About this episode
Clinics keep saying there is a “shortage” of MSK clinicians. There usually is not. In this episode, Michael Schumacher and Laura Gilham from Recruit Therapists pull apart why most clinics struggle to hire, what good recruiters actually do, and why culture and personality matter more than another certificate on a CV.
Show Notes
In private MSK, recruitment gets treated like a cost and an afterthought. Clinics throw a lazy advert on PhysioBob or Indeed, complain that “there are no physios left”, then wonder why the only applicants want £70k and a 4–day week.
In this episode of No Appointment Necessary, Michael Schumacher is joined by Laura Gilham, founder of Recruit Therapists, to talk brutally and honestly about how clinic recruitment really works.
They cover why most job ads are useless, why clinics overestimate their own appeal, and why hiring purely on experience creates miserable teams and poor retention. They also dig into the uncomfortable bit: clinicians who massively overvalue themselves and have no idea how thin clinic margins actually are.
This is not a fluffy HR chat. It is a financial argument for treating recruitment like a revenue lever, not a grudge purchase.
What You’ll Learn
- Why “there is a shortage of physios” is usually a recruitment problem, not a supply problem.
- How to calculate the real cost of an unfilled position, including lost revenue and patients going to the clinic down the road.
- The difference between using a recruiter as a CV-forwarding service and using a headhunter who actually networks.
- Why culture, personality and basic likability beat another postgraduate course when it comes to rebookings and retention.
- How ego and salary expectations from some clinicians collide with the reality of private clinic margins.
- Why most clinic job ads read like a B&B listing and what to show instead: environment, team, responsibility, freedom and progression.
- How your social media and website make you more (or less) attractive as an employer, not just to patients.
- Practical steps to make your next hire easier without just throwing more money at the problem.
Who This Episode is For
Clinic owners, clinical directors and practice managers in MSK who are sick of reposting the same job advert every month, burning hours on rubbish CVs, or losing good clinicians to “nicer” clinics that are not even paying more.
Guest Details
Guest: Laura Gilham, founder and co-director of Recruit Therapists, specialising in permanent and locum roles for private clinics across the UK.
Contact Laura: laura@recruittherapists.co.uk
Company: Recruit Therapists
