Tell us about the role. We'll tell you whether there's a credible path to placement.

MDSearch is a Canadian physician and healthcare recruitment firm that works on a retained, employer-paid basis. The team has been recruiting physicians across Canada since 1999. We take on the searches advertising alone doesn’t fill: scarce specialties, remote locations and underserved communities, unconventional schedules and complex compensation.

Retained search means the employer engages MDSearch to run the search from start to finish and pays for the work rather than for a résumé, with protected representation in the employer’s market. A job board waits for physicians who are actively applying; a contingency recruiter races other firms to send CVs. A retained search goes directly to practitioners who are already working and not actively applying, presents one serious opportunity, and screens for fit before any
introduction.

Six stages. Assess: viability, compensation, schedule and market conditions, before we accept the search. Map: the target pool, network depth and the obstacles between you and a signed practitioner. Launch: team activated and outreach live within one business day of your launch details. Engage: direct national outreach, with early market signals shared on The Sync as they emerge and a meaningful market read typically within three to four weeks. Introduce: qualified candidates presented as identified, without waiting to assemble a shortlist. Support: interviews, offer, licensing, start and retention, through the first year.

Every search begins with a one-time engagement fee that activates the team. From there, one of two retained models applies, matched to the role. Activity-aligned retained search, for flexible, part-time and locum roles: an ongoing retained fee aligned to the practitioner’s actual working schedule rather than a single lump-sum placement fee; the maximum fee for the agreed working schedule is defined before launch, and variable fees stop if the practitioner stops working. Fixed-fee retained search, for a permanent, committed-schedule hire: a single defined fee payable when the practitioner signs the employment or contractor agreement, refundable if the practitioner does not start under the agreed terms, with a prorated retention guarantee. Fees are quoted per search after a short assessment and confirmed in writing; final terms are set out in the engagement agreement.

No, and no ethical recruiter can. What MDSearch guarantees is disciplined execution, honest communication and transparency throughout the search. If the market evidence shows the constraint is compensation, schedule, geography or positioning, we tell you, with the data, so you can act on it before months are lost.

Physicians across 20+ specialties, nurse practitioners, psychologists and allied health, plus clinic leadership. Recruitment experience includes family medicine, emergency medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN, plastic surgery, dermatology, pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, radiology, pain medicine, occupational health and nurse practitioners.

Yes. MDSearch recruits nationally, for hospitals, health authorities, community clinics, private practices and healthcare companies across Canada. Canada is the focus; internationally trained practitioners are considered where an eligible licensing pathway exists, and the pathway is confirmed before any introduction.

Outreach is live within one business day of launch, and a meaningful read on the market typically arrives within three to four weeks, with qualified candidates introduced as identified. Time to a signed practitioner depends on the specialty, location, schedule and compensation; scarce specialties run longer, and we tell you what to expect before the search starts and update the estimate as the market responds.

The Sync is MDSearch’s live, shared employer workspace. Outreach activity, candidate responses, screening status and next actions are visible to the employer as the search moves, so there is no waiting for a status call and no black box.

Not for the same practitioner profile in the same market. For each search we define the specialty, geography and opportunity type, and for the first year we do not represent a directly competing employer for that practitioner profile in that market. Beyond the first year, protection continues while the search is active and progressing; a stalled search is discussed openly rather than held indefinitely. Candidates are introduced against your opportunity, not circulated across competing client searches.

No. We only accept searches where we see a credible path to placement, and we limit how many we run at once so that at least two MDSearch recruiters work every retained search and are named to you at launch. If we don’t see a path, we say so and explain why.

With a short, confidential search assessment — about three minutes: the role, schedule, geography and compensation model. Where we see a credible path to placement and a fit with MDSearch, we respond within one business day with the likely timeline and how we’d structure the search. Your assessment is confidential and used only to evaluate and structure the search. Start at mdsearch.ca/search-assessment/, email info@mdsearch.ca, or call 1 (888) 988-7466.

Yes. MDSearch is employer-paid and always free for candidates. Practitioners are shown opportunities they would otherwise never see, are kept informed of status, and nothing is shared with an employer without their approval.

MDpost (mdpost.ca) is Canada’s free healthcare job board, powered by MDSearch. Employers post physician, specialist, locum, nurse practitioner and psychologist vacancies free and clinicians apply free. MDpost is for the exposure problem; MDSearch retained search is for the roles advertising alone won’t fill. Listings on MDpost placed by employers are not screened or represented by MDSearch, except those badged “MDSearch managed.”