Inside the retention gap: What physicians really want from employers

At the 2025 MGMA Leaders Conference in Orlando, Helen Falkner, regional vice president of recruiting and partner at Jackson Physician Search, sat down with Medical Economics to discuss the widening gap between what leaders think keeps physicians and what actually does.

“The most illuminating thing from our studies with MGMA,” Falkner says, “was the difference in how administrators viewed compensation as a retention tool versus how physicians viewed it.”

While many leaders see pay as the main lever, physicians cite deeper issues: “Leadership and administrative challenges and cultural misalignment are the key reasons for turnover,” Falkner explains. She emphasizes that open, two-way communication and a “feedback journey” with providers are essential for long-term retention.

“Administrators often spend a lot of time measuring financial levers because they’re easy and clear,” she says. “But equally important is evaluating your physicians’ day-to-day experience and helping remove friction points that make their jobs more difficult.”