OU Health Making Strides in Addressing Workforce Shortages
By Christopher Cheney
As health systems and hospitals across the country are struggling with staffing shortages, OU Health is rising to the challenge of recruiting and retaining healthcare workers.
A shortage of physicians in several specialties has been vexing for recruitment efforts, according to the CMO of OU Health.
“There is a national physician shortage across the country and particularly in Oklahoma,” says Carolyn Kloek, MD, CMO of OU Health. “We work hard to recruit physicians, but the bottom line is we wish there were more physicians to recruit. The physician shortage is not unique to us—it is an issue across the country.”
When OU Health recruits physicians, they try to articulate the mission of the organization, particularly aspects of the mission that are unique to OU Health, Kloek explains.
“What we find is that those who are invested in academic medicine quickly see the opportunity not only for being a physician in academic medicine, but also having the opportunity to influence the outcomes in our region and state, which have tremendous health needs,” Kloek says.
Being part of an academic health system is an attraction for some physicians, according to Kloek, because there is an opportunity to be part of the tripartite mission of clinical care, teaching, and research.
“That tripartite mission creates a vibrant environment and culture,” Kloek says. “We can also give physicians flexibility in how they are going to shape their role and position within the health system.”
Service line chairs play a pivotal role in recruitment of physicians, according to Jimmy Duncan, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, chief human resources officer at OU Health. Service line chairs are responsible for helping the organization develop recruitment strategies.
“When you talk about physician recruitment, whether it is the pipeline of residents we have through the college of medicine or external recruiting, people tend to want to come and work for the service line chair,” Duncan says.
OU Health offers enticements in physician recruitment, Duncan explains.
“Physicians want to feel that they are going to be mentored and have an opportunity for professional development,” Duncan says. “We offer those things at OU Health, which differentiates us from other academic health systems and health systems in general.”
Retaining physicians at OU Health
Culture is critical in the retention of physicians, according to Kloek, who adds physicians want to feel valued and deeply connected to their work.
“Like all professionals in healthcare, physicians are mission-driven, and, at the end of the day, they want to know that they are making a difference,” Kloek says. “You need to have a culture and an environment in which physicians can feel valued and see their contribution.”
“We provide a dynamic environment,” Kloek says. “It is fun to work with students and trainees. It is fun to work with colleagues in different specialties to think about how we innovate care or discuss cases.”
Providing flexibility in career development is another aspect of physician retention at OU Health, according to Kloek.
“They can continue to practice their core specialty, but we give them room to move,” Kloek says. “They can do more teaching. They can start a new research project in a particular area. We also have a culture of continuous learning.”
Leadership also plays a role in retention. Duncan explains that when it comes to retention, it is important for staff members to have a relationship with a leader who is invested in them.
“That is a driver of retention, which is why there is a big focus on leadership development in our organization,” Duncan says. “We want our leaders to be effective every day.”
Effective onboarding is a critical step in setting up physicians’ careers, according to Duncan.
“Staff members know what is expected of them,” Duncan says. “Through our onboarding, we have a focus on careers. We make sure our people can make strides toward growing their careers.”
Additionally, physicians must have a voice in decision making and other aspects of the organization, Duncan and Kloek explain. OU Health uses annual physician engagement surveys, which are then shared with the staff with the goal of promoting action planning.
As CMO, Kloek has worked to build a team of physician leaders who are committed to improving quality and safety, and physicians have a voice in this effort.
“Engaging physicians in this type of team-based and collaborative work can be critical for the health system as a whole and the outcomes for our patients,” Kloek says. “It is also helpful for physician engagement, so it becomes a win-win.”
Building a workforce pipeline
Dealing with workforce shortages goes beyond physician recruitment and retention. OU Health is building a strong workforce pipeline to fill a variety of clinical roles, according to Duncan.
The health system’s talent pipeline initiative focuses on students at junior high schools, high schools, vocational schools, and colleges.
“We are bringing students on site and exposing them to things such as healthcare career days, where we give them an opportunity to see healthcare professionals in action,” Duncan says. “We are incentivizing these students with things such as scholarships, with an opportunity to study at the OU Health Sciences Center.”
OU Health is also providing students with on-the-job experience, Duncan explains.
“We have looked at several of our needs over the next three to five years, and we have defined some career pathways that start with what we call ‘healthcare explorers’ or students,” Duncan says. “We want to give them on-the-job experience that will ultimately lead them to join our organization as entry-level professionals.”
These healthcare explorers are paid for their work.
“We are making sure that students are being paid market-level compensation in order for them to be able to earn while they learn,” Duncan says. “This also helps students build a resume that is going to help them accelerate getting into the workforce.”
Christopher Cheney is the CMO editor at HealthLeaders.