Krista Roberts, director of business development at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, likes the challenge of recruiting physicians to come practice in Enid.

Likewise, Joel Phelps, executive director of physician practice management, and Jeffrey Tarrant, head administrator, both of Integris Bass Baptist Health Center, take pride in the hospital’s ability to rise to the occasion and meet any potential crisis of physician shortages.

This was particularly true two years ago when Integris hired two obstetricians to avert what could have become as Tarrant described it, “a public health crisis.”

“There is an adequate supply of ob/gyns (obstetricians and gynecologists) in the community now,” Tarrant said during a recent interview.

The challenge of recruiting physicians is not a single isolated case related to Enid. It’s a challenge facing America as a whole, according to national statistics that Roberts cited when talking about the history and future of physician supply in this country.

By the year 2020, physician shortage numbers will range anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000.

Why?

It’s a very tough career path with sacrifices needed, particularly in the areas of hours and money, compared to other professions. More tangibles are cropping up every day that make it even more demanding.

By the time current physicians are ready to begin their residencies or open practices, they are saddled with debts to the tune of six figures that have been incurred from rising tuition costs.

“Medicine is more bureaucratic,” Roberts said, noting that a single hour of patient care translates into a single hour of paperwork. Medicare alone requires sifting through 130,000 pages to discern a complicated tax code.

“We’re seeing more physicians getting MBA (Master of Business Administration) degrees. We have some on our own medical staff,” Roberts said.

The median age in America is rising with baby boomers now entering elderly age. Physician visits are more frequent, of course, among elderly people.

In Garfield and the remaining nine-county region that St. Mary’s serves, the median age and number of elderly people is above the national average, Roberts said. To help in the recruiting effort, St. Mary’s relies on its parent company, Universal Health Services, and its corporate recruiting office.

St. Mary’s also accesses external recruiters or independent companies.

“Our physicians take an active role. They will call a colleague and ask them to relocate in Enid,” Roberts said.

Integris Bass relies on several recruitment models that include, among other things, hiring physicians directly as hospital employees or staff members.

“We’ve not been adverse to employing directly, which we’ve done for the last nine or 10 years. That’s one model or one avenue. Across the board, it (models) are tailor-based on what the physician is looking for. We are convinced there is an inherent need here for whatever their specialty is,” Phelps said.

That means physicians should not worry about caseloads. They will stay busy. It’s a point Roberts singles home.

“The challenge of physicians who come here is they will be extremely busy. It’s challenging for our existing medical staff,” Roberts said.

Most physicians who come to Enid for a hands-on look are amazed at what they see in terms of support services.

“We frequently hear from visiting physicians who were impressed about the complex and wide range of services we offer in this facility alone,” Roberts said.

Phelps and Roberts agree that a big asset at their side in recruiting physicians here is showing them the quality of life that Enid offers. How physicians want to live when not working is becoming a larger and larger component in recruiting.

“They (physicians) want a family life. They don’t want to be on-call for 24 hours. They want to know the community. Enid presents itself very well,” Phelps said.

Integris has seen an avenue of recruiting physicians from larger metropolitan regions.

“We found in recruiting physicians from larger metropolitan areas that their wives or spouses like it here. They like the ability to immediately develop friends here,” Phelps said.

Roberts said word getting out about Enid’s excellent quality of life such as the recent showing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” provides huge pluses to her job.

“Potential physicians are looking for a place that has a good economy, infrastructure, revitalization and educational opportunities. We (Enid) are growing in each of those areas,” Roberts said.

An important tangible that is part of an inquiry from most if not all physicians is where Oklahoma stands on medical liability fees and judgments.

According to the American Medical Association, Oklahoma and our neighbor directly to the north, Kansas, join 19 other states who in the words of the AMA are showing problem signs regarding medical liability judgments and costs.

Our neighbors to the east and northeast, Arkansas and Missouri, are according to the AMA criteria, states in crises.

Texas has recently enacted reforms to halt its crisis, according to the AMA.

“Those states that have changed through meaningful tort reform, have put themselves above the others. In Oklahoma, we are showing signs of concern. Most physicians will ask corporate recruiters about malpractice insurance rates. Our goal is we want to ensure physicians that they can enjoy the rich tradition of doing their practice here for many years to come,” Roberts said.