What are the best practices for physician engagement and retention in community health centers?

Community health centers (CHCs) provide essential primary care services to underserved populations, but they also face challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified physicians. High turnover rates, low compensation, and heavy workloads can affect the quality of care and the sustainability of CHCs. To address these issues, CHCs need to implement effective strategies for physician engagement and retention that align with their mission, vision, and values. In this article, we will discuss some of the best practices for fostering a positive and supportive work environment for physicians in CHCs.

1 Define engagement and retention

Engagement and retention are two interrelated concepts that measure how committed and satisfied physicians are with their work and employer. Engagement refers to the degree of enthusiasm, involvement, and attachment that physicians have for their job and organization. Retention refers to the ability of the organization to keep physicians from leaving for other opportunities. Both engagement and retention are influenced by various factors, such as compensation, recognition, feedback, autonomy, leadership, culture, and professional development.

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Jean Tournié

Key Account Manager Kwsoft France
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Au sein des éléments cités pour influant sur la rétention et l'engagement il semble important d'indiquer la progression salariale, l'évolution de la situation professionnelle, l'élargissement de l'importance de la présence d'un élément au sein du projet global... Bref la vision d'avenir et de progression que la structure peut offrir.

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2 Assess engagement and retention levels

To improve engagement and retention, CHCs need to first assess the current situation and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their organization. One way to do this is to conduct regular surveys, interviews, or focus groups with physicians and other staff members to gather feedback on their satisfaction, motivation, challenges, and expectations. Another way is to track and analyze data on turnover rates, retention rates, productivity, quality, and patient satisfaction. These methods can help CHCs understand the drivers and barriers of engagement and retention and prioritize areas for improvement.

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Jean Tournié

Key Account Manager Kwsoft France
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Ne peut on pas aussi aborder les démarches plsu alternatives telles que les analyses des retours étudiants sur leur volonté d'engagement? Qu'est ce qui les pousse à venir VS ce qui les rebute?

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3 Provide competitive compensation and benefits

One of the main reasons why physicians leave CHCs is the lack of competitive compensation and benefits compared to other settings. CHCs often have limited resources and face financial constraints that affect their ability to offer attractive salaries, bonuses, incentives, or loan repayment programs. However, CHCs can still provide other forms of compensation and benefits that can appeal to physicians, such as flexible schedules, paid time off, health insurance, retirement plans, malpractice coverage, or educational stipends. CHCs can also leverage federal and state programs that offer financial assistance or loan forgiveness for physicians who work in underserved areas.

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Jean Tournié

Key Account Manager Kwsoft France
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Précisons que cette sécurité et ce désengagement "à vie" du médecin vis à vis de sa patientèle correspond aux attentes de liberté que demande la nouvelle génération.

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4 Recognize and reward performance and contributions

Another way to improve engagement and retention is to recognize and reward physicians for their performance and contributions to the organization and the community. Recognition and reward can take various forms, such as verbal praise, written feedback, awards, certificates, gifts, or public acknowledgment. Recognition and reward can also be tailored to the preferences and needs of individual physicians, such as offering more autonomy, responsibility, or leadership opportunities. Recognition and reward can help physicians feel valued, appreciated, and motivated to continue their work and improve their skills.

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5 Support professional development and growth

Physicians in CHCs also need opportunities for professional development and growth to enhance their knowledge, skills, and competencies. CHCs can support professional development and growth by providing access to training, education, mentoring, coaching, or peer support programs. CHCs can also encourage physicians to participate in research, quality improvement, or innovation projects that can benefit the organization and the patients. Professional development and growth can help physicians stay updated, engaged, and fulfilled in their career and increase their loyalty and retention.

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6 Promote a positive and supportive culture

Finally, CHCs can improve engagement and retention by promoting a positive and supportive culture that reflects their mission, vision, and values. A positive and supportive culture can foster trust, respect, collaboration, and communication among physicians and other staff members. A positive and supportive culture can also emphasize the impact and meaning of the work that physicians do for the patients and the community. A positive and supportive culture can help physicians feel connected, inspired, and proud to be part of the organization and reduce burnout and turnover.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Robert Bowman

Basic Health Access
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CHCs are essential but clearly are not valued. Half of patients are on Medicaid which fails to cover the costs of delivery. High costs of turnover and micromanagement burden act with the financial design to result in challenging practice environments. Congress regularly holds CHCs hostage in their HRSA funding. CMS holds the key to 1.4 trillion in annual spending, and votes this against basic health access from CHCs and others. Solid funding designs are needed to allow delivery team members to plan a future with CHCs and gain in continuity in specialty, location, team, and patient

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What are the best practices for physician engagement and retention in community health centers?

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3

4

5

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1 Define engagement and retention

2 Assess engagement and retention levels

3 Provide competitive compensation and benefits

4 Recognize and reward performance and contributions

5 Support professional development and growth

6 Promote a positive and supportive culture

7 Here’s what else to consider

Healthcare

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What are the best practices for physician engagement and retention in community health centers?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define engagement and retention

2 Assess engagement and retention levels

3 Provide competitive compensation and benefits

4 Recognize and reward performance and contributions

5 Support professional development and growth

6 Promote a positive and supportive culture

7 Here’s what else to consider

Healthcare

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