There’s a growing surgeon shortage in the United States—in fact, forecasts from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimate a deficit of 15,800 to 30,200 full-time-equivalent, non-primary care surgeons by 2034. These projections illustrate an obvious threat to the continuity of surgical care for patients around the country, but locum tenens staffing is a growing industry and a proven solution for mitigating the worst of the shortage. Read on to learn about the ongoing surgeon shortage, and how partnering with a locum tenens staffing and recruiting firm like Barton Associates can help you keep an adequate number of surgeons across specialties at your medical facility.
Inside the Surgeon Shortage
First, it’s important to understand that surgeons aren’t the only group of physicians that are undergoing staffing challenges. The AAMC forecast a shortage of up to 124,000 primary care and non-primary care physicians by 2034.
While AAMC is projecting a general deficit of non-primary care surgeons, some surgical specialties may be harder hit than others. Here are the projected physician deficit numbers of some select surgical specialties through 2025, according to Physician Thrive’s 2023 Physician Compensation Report:
- Orthopedic Surgery: 5,050
- Cardiothoracic surgery: 1,800
- Neurological surgery: 1,200
There are a variety of factors behind the physician shortage. First, many physicians are part of the Baby Boomer generation and are retiring—according to the AAMC, 46.7% of active physicians in 2021 were 55 or older. Conversely, as more people age, they require more complex healthcare. Ultimately, this increases demand for medicine as supply of providers dwindles.
Turnover and burnout rate in healthcare is also quite high. According to a 2022 survey of healthcare providers by the American Medical Association (AMA), 40% of physicians said the likelihood they’d leave their current organization within two years was moderate, likely, or definite. Additionally, the survey discovered that 53% of healthcare workers felt burnt out.
Locum Tenens as a Solution
Locum tenens healthcare providers travel across the country, taking temporary assignments at medical facilities that are dealing with staffing struggles. The industry is currently projected to grow by 7% in 2024 according to Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)—making it best-equipped to provide highly-skilled surgeons and other healthcare providers to facilities in need.
At Barton Associates, we’ve cultivated an extensive network of physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), dentists, and other healthcare professionals that we leverage to staff facilities in all 50 states, including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. This includes nearly 40,000 surgical providers, including physicians, NPs, and PAs in specialties including, but not limited to:
- Anesthesiology
- Bariatric
- Cardiothoracic
- Cardiovascular & Thoracic
- Congenital Cardiac Surgery (TS)
- Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (P)
- Craniofacial Surgery (PS)
- Colon and Rectal Surgery
- Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive
- General
- Hand
- Neuroendovascular
- Neurosurgery
- Mohs Micrographic Surgery
- OB/GYN (including reconstructive)
- Oncology
- Orthopedic
- Otolaryngology (ENT)
- Oral & Maxillofacial
- Pediatric (15+ Specialities)
- Plastics/Cosmetic
- Transplant (liver, kidney, heart, lung)
- Trauma Surgery
- Thoracic Surgery
- Urology
- Vascular
Partner with Barton
Are you a healthcare facility staffing manager who needs locum tenens surgeons or other healthcare providers to fill in your staffing gaps? Are you a permanent healthcare provider looking to start the locum tenens lifestyle? Reach out to us today and we’ll help you get started.
