
I recently got off the phone with a Medical recruiter who told me they thought it would take 12-18 months to recruit a new Doctor for our practice which I was horrified by. The recruiter also mentioned the described the current market for doctors as “high demand, short supply” of which all of us currently working in General Practice are acutely aware.
Determined to accelerate the process to find a new doctor, I did lots of research which I want to share with you all.
So here are 10 ways to advertise for a General Practitioner:
Spread the word to Doctors in your Local Area

Cost
Free!
Advertising Period
N/A
Effort Level
Minimal to Moderate
The Bottom Line
5/5.
Probably one of the best ways to get a new doctor as nothing beats a personal recommendation!
What’s Involved
This method is a no-brainer and
Advertise through your local PHN

Cost
Free
Advertising Period
30 days
Effort Level
Minimal
Rating
3/5.
Practices located in capital cities/popular coastal areas often have the most success with this method. For a regional and remote area where there are fewer doctors, it is, unfortunately, less successful. But it is free so a must do!
What’s Involved?
Contact your local PHN (usually, it is their Communications Team who run the job) and place an advertisement for a General Practitioner. Usually, the ad will run for 30 days and then you need to contact them again to rerun it. It is a good idea to put a reminder in your calendar when 30 days is coming up so you can email them back to rerun it. The job advertisement will appear on the PHN Job Board and link to this board will appear in the weekly GP Matters newsletter which goes to most local GPs who subscribed to the newsletter.
Publish the Vacancy in the Careers section of your Practice Website

Cost
A brief moment of your website developers time!
Advertising Period
As long as you like
Effort Level
Minimal
Rating
3/5.
I think it a good way to spread the word you are looking for a doctor and even if you feel uncomfortable posting the entire job vacancy on your website (where your patients also visit) you should still have a Careers section where you are asking for expressions of interest from any health professional interested in joining your team.
What’s Involved?
Regardless of whether you are currently searching for a doctor or not, it is a good idea to have a Careers section on your website where health professionals (whether it be doctors or nurses) or support staff (such as receptionists, medical assistants) can express their interest in working at your practice. Then you can
It is important to remember when a doctor is interested in joining your practice, they will often first look at your website and social accounts so make sure it is all up to date and looking appealing!
Advertise on Seek

Cost
$280 plus GST for standard advertisement, other packages available for
Advertising Period
30 days
Effort Level
Minimal
Rating
Rating: 5/5.
This method can be a little expensive, especially considering you will
probably have to advertise a few months before you find someone but it is often quite effective as you should experience a number ofenquiries through this avenue
What’s Involved?
This method needs no introduction as you probably use it regularly to advertise for nurses, receptionists
Advertise on Australian Doctor

Cost
Starting from approximately $840 plus GST for a one block advertisement that will appear between pages 34-35 for 4 weeks, other packages available for higher price.
Advertising Period
4 x weekly advertisements
Effort Level
High. Australian Doctor
Rating
1/5. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Australian Doctor used to be
What’s Involved?
Australian Doctor is a printed weekly magazine which is a posted (mailed, in hard copy) to all doctors around Australia. Australian Doctor will help you draft the advertisement ( if you ask them) to fit the very limited word count as well. Bottom line, it was extremely expensive (comparatively) and we had zero enquiries which was incredibly disappointing. So it is difficult for me to recommend Australian Doctor as a method for recruiting a GP.
Advertise on AusDoc Jobs

Cost*
Quick Post – $199 + GST: Job will be live for 30 days, featuring your logo, desktop and mobile friendly.
Quick Post Standout – $349 + GST: Job will be live for 30 days, featuring your logo, desktopand mobile friendly, standout boarder and highlight.
Expanded Reach – $499 + GST: Job will be live for 30 days, featuring your logo, desktop and mobile friendly, AND featuring on our digital jobs boards, on theright hand
side of our GP Network websites (Australian Doctor & Medical Observer), increasing the chances of your advertisement to be seen by such a large reach. They also feature in our e-newsletters, where there is a 45% open rate from the jobs board on the e-mails to the GP Network:www.medicalobserver.com.au ,
www.australiandoctor.com.au ,
www.6minutes.com.au.Totalling 56,000 emails on a daily basis.*These prices were valid late 2018 when the website was medicaljobs.com.au but it has since been rebranded to AusDoc Jobs…Best to confirm pricing with Aus Doc directly.
Advertising Period
30 days
Rating
2/5.
Effort Level
High- see comments above re Australian Doctor.
Advertise on Healthworkforce (if you are located in Queensland!)

Cost
Free!
Advertising Period
30 days
Effort Level
Minimal
Rating
5/5. Only downside is that there is a lot of competition because it is free.
What’s involved?
Very easy to do, all you need to do is complete an online form and it will be posted around 24 hours afterwards. You will receive an email when it is posted.
Engage Medical Recruiters

Cost
The cost is approximately $25K (ex GST) for a full-time placement VR doctor and $20k (ex GST) for a
Advertising Perio
Not applicable, but you should check in with them every week or two to ensure they don’t forget about you.
Effort Level
Minimal.
Rating
4/5.
What’s involved?
Contact some of the more popular recruiters (Cornerstone Recruitment, People Medical, Med Future) and explain your requirements for a new doctor. Try to sell your practice to the recruiter as though they are a potential new doctor. Sign the recruiter’s terms and conditions, then keep in touch with them every few weeks.
Advertise on RACGP jobs

Cost
Approximately $374 plus GST per ad if you are not a member of the RACGP. Best value is to join the RACGP and then advertise for free.
Advertising Period
30 days
Effort Level
Minimal
Rating
4/5. RACGP is highly regarded by Doctors.
What’s involved?
Very easy to do, all you need to do is complete an online form and it will be posted around 24 hours afterwards. You will receive an email when it is posted.
Advertise on Facebook Groups

Cost
Generally free
Advertising Period
Loses visibility after a few days
Effort Level
Minimal
Rating
4/5
What’s involved?
Very easy to do, all you need to do is draft an advertisement and add some
Have your say! Is there anywhere else you have found an effective method of recruiting a new doctor? Comment Below!
You must log in to post a comment.