Finding the right provider has always mattered. Today, it can also be one of the biggest challenges standing between a practice and its next stage of growth.

Across the country, dental and veterinary practices are competing for a limited pool of qualified candidates. A provider departure can leave schedules backed up, teams stretched thin, and practice owners trying to serve patients while figuring out how to recruit someone new. Growing practices may face a different version of the same challenge. The demand is there, but without the right provider in place, there is only so much the existing team can take on.

At Arthur Marshall, we do not view recruiting as simply finding a resume that checks the right boxes. We approach it as a partnership.

Our job is to understand what created the need, what the practice is trying to accomplish, what kind of person will succeed there, and how we can help connect that organization with the right provider for the long term.

As Lisa Wagner, our Vice President of Partner Success, explains, the impact goes even further than the practice itself. When the right provider joins a community, patients may no longer have to travel hours to receive the care they need.

That is the bigger picture behind healthcare recruitment.

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The biggest challenge is the candidate shortage

When we talk with dental and veterinary practices about hiring, one issue comes up again and again: there simply are not enough candidates to meet the level of demand.

Lisa has worked in recruitment for more than 22 years and has watched similar staffing trends unfold across healthcare. Providers retire or leave the workforce, while the number of new professionals entering the field does not always keep pace with the growing need for care.

Dental and veterinary practices are now navigating many of those same pressures.

One way we think about it is similar to a competitive housing market. When there are far more buyers than homes available, buyers cannot assume the right house will simply appear and wait for them. They have to understand the market, know what matters most, and be ready to make thoughtful decisions.

Recruiting works in much the same way.

Qualified dentists, specialists, veterinarians, and other healthcare providers may have multiple opportunities available. Practices are not simply evaluating candidates. Candidates are evaluating practices, too.

That changes the entire hiring process.

If you need someone yesterday, you probably needed to start months ago

One of the most important conversations we have with practices is around timing.

It is common for an organization to contact us and say, “We need someone as soon as possible.”

We understand why. Maybe a provider unexpectedly left. Maybe patient demand grew faster than anticipated. Maybe the owner is working more days than they want to work.

But recruiting a provider is rarely an immediate process.

As Lisa puts it, if you need somebody “yesterday,” ideally the search would have started four or six months ago.

Healthcare recruitment involves more than publishing a job opening and waiting for applications. We have to identify candidates, start conversations, understand their goals, evaluate whether the opportunity aligns with what they want, and determine whether there is a mutual fit.

Geography, schedule, compensation, experience, clinical expectations, and practice culture can all affect the candidate pool.

Starting earlier gives everyone more room to make the right decision instead of making a rushed one because the vacancy has become an emergency.

If you know a provider may retire, relocate, reduce their schedule, or transition out of the practice within the next year, it may be time to begin planning now. The same applies to growth. If you are reaching capacity, recruiting does not have to wait until the schedule becomes unmanageable.

A narrow search can make a difficult market even smaller

Every practice enters a search with an idea of what the ideal candidate looks like.

That is a good thing. Knowing what you need matters.

But one of the roles we play as recruiters is helping practices determine which criteria are truly essential and which may have more flexibility.

When the candidate pool is already limited, every additional restriction makes it smaller.

A practice may want someone with a specific number of years of experience, a particular schedule, certain procedural skills, or an exact professional background. Sometimes those requirements are critical. Other times, they may simply reflect how the practice has hired in the past.

That is where consultation becomes important.

If a client has not recruited recently, the market may look very different from the last time they hired. We can share what we are seeing and help the practice consider whether opening certain parameters could create a stronger candidate pool.

The final decision always belongs to the client. Our responsibility is to make sure they are making that decision with a clear understanding of the market.

Expanding a search does not mean settling. It means asking a better question: What does this person truly need to bring to the practice in order to be successful?

Great recruiting starts with asking questions and listening

Mary Kelly has spent approximately 15 years working in recruitment, primarily in physician recruiting before moving into dental recruitment with Arthur Marshall.

When she describes her approach, she brings it back to two simple things.

She asks questions, and she listens.

No two practices are exactly alike.

Two dental practices may offer many of the same services and need candidates with similar credentials, yet the person who thrives in one may not be the right fit for the other. The same is true in veterinary medicine.

Different organizations have different teams, leadership styles, workflows, expectations, personalities, and visions for growth.

Before we go to market, we want to understand those differences.

Why is the position open? How is the vacancy affecting the organization? What qualities have made previous providers successful? What does the practice want to look like in three or five years? What kind of person will help it get there?

The better we understand the answers, the more effectively we can represent the opportunity to candidates.

Recruitment should not begin with a stack of resumes. It should begin with the organization itself.

Clinical skills matter, but they are only one part of the fit

Credentials and clinical capabilities matter. A candidate has to be qualified to perform the job.

But if we want a placement to last, we also have to look beyond technical qualifications.

We want to understand the culture of the organization and the kind of person who is likely to succeed within it.

How does the team communicate? What does the practice prioritize? What is the leadership style? How much autonomy does the provider have? What are the practice owner's expectations for growth? What does the candidate want from the next stage of their career?

These questions matter because hiring is not successful simply because someone accepts the job.

A successful recruitment is one where the organization and provider are aligned enough to build something lasting.

Long-term retention begins during the recruiting process.

There is a difference between receiving resumes and having a recruiting partner

There are different models available to practices looking for providers.

On one end of the spectrum is what Lisa describes as more of a CV service. A practice may receive candidate names or resumes and then take on much of the evaluation and recruitment process itself.

Our approach at Arthur Marshall is different.

We work to become an extension of the organization we represent.

That means getting to know the client before we start bringing candidates into the conversation. We meet with the organization, ask questions, learn about the people who work there, understand the culture, and identify what success looks like.

Then we take that information to the market.

This matters because candidates have questions, too.

They want to understand what makes the opportunity different, who they will be working with, what the expectations are, and whether the position aligns with their professional and personal goals.

A recruiting partner should understand the practice well enough to tell that story accurately.

Recruiting is really about solving a business problem

Mary describes one of her favorite things about recruiting as problem-solving.

We think that gets to the heart of what this work is really about.

A practice rarely calls us because everything is functioning perfectly and they simply feel like hiring someone. There is usually a bigger challenge behind the opening.

Maybe patients are waiting longer than the practice would like. Maybe the existing providers are overloaded. Maybe the owner wants to reduce their clinical schedule. Maybe the practice wants to open another location. Maybe someone left unexpectedly and the remaining team is trying to absorb the workload.

The vacancy can affect productivity, revenue, schedules, morale, patient access, growth opportunities, and the quality of life of the people already working in the organization.

That is why we want to understand what caused the need before we start searching for the person who can help solve it.

We are not simply recruiting a candidate. We are helping the practice move from where it is now to where it wants to go next.

The right provider can change access to care in an entire community

One of the most meaningful parts of healthcare recruitment is the impact a successful placement can have outside the walls of the organization.

When a community does not have enough providers, patients may have to travel farther or wait longer for care. Placing a strong provider within that community can help change that.

Suddenly, there is someone available closer to home.

That is meaningful for the practice, but it is also meaningful for every patient or client the provider will serve over the course of their career there.

It is one of the reasons we take long-term fit so seriously.

A successful recruitment is not simply a transaction between a candidate and an employer. It has the potential to strengthen an organization and improve access to healthcare within the community around it.

How practices can prepare for a stronger recruitment process

You cannot create more providers overnight, but there are ways to put your organization in a stronger position when it is time to hire.

Start before the vacancy becomes an emergency. If you know growth or a provider transition is coming, begin planning early.

Know your true non-negotiables. Be clear about which requirements are essential and where there may be room for flexibility.

Understand the current market. What worked during your last search may not work today.

Be able to describe your culture. Candidates want to understand the people, environment, and future they would be joining.

Think beyond the resume. Credentials matter, but long-term alignment helps determine whether the hire will actually work.

Work with someone willing to learn your organization. Your recruiting partner should understand the business problem behind the vacancy, not simply the job title attached to it.

The goal is not just to fill a position

Dental and veterinary recruiting is challenging because the market is challenging.

There are fewer candidates than practices need, and that makes every search more competitive. But scarcity does not mean practices should rush into the first available option. It makes thoughtful recruitment even more important.

At Arthur Marshall, we believe the strongest searches begin with listening. We take the time to learn about the practice, understand the challenge, evaluate the market, and identify the kind of provider who can contribute to the organization for the long term.

Because at the end of the day, the goal is bigger than filling an empty chair.

It is finding the right person for the right organization, helping practices continue to grow, and making excellent healthcare more accessible in communities across the country.

If your dental or veterinary practice is planning for growth, facing a provider vacancy, or struggling to find the right candidate, our team at Arthur Marshall is here to help you build a smarter recruitment strategy.

Call Arthur Marshall at (866) 414-6077 to start the conversation.