Physician Onboarding Ideas – How to Roll Out the Red Carpet

First impressions matter. Onboarding new physicians is an opportunity to make them feel welcome, but it’s also a chance to provide orientation materials, communicate company culture and ensure a healthy transition into the new workplace.

The most successful healthcare facilities understand how to roll out the red carpet. The following physician onboarding ideas can help achieve multiple goals, including integration into the local medical community, understanding of policies and procedures and transfer of information so the physician has the best chance of successfully fulfilling job responsibilities.

Provide Written Orientation Materials

Written orientation materials assist newcomers with information they can refer to repeatedly during their tenure at the medical facility. At Elliot Health System, orientation materials include general resource information regarding names and contact information of various staff members and departmental heads. They also include general policies and FAQs about handling hazards and other situations as they may arise.

These materials help to answer many of the questions that newly hired physicians may have on basic topics specific to that medical facility, as well as provide written information that will be a go-to resource over time.

Offer Community Introductions

Being able to enter a community of fellow physicians and medical practitioners with an introduction is key to forming deep bonds that ensure mutual respect and easy working relations.

One physician onboarding idea that many hospitals implement is providing medical community introductions on an informal level. Planned intimate social gatherings can be the ground for introducing new members of staff where they can casually engage with future colleagues and supervisors.

These interactions lead to open communication and understanding. When potential problems arise, its more likely that a new or seasoned physician will feel comfortable approaching a colleague or department head early, and bringing them in on the decision-making process.

Offer Resources for Family

The best medical facilities understand that their physicians are also part of a personal family. They don’t look at or treat their new physicians as independent units, but as part of a family unit. As such, new Elliot Health System physicians are provided with a variety of benefits not only for themselves, but for their families as well. These include discounts at local shopping clubs like Sam’s Club and BJ’s, discounts at family parks like Water Country and Six Flags New England, childbirth classes, bus passes and discounted movie tickets. Elliot Health System welcomes new physicians by rolling out the red carpet for the entire family.

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Physician onboarding ideas like these help to make every new physician feel welcome and capable as they begin their new life. Are you interested in joining the Elliot Health System community? Consider our open positions.