Karen Height has been the Sourcing Director for Banner Health for nine years now, but strangely her background isn’t in recruiting. In fact, she has a degree in Journalism and has worked in media management and advertising for years. Height even managed a local television station in Colorado. So why is she a physician recruiter thought leader? Karen’s record of success says it all.

A Greeley, Colorado native, Height—when comparing Banner Health with an independent, private medical practice—observed how “ahead of the game Banner Health was in patient care, culture, mission and values,” says Height. “Banner uses an employed physician model and it literally blew up the recruiting model that was being used in the rest of the western U.S.—especially for hospitalists and acute care. That’s why we have been so successful. So I wanted in.”

Height joined Banner on the Front Range in their Greeley office, but says the recruiters in their Arizona office are all under one department. “We recruit physicians for opportunities in seven Western states and it does not matter where the recruiter is based, we’re an ‘All House’ department. In order to give her team the most up-to-date tools, Height partnered with Doximity Talent Finder. With a five times higher click through rate and a four times lower cost per hire, Talent Finder allows Karen's team to reach & hire the physicians they need more efficiently and effectively.

Her Biggest Recruitment Challenge

“It’s hard to staff an office when physicians are constantly looking at other models,” says Height. It’s the very reason she moved to Banner, but the landscape of healthcare means physicians simply have a lot of opportunities. “I recruit for opportunities in small towns in Wyoming and even Alaska, but the difficulties of moving a doctor to a rural area are not as difficult as demonstrating why our employment model is great for them,” says Height.

Putting Doximity Talent Finder to Work

“You can do volume searches for a lot of specialties, but there are a very small number of experienced, fellowship-trained burn surgeons in the U.S.—a small pool to recruit from. After doing a Doximity Talent Finder search, they came across a burn surgeon in the Midwest. The Surgeon wasn’t interested in moving, but a DocMail sent by the Banner team got her attention and opened a door. After six months of communicating via Doximity, the Surgeon formally submitter her CV! She applied for the position and signed an agreement to work three months later. “It took some time,” says Height, “But all good things do.”

Using Doximity Talent Finder: Height's Top Tips

1. Doing volume searches for some specialties is great, but with Doximity Talent Finder you can really pinpoint those doctors in unique specialties where there are very few licensed physicians.
2. Use templates: Your brand is important to the physicians and templates help you brand your organization consistently.
3. Make your job posts really clear and ensure your opportunities are always clearly defined.

“You’re either all in or all out, or you’re nothing.”
Karen Height, Sourcing Director for Banner Health