How to Hire Healthcare Professionals in Croatia

In 2025, Croatia is confronting a growing challenge in its healthcare system, a significant shortage of trained professionals at a time when demand for medical services continues to rise. According to recent reports, Croatia is missing around 4,000 nurses across its healthcare sector, a gap that is placing pressure on hospitals and clinics nationwide.
This shortage isn’t isolated to nurses, family medicine teams are also reporting deficits, with data indicating shortages of about 270 doctors and 59 nurses within primary care alone.  At the same time, the number of practicing physicians and nurses per capita in Croatia remains below EU averages, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.

For hiring managers tasked with building high-performing healthcare teams, this environment creates both urgency and opportunity. With an aging population, expanding health services, and evolving patient expectations, from digital health to outpatient care, the need for qualified healthcare professionals has never been clearer. But successful hiring goes beyond filling seats: it’s about attracting and retaining the right talent in a competitive and resource-strained market.

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How to Hire Healthcare Professionals in Croatia

Hiring healthcare professionals in Croatia requires a thoughtful blend of market insights, recruitment strategy, and employer value articulation. Below are comprehensive steps and practical advice to build your healthcare workforce effectively.

Healthcare jobs span a wide array of disciplines, from clinical roles like physicians, nurses, and surgeons, to allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, radiographers, and pharmacists, and support roles like medical administrators and technicians. Begin by clarifying which roles are mission-critical for your facility or organization and prioritize those in your hiring strategy.

📍 Define Precise Role Requirements

Clear job descriptions are the foundation of targeted hiring. For each position, include:

• Core clinical or technical responsibilities
• Required certifications or licenses (e.g., Croatian Chamber of Medical Doctors, nursing accreditation)
• Experience level and specialty expertise
• Any language requirements (Croatian + English are often a plus)
• Typical working conditions and shifts

Healthcare professionals respond well to precision, ambiguity can lead to mismatches in candidate expectations and role fulfilment.

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📍 Know the Market - Who’s Available and Where

The Croatian healthcare talent pool is unevenly distributed. Urban centers like Zagreb and Split have higher concentrations of candidates, while remote islands and rural regions often suffer shortages.
Understanding this geographic disparity helps with:

• Localized advertising
• Targeted relocation incentives
• Flexible working arrangements or rotational schedules

These approaches can unlock candidates who are otherwise hard to reach.

📍 Tap Into Multiple Recruitment Channels

To broaden your reach, combine traditional and digital recruitment lifelines:

• Qureos and specialized healthcare job portals - ideal for mid to senior clinical and management roles.
• Industry-specific platforms and professional associations - nursing and physician associations often have large member lists ideal for outreach.
• Local university and medical school partnerships - early engagement with soon-to-graduate healthcare professionals can seed your talent pipeline.
• Healthcare recruitment agencies - particularly valuable for hard-to-fill or highly specialized roles.

For example, partnering with a university’s nursing or medical faculty to host career events can put your organization on the radar of future professionals before they enter the job market.

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📍 Elevate Your Employer Brand

Healthcare professionals want more than a job, they want a career with impact. Building a strong employer brand in healthcare means highlighting:

• Professional development opportunities (continuing education, certificates, specialty training).
• Supportive work culture that prioritizes well-being and work-life balance.
• Investment in technology and infrastructure that makes clinical work more efficient and less stressful.
• Stories from your team about what it’s like to work there, day-in-the-life content resonates exceptionally well.

An authentic employer brand boosts not only candidate attraction but also retention, healthcare work is demanding, and professionals often weigh quality-of-life considerations heavily.

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📍 Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits

Pay competitiveness is a crucial factor, especially when healthcare workers have options in other EU countries. Consider:

• Competitive salaries benchmarked against industry standards
• Shift differentials or bonuses for weekend/night work
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits for employees and families
• Retirement plans and wellness programs

Even if budget constraints limit salary increases, benefits like flexible schedules, robust leave policies, or education sponsorships can make your roles more attractive.

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📍 Streamline Your Hiring Process

In a tight market, a slow hiring process can cost you great talent. To reduce time-to-hire:

1. Automate initial screening with applicant tracking systems.
2. Use skills assessments to evaluate clinical judgment and situational awareness.
3. Standardize interviews with role-specific question sets.
4. Maintain clear communication throughout the process to keep candidates engaged.

Fast and transparent hiring signals professionalism and respect for candidate time, traits healthcare professionals value highly.

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📍 Prioritize Onboarding and Retention

Hiring is only the first step. A thoughtful onboarding and retention strategy ensures that new healthcare staff feel supported and engaged:

• Assign a mentor or clinical supervisor for the first 90 days.
• Provide structured orientation to protocols, technology, and culture.
• Offer continuing education opportunities and career paths.
• Encourage regular feedback sessions and check-ins.

High turnover in healthcare, especially among nurses, can have serious impacts on quality of care and team morale. A strong retention strategy isn’t just HR-centric; it’s a clinical imperative.

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📍 Embrace Flexibility & Innovation

Healthcare systems worldwide are evolving with telemedicine, mobile clinics, and digital health records. Consider:

• Remote/telehealth roles where applicable
• Flexible scheduling models
• Rotation programs across departments

Innovation in work design can attract professionals seeking modern, adaptable work environments.

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Final Thought‍

Hiring healthcare professionals in Croatia amid current shortages and demographic shifts is a multifaceted challenge, but it is also an opportunity to shape healthier communities and resilient health systems. By understanding market realities, articulating strong role value propositions, and aligning recruitment with both clinical needs and employee expectations, hiring managers can build teams that deliver high-quality care today and into the future.