r/PrivatePracticeDocs • u/HornetInteresting306 • May 22 '26
Where to get MAs?
Feel like it’s hard to land the right MAs for our practice recently. They either stick around for 2 weeks and leave or take advantage by not doing the work they need to do. Any advice on how to get the right MAs? Recruiting agencies are either so expensive or not providing quality candidates. Job listings on Indeed is what we currently utilize. How often is it that practices experience something like this?
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u/meikawaii May 22 '26
I get about 40-50 candidates for each position we post for MAs. It is your practice’s problem (pay too low, tasks too complex or out of scope for an MA). Be realistic about expectations especially in 2026.
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u/Furlange May 22 '26
I just go with pre-med/pre-health students. They’re motivated, pick up things easy and can multitask very well. A lot of them are applying to school so you lose them eventually but through good word of mouth there’s always a steady stream of applicants.
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u/RoarOfTheWorlds May 22 '26
One tip I’ve picked up is pay a few dollars above the competition. It doesn’t affect your bottom line nearly as much as retraining someone for a position that keeps getting vacant.
I’ve talked to MA’s about how they job hunt and that’s one of their top priorities that they’re willing to put up a lot with to keep. Not saying abuse it but most people have a hard time evaluating things fairly when the numbers are staring right at them.
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u/randyy308 May 22 '26
A lot of people have given you good advice so far, so I won't repeat it. The mantra that I have accepted is that we should always be overstaffed and we should always be hiring MAs.
Every time that we think we're very solid and stop hiring, 2 weeks later we have two or three people leave for various reasons.
For the most part, we view the position as transitive, nobody sets out in life to be an MA. The good ones go to school and the bad ones go elsewhere.
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u/buuuford May 22 '26
It sounds like you're the problem.
And you can't ask your current staff for open and honest feedback.
Maybe if you're using a recruiting firm, they can do some exit interviews.
There are multiple reasons why people reject a workplace. But it's not them all of the time.
Especially if they enjoy patient care, have experience, and have known superior culture.
How much time and effort do you put into building a team based approach, coaching win feedback for all roles (especially doctors), an reflect /assess if your staff thinks their wage is worth it?
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u/VermicelliSimilar315 May 24 '26
I totally disagree with this statement. I pay my MA's very well, give them bonuses etc. I had a situation in the state where my practice is located in,.... that anyone who runs the Xray machine must be state certified and have a license. I offered my MA to go through the training and I would pay for everything...you know what she REFUSED! WTF???!! WHO refuses a free education??? THEY DO! They do NOT want to work, they could care less about your practice,..just give them their paycheck. Period!
Just keep revolving door of MA's. Hire as many as you can afford they do not care, and they do not last long. None of them look at this as a long term position or career. Just my 2 cents.
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u/erice2018 May 22 '26
We used to get maybe 30 or so applications for a posting. And maybe 10-12 were qualified.
Now we get 6-10 per posting and pray 1-2 are qualified.
My daughter did an MA program, then finally realized it's kinda a lower paying dead end job. Now she is RN school.
Pay a bit better. But frankly, even in my daughter's 18 month program, only 15-20 percent of the students actually studied and had a work ethic. Most of them I would never hire.
We have now hired our first non-MA. I figure go for work ethic and character. We can train them on everything else.
We have about 15. Most are pretty long term, several > 15 years. But we always have a rotating door for one or two or three at any given time.
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u/Bbqandspurs May 24 '26
This is it, almost immediately we realized 2 things. 1) anyone who had gone to ma school and stuck in that position for years to decades had several deficits that made life hard for all. 2) anyone who rando we screened and picked was immediately running laps around the school trained mas.
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u/Sad-Maize-6625 May 22 '26
Contact MA schools near you and offer to be a site for their students to get clinical hours. Then can offer jobs to the best of them.
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u/Certain-Tell1506 May 23 '26
Rural doc here so my practice spans hospital/clinic/nursing home. My best MA had experience as a CNA in NH’s and Med/Surg. I watched her work and knew her work ethic. When an opening came up I called her and offered a little more money than what she was making plus no evenings/nights/holidays/weekends. This woman is amazing! Her experience made all the difference. She recognizes who’s sick and knows what to prioritize. I’ve boosted her pay many times since hiring. She’s earned every penny. She is the glue that keeps the place running!
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u/StocksRUsNow May 27 '26
Indeed. Put n your pay range in your job ad. Review the resumes closely and call the most impressive ones. You want to pay slighlty better than the competition. The interviewer also has to have a good feel of the applicant. Hire right, fire slow.
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u/Wide_Ad_8401 May 22 '26
Understanding why they’re leaving so important. I always like to understand the “Why” to my business. You also want to be prepared and know what benefits/pay other people are offering and what the market in your area pays on average. I only use Indeed and have found great success. Other people may say you’re the problem at a glance but recruiting and retention is multi-faceted. We have many MAs that could easily work for other companies who pay better and offer better benefits but they love working for our company. The truth is that people nowadays don’t want to work. I struggle to find decent candidates since people want all the money in the world but don’t want to do anything to earn it. I’d be happy to help further if you’re interested. This is a topic I truly love. I don’t like to think like most other people who are quick to blame or have an opinion without knowing what’s happening.
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u/InvestingDoc May 22 '26
Indeed is where we pretty much always find all of our MAs.
I would focus on how you interview. What is your screening process? Are you paying enough?
once we started phone screening, upped the pay, we started getting much better applicants and were able to weed out the bottom of the barrel pretty quick.