Using recruitment and selection to build a primary care workforce for the future

Area of Science:

• Human Resource Management
• Healthcare Workforce Development
• Primary Care Services

Background:

• Recruitment and selection are fundamental to managing the healthcare workforce.
• These processes significantly impact the quantity and quality of healthcare professionals.
• Primary care workers, such as General Practitioners and Community Health Workers, are essential for healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To illustrate how recruitment and selection can enhance the primary care workforce.
• To examine recruitment and selection strategies in different market conditions (seller's vs. buyer's market).
• To highlight the interplay between recruitment and selection decisions within budget constraints.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis using two case studies: UK General Practitioners and low- and middle-income country Community Health Workers.
• Examination of recruitment and selection in both seller's markets (applicant scarcity) and buyer's markets (applicant quality concerns).
• Discussion of the strategic allocation of human resource budgets.

Main Results:

• Recruitment and selection strategies must be tailored to specific market dynamics.
• In a seller's market, focus may shift towards recruitment efforts.
• In a buyer's market, emphasis might be placed on selection processes to ensure quality.

Conclusions:

• Recruitment and selection are crucial in all market conditions, especially where workforce impacts population health.
• There is a significant need for more high-quality research, including randomized trials, in primary care recruitment and selection.
• Integrated human resource management decisions are essential for optimizing the primary care workforce.