Healthcare professionals have increased their use of social media to look for jobs compared to last year, according to a new survey by recruitment firm AMN Healthcare.

The results of AMN Healthcare’s second annual survey on "Use of Social Media and Mobile by Healthcare Professionals" show that physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, such as healthcare IT personnel,  and pharmacists are networking with colleagues, tracking down job leads and applying for new positions at a significantly higher rate year-over-year.

The survey provides healthcare employers and leaders a snapshot of how clinicians have increased their use of social media and mobile devices for networking, job hunting and other career development activities.

[See also: Using Twitter as a Recruiting Tool.]

As healthcare professionals continue to migrate to the larger social networking sites, opportunity exists for employers to move into social recruiting and sourcing, according to AMN Healthcare executives. Job candidates spent more time on social media sites and/or on mobile devices in 2011 and reported an increase in securing interviews, job offers and positions through the use of mobile job alerts.

"We are not surprised that healthcare professionals continue to adopt social media as a mainstream method for job searching,” said Susan Salka, AMN's president and CEO. “Our innovative social and mobile methods have been successful in connecting job seekers to opportunities.”

Salka said AMN would continue reporting on significant changes and new opportunities affecting healthcare professionals and their careers.

[See alos: Job Growth in Healthcare is on the Rise.]

AMN Healthcare recently launched the NurseJobs iPhone mobile application, which provides access to thousands of permanent, per diem and travel nurse jobs for registered nurses, nurse practitioners and CRNAs. The NurseJobs application follows the launch of the MHA physician job iPhone app, which launched last year.

Key survey findings:

• In 2011, one in three respondents cited use of social media when searching for a job, compared with one in five in 2010.
• Nearly half of all healthcare professionals surveyed said they use social media for professional networking.
• More healthcare professionals are using mobile job alerts year-over-year and success rates are up as well. Of those using job alerts, 10 percent received an interview, 14 percent received a job offer and 8 percent secured a job (compared to 1 percent securing a job from social media in 2010).
• Physicians continue to be the heaviest users of mobile devices among their medical colleagues for professional reasons; 41 percent of physicians cited use of mobile devices or tablets for healthcare-related content or jobs in 2011.
• Facebook was once again chosen by three out of four healthcare professionals surveyed as their most favored site for career-seeking opportunities.

Industry leaders should continue to monitor the effectiveness of various social media networks and related applications as they develop future plans for recruiting, advertising and general communications, said Salka. A complimentary copy of the survey is available at the AMN Healthcare website.