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How to hire a family physician

Family physician hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring family physicians in the United States:

  • There are currently 159,139 family physicians in the US, as well as 47,352 job openings.
  • Family physicians are in the highest demand in York, PA, with 9 current job openings.
  • The median cost to hire a family physician is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new family physician to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a family physician, step by step

To hire a family physician, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a family physician, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step family physician hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a family physician job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new family physician
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a family physician do?

A family physician specializes in providing health care services to an entire family, regardless of age, health condition, or gender. Aside from conducting regular check-ups and consultations, they serve as a family's primary contact when health problems occur. Among their responsibilities include maintaining a family's health records, helping families navigate through the healthcare system, coordinating with insurance companies, and referring them to other specialists when necessary. Moreover, a family physician builds positive relationships with clients, helping them feel comfortable every step of the way.

Learn more about the specifics of what a family physician does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the family physician you need to hire. Certain family physician roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    A family physician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, family physicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    Here's a comparison of family physician salaries for various roles:

    Type of Family PhysicianDescriptionHourly rate
    Family PhysicianPhysicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. Physicians examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests... Show more$64-164
    Medical DoctorA Medical Doctor, also known as a physician, is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats patients from injuries and illnesses. As a Medical Doctor, your day-to-day duties will typically include assessing a patient's symptoms, prescribing and administering treatment to patients, and providing follow-up medical care to patients... Show more$45-166
    General PractitionerA General Practitioner provides primary and continuing medical care for patients within their community. They are responsible for diagnosing patients, checking patients results, and providing treatment as required.$40-166
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Patients
    • Family Medicine
    • Primary Care
    • Urgent Care
    • EMR
    • Internal Medicine
    • Medical Care
    • Disease Prevention
    • Emergency Medicine
    • Diagnosis
    • Advanced Life Support
    • Nursing Home
    • Immunization
    • Private Practice
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage complicated and often difficult to control chronic medical conditions in patients with limit resources.
    • Examine patients, using medical instruments and equipment; elicit and record information about patient's medical history.
    • Perform hematology, chemistry and immunology screen test to provide immediate results for diagnosis.
    • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
    • Case, endotracheal intubation and artificial mechanical ventilation to which it require, bladder catheterizations rectal and nasogastric.
    More family physician duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the family physician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A family physician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a family physician in Nebraska may be lower than in Vermont, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level family physician. Additionally, a family physician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average family physician salary

    $215,471yearly

    $103.59 hourly rate

    Entry-level family physician salary
    $135,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 5, 2025

    Average family physician salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Washington$261,566$126
    2Wisconsin$234,885$113
    3California$234,800$113
    4Illinois$229,174$110
    5Missouri$215,568$104
    6Indiana$214,871$103
    7Oklahoma$212,503$102
    8New Hampshire$210,905$101
    9Louisiana$204,801$98
    10Texas$202,902$98
    11North Carolina$201,615$97
    12Florida$192,751$93
    13Delaware$189,671$91
    14Pennsylvania$186,889$90
    15New York$183,097$88
    16Kansas$181,907$87
    17Massachusetts$177,962$86
    18Tennessee$172,827$83

    Average family physician salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Oregon Medical Group$250,428$120.40
    2Saint Luke's Health System$249,501$119.958
    3Grace Cottage Hospital$249,046$119.73
    4DMH$243,739$117.18
    5Mercy Corps$241,905$116.306
    6Trinity Health$235,987$113.46431
    7Novant Health$235,345$113.1549
    8allen hospital$233,579$112.30
    9Altru Health System$233,006$112.021
    10CentraCare Health$232,047$111.5644
    11Rapides Regional Medical Center$230,805$110.96
    12Calais Regional Hospital$227,375$109.31
    13Elliot Hospital$227,349$109.30
    14Berkshire$226,458$108.87
    15Prime Healthcare$225,972$108.6441
    16Piedmont Healthcare$225,789$108.55380
    17Mississippi County Hospital System$224,856$108.10
    18MidMichigan Health$224,549$107.96
    19United Hospital Center$224,013$107.70
    20Mission Regional Medical Center$223,790$107.5952
  4. Writing a family physician job description

    A family physician job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a family physician job description:

    Family physician job description example

    o Completes medical records in a timely manner as per the medical record completion policy. o Timely respond to messages and phone calls from support staff and other office team members. o Attends a minimum of 75% of Cooperative meetings as scheduled and requested. o Remains knowledgeable of and works with a care team to coordinate plans to improve population health (quality measures) to achieve benchmarks.

    o Maintains active licensure throughout all terms of employment.

    o Complies with federal, state, and local legal and professional requirements

    CLINICAL

    o Collects medical histories, performs physical examinations, make appropriate and timely medical diagnosis based upon the history and physical exam for assigned patients.

    o Orders appropriate laboratory and other tests to confirm or evaluate the medical situation o Makes sound clinical decisions creating treatment plans in accordance with the common standard of care, statues, regulations, and protocols regulating the profession.

    o Monitors the effectiveness of treatment and care plans.

    o Issue medication prescriptions in accordance with treatment guidelines and standards of care. o Provide patients with clear understandable information on their health, status of their acute disease, chronic disease, and psychiatric diagnoses.

    o Provide patient education regarding medications, risks, benefits, and reasonable expectations o Directs coordination of patient care with patients and other members of the clinical team. o Provides education to the patient that empowers them to be in control of their personal health by being knowledgeable of their chronic or episodic illnesses.

    o Provides medical supervision to support staff in implementing the plan of care.

    o Takes into account the patient's psychosocial and social determinants of health when establishing care plans.

    Overall

    o Provides appropriate information necessary for accurate billing (i.e. indicating appropriate CPT and ICD10 codes for services rendered).

    o Serves as a preceptor to primary care professional students.

    o Assists with administrative efforts in quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives related to the management of patients with primary care and / or psychiatric issues.

    o Works collaboratively with all care team members to provide a patientcentered medical home. Focuses on quality of care for all patients.

    o Maintains shared goals, mutual respect and trust with all care team members.

    o Maintains coordinated patient care across multiple settings. Works collaboratively with community partners to provide quality patient care.

    o Works effectively on a team and communicates respectfully with patients and all staff members based on shared goals and mutual respect. This includes demonstrating adaptability to continuous efforts to improve patient care and willingness to be an active care team member engaged in ongoing process and quality improvement projects with the framework of the patientcentered medical home.

    o Honors patient rights to privacy and confidentiality. Adheres to strict patient, customer, and business confidentiality standards.

    ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS

    Participate in quality improvement projects outlined by organizational leadership.

    Performs other duties as assigned by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Medical Officer (CMO), and / or Behavioral Health Division Director.

    PHYSICAL DEMANDS

    The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

    This position requires intermittent moderate physical activity, including standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, sitting, twisting, squatting, pushing, grasping, pushing/puling, fine manipulation, reaching above the shoulder, computer use, crouching as well as lifting and supporting patients. Must be able to lift 25 pounds and be able to sit, stand, stoop, squat, for more than four (4) hours per day.

    Work environment involves exposure to potentially dangerous material and situations that require following extensive safety precautions and may include the use of personal protective equipment. Will work with blood or bloodborne pathogens require OSHA training.

    While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

    This position requires BLS certification, ability to wear a respirator, and preparing and administering medications, all of which involves chemical and/or biohazard exposure.

    Cooperative Health provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

    QUALIFICATIONS

    Medical Doctor

    o Must be licensed physician in good standing.

    o Must maintain required amount of CME to meet licensure and specialty board requirements.

    o Must maintain DEA and controlled substance registration in good standing.

    o Current BLS certification, if ACLS, PALS, or NALS certified for BCLS will be waived. Nurse Practitioner

    o Must be certified by a nationally accredited credentialing agency.

    o Current licensure as RN in the state of South Carolina.

    o Certified by appropriate credentialing organization recognized by South Carolina as a Nurse Practitioner.

    o Maintains current signed protocols reviewed and revised annually and as needed. Physician's Assistant

    o Must have national certification and current licensure by the state of South Carolina. o Maintains current signed protocols reviewed and revised annually and as needed.

    EXPERIENCE

    Working with electronic health records

    Working knowledge of social and cultural factors of communities served

    Ability to communicate and work effectively with a widely varying population

    Ability to understand patient attitudes and needs, develop and orient program goals and concepts accordingly, and to work effectively toward their accomplishment with all staff members Ability to supervise, motivate, and direct professional staff

    Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with coworkers Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively on a care team Proven relational competence to work on a team with mutual respect for all team members Skills to provide quality care based on the shared goals of the care team

    Adaptability to continuous efforts to improve patient care. Eagerness to learn.

    Ability to work under pressure and high stress, maintain personal composure, evaluate situations and act/react appropriately, and use tact in dealing with visitors, patients, and difficult situations. Ability to communicate orally and in writing, make appropriate decisions on inquiries, and provide clear and concise written and oral information/presentations to a wide variety of staff Ability to interpret and conform program operations to applicable laws, rules, regulations, and funding source requirements according to acceptable to standards.


    PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

    Bilingual in English and Spanish

    SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

    Licensed mental/behavioral health professionals as needed for patient care protocols PMHNP students as needed


    COMPETENCIES

    Understanding of electronic medical record and billing systems and related applications Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH)

    Teamwork Orientation

    Problem Solving/Analysis

    Communication Proficiency

    Learning Orientation

    Ethical Conduct

    WORKING CONDITIONS

    The employee must understand and accept the possibility of exposure of inside environmental conditions such as communicable diseases, noise, blood and bloodborne diseases, and physical injury/verbal abuse from an outof control patient. The employee must be able to comply with the Centers for Disease Control Universal Precautions when indicated. The employee must be able to comply with the ACHC TB Control Plan including PPD testing as required.





  5. Post your job

    To find family physicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any family physicians they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level family physicians with the right educational background.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your family physician job on Zippia to find and recruit family physician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Your first interview with family physician candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new family physician

    Once you've decided on a perfect family physician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new family physician first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a family physician?

Before you start to hire family physicians, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire family physicians pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

The median annual salary for family physicians is $215,471 in the US. However, the cost of family physician hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a family physician for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $64 and $164 an hour.

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