10/16/2026
Physician shortage is usually discussed as a recruitment problem. It is more accurately a workforce design problem.
Recruitment alone cannot close a gap that widens faster than hiring cycles can fill it, particularly in specialties and locations where the candidate pool is genuinely small. Meanwhile the clinicians already in post absorb the difference, and burnout drives further departures, which widens the original gap.
Breaking that pattern requires planning across both permanent and contingent capacity at the same time. Knowing which roles you are actively recruiting for, which will realistically take longer than a quarter to fill, and how those units stay adequately staffed during the search rather than stretched by it.
Locum coverage is not a substitute for permanent hiring. It is what stops the search itself from causing the next round of attrition.