Todays Medical jobs market showing some effects
Hi guys,
I recently had an editorial published in the Sunday Independent in relation to how we are finding Medical Recruitment in today’s climate -
The medical recruitment industry is not reporting the same dismal problems seen in some sections of the recruitment industry
Although recruitment in general has been badly affected by the world economic crisis, one branch within it — medical recruitment — has remained relatively unscathed.
While the general recruitment sector has felt the squeeze from the downturn in the economy, not all areas within it are feeling the strain. On the contrary, for the medical recruitment sector business continues apace, according to Jackie Brown, managing director of Jackie Brown Medical.
Indeed, the medical sector has long lamented Ireland’s lack of medical practitioners, dentists and nurses, so it probably comes as no surprise to those in the know that recruitment in this area remains strong.
Jackie Brown Medical covers all areas of the medical sector, procuring both medical and non-medical staff for medical or healthcare-based companies, hospitals and clinics nationwide.
Brown argues that the medical recruitment industry is not reporting the same dismal problems seen in some sections of the recruitment industry. This fact notwithstanding, she has seen a shift in the sector.
“I’ve been recruiting within this industry for the past eight years, and over the past few weeks I’ve had candidates come back to me who have been made redundant. That’s the only evidence of the downturn I’ve experienced, but there are jobs still available,” she says.
Brown adds that another sign of the changing times is that medical companies are now outsourcing their training needs. As an aside, the outsourcing sector is one industry that is likely to benefit from the shifting economic times as companies try to save on costs and become more competitive.
“The medical market is shifting: in some areas the downturn is actually creating employment, which is quite bizarre. You are unlikely to find professionals within the medical sector scrambling for jobs or on dole queues,” she says.
Brown does accede however, that there has been a drop in salaries for pharmacists, but adds that this has more to do with cutbacks by the Health Service Executive (HSE) rather than the current economic climate.
“Pharmacists’ salaries have dropped by over 10pc. Where previously their salaries would have reached €75,000- €85,000, now they range somewhere between €65,000 and €75,000.”
Likewise, recently qualified radiographers whose contracts have just expired are also finding themselves back on the recruitment market. On the other hand, there are some vacancies available, as radiographers have always been in short supply in Ireland.
With an increase in the number of private healthcare providers now operating
within the medical sector, Brown believes that many medical professionals are moving from the public to the private sector, “because with private comes a lot of security,” she says.
Brian Crowley, director of healthcare recruitment company TTM Recruitment, agrees. “HSE restrictions on recruitment mean that, for example, clinicians and nurses on temporary contracts in public hospitals have started to look towards the private healthcare sector. This leads to a certain amount of brain drain from the public to the private system,” he says.
Further good news for medical professionals seeking employment, and Jackie Brown Medical in particular, is that despite the continued economic turbulence, business has been hectic for the medical recruitment firm. In the past four weeks alone, the company has signed up five new clients, all of whom sought it out.
Of course, Jackie Brown Medical’s profile reached new heights recently as it was named Recruiter of the Year at the National Recruitment Federation Awards last month. Having the same name as Quentin Tarantino’s famous hit film Jackie Brown hasn’t done the company any harm either.
Brown launched Jackie Brown Medical in October 2007, having previously worked for five years in acute nursing and for eight years in the medical recruitment industry. To win the Recruiter of the Year award is an impressive achievement, especially for a company so young.
“I was absolutely honoured by the award. It was the single biggest achievement of my professional life,” says Brown.
It was perhaps Jackie Brown Medical’s innovation that won it the award. The firm not only prides itself on the high level of customer service it provides, but also on its extensive use of technology. It recently launched a forum for medical and healthcare workers in Ireland: Jackiebrownmedical.ie.
The forum allows workers within the sector to log on and share any issues they have, get advice from contemporaries or simply let off steam. While it is still in its infancy, it has gotten its fair share of hits, and is expected to grow as it becomes more established.
“The recruitment industry is heavily reliant on web-based services. Recruitment is also a hugely competitive sector and our web presence is a vital ingredient to our success,” says Brown.
“Our website was developed in-house and we have made a point of embracing the social-networking phenomenon that has swept the web by including social bookmarking facilities and the forum for medical and healthcare workers.”
Medical jobs, Nursing
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