 

Surveyed patients cited a poor experience with the front office staff as a top reason for leaving their healthcare provider, and 62% of Gen Z patients are the least forgiving. It’s clear who you hire is almost as important as the care you deliver to your patients.

If you’ve already attempted a few rounds of hiring and have hit a wall, you’re not alone. Staffing in the medical industry grows more difficult by the year.

Whether hiring for administrative or provider roles, it’s tough out there. Based on Tebra’s recent survey of over 500 medical professionals on the staffing shortage, there are some telling findings:

If you’re struggling to find the right fit for your independent practice, consider enlisting a recruitment agency to take some of the pressure off. For a price, they’ll help guide you through the hiring process and cut out the middle so you only deal with top-tier, qualified candidates.

Whether you’re just starting your medical practice or need to add to your healthcare team, the hiring process takes time. By putting a hiring plan in place, complete with a plan for posting your job ads, you’ll take the friction out of the process and find staff that will contribute positively to your practice.

Remember, the strength of your practice is defined by the strength of your team. So take your time, and hire right.