Interna
tional medical recruitment has long been a key part of the hiring of doctors in the hospital and acute healthcare space for many years. Until relatively recently the impact of International doctors in Primary Care has been mostly limited to short term locum placements. While some roadblocks exist for a doctor making a move from the UK, the EU or even South Africa none of those are impossible to overcome making an International placement a potential option for any practice struggling with medical manpower issues.
The largest barrier to having a doctor from outside Ireland join your team will most likely be reaching the target cohort of doctors. Add in the processes involved in Irish Medical Council registration or gaining work permits and it can all seem like too much to take on when added to all the other pressures of being a GP in Ireland. Thankfully MatchMedics with a combined experience of over 40 years in the healthcare recruitment and services industry could be exactly the right partner as you explore the options for 2020. The MatchMedics team can source potential candidates to match the specific profile of doctor you need to join your practice. In many cases our doctors have worked in Ireland or the UK previously but if not we can assist with IMC registration and navigating the work permit & visa processes.
Attracting the right candidates for our clients has become one of our strongest attributes, honed by several years recruiting dozens of doctors to work in the acute care sector from all around the world. We’ve taken that expertise and used it as a foundation for our efforts to build a sustainable pipeline of Primary Care and Family Medicine doctors who are looking for a new opportunity in Ireland. With that in mind we are about to embark on our most ambitious medical marketing programme ever. We will be visiting conferences and running recruitment roadshows in the US, across Europe and spending time in South Africa all before the summer is over. We receive queries and applications from doctors in all those countries on an ongoing basis so we’re confident that meeting face to face with our team will help smooth the pathway to practising in Ireland. We think that despite the shortcomings and issues we all face in the Irish healthcare system it is still an incredible place to work, providing fantastic clinical experience which some doctors after a few years here will bring back home.
We also believe that long term placements of GPs can reduce the dependence on expensive and unpredictable locum coverage. For short term or unexpected gaps locum doctors provide a great option and should always be part of your resourcing plan but when compared to the cost of a long term or permanent placement the difference in total cost can run to thousands. Add to this the benefits of resourcing stability along with the backup and medical experience that can be added to your practice and it soon becomes a much more attractive option.
To learn more about how we can help you as a client or as someone who would like to come and work in Ireland get in touch today, either send me a Linkedin message direct or email me on barry.mcconaghy@matchmedics.com and I’ll have the right member of the team get in contact.