Nurse Practitioners Are More in Demand by Recruiters than Most Physician Specialties

Family physicians and psychiatrists are the most in-demand physicians and healthcare providers overall when it comes to recruiting assignments, but nurse practitioners are now third on the list, according to a report from MerrittHawkins, a subsidiary of AMN Healthcare. The authors attribute the sharp rise of nurse practitioners among recruiters seeking to fill positions to the growing number of retail clinics—and the ongoing growth of urgent care. In fact, “urgent care” was used as a search term by recruiters 23% more often in 2017–18 compared with 2016–17. That is not position-specific, but reflects searches for physicians and advanced practice (ie, nurse practitioner, physician assistant) assignments. The report takes into account over 3,000 recruiting assignments handled by MerrittHawkins. “Family physician” has been the most searched recruiting term for 12 years running.