How to hire a family practice physician

How to hire a family practice physician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step family practice 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 practice physician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new family practice physician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a family practice physician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your family practice physician job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a family practice physician for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect family practice physician also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of family practice physicians and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Family Practice Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Family Practice Physician	Physicians 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	$65-149
   Doctor	A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary... Show more	$50-196
   Medical Doctor	A 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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Family Practice
   • Primary Care
   • Urgent Care
   • EMR
   • Internal Medicine
   • Patient Care
   • Pediatrics
   • Surgery
   • Private Practice
   • Health System
   • Acute Care
   • Rehabilitation
   • Medical Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
   • Provide and perform x-rays and EKG upon doctor's request.
   • Perform EHR practice assessments and work and documentation flow analysis and redesign.
   • Review EHR on an as needed basis per missing information or documentation.
   • Review and help select EMR and transition providers and clinics to the new system.
   • Float to various departments such as the emergency room, ICU, and geriatric psych.

   More family practice physician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your family practice physician job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A family practice physician salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, family practice physicians' average salary in hawaii is 23% less than in north dakota.
   • Seniority. Entry-level family practice physicians earn 56% less than senior-level family practice physicians.
   • Certifications. A family practice physician with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a family practice physician's salary.

   Average family practice physician salary

   $205,717yearly

   $98.90 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level family practice physician salary

   $136,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average family practice physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	North Dakota	$230,471	$111
   2	Washington	$213,835	$103
   3	Missouri	$204,846	$98
   4	Colorado	$204,249	$98
   5	Oklahoma	$204,182	$98
   6	California	$204,049	$98
   7	Wisconsin	$202,972	$98
   8	Texas	$201,432	$97
   9	Illinois	$200,114	$96
   10	Oregon	$199,578	$96
   11	New Mexico	$198,042	$95
   12	New York	$197,399	$95
   13	Florida	$197,157	$95
   14	Maine	$195,886	$94
   15	Indiana	$195,215	$94
   16	Ohio	$193,633	$93
   17	Arizona	$190,106	$91
   18	Tennessee	$190,043	$91
   19	Pennsylvania	$189,575	$91
   20	Maryland	$188,776	$91

   Average family practice physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Central Ohio Primary Care	$251,177	$120.76	12
   2	Union Hospital of Cecil County	$247,632	$119.05	6
   3	Guadalupe Regional Medical Center	$246,095	$118.31
   4	Freeman Health System	$245,974	$118.26	2
   5	Community Health Systems	$245,930	$118.24	25
   6	Marshall Browning Hospital	$240,379	$115.57
   7	Satanta District Hospital	$238,938	$114.87
   8	Pikeville Medical Center	$238,294	$114.56
   9	PeaceHealth	$236,566	$113.73	124
   10	Bradford Regional Medical Center (upper Allegheny Health System)	$234,956	$112.96
   11	Community Health Center of Branch County	$232,852	$111.95
   12	UnitedHealth Group	$232,194	$111.63	463
   13	Linton Hospital	$231,347	$111.22
   14	Aurora Health Care	$229,560	$110.37	14
   15	Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.	$229,026	$110.11	1
   16	Mile Bluff Medical Center	$228,885	$110.04	4
   17	Prowers Medical Center	$228,884	$110.04
   18	Cigna	$227,606	$109.43	7
   19	OSF HealthCare	$226,831	$109.05	184
   20	Altru Health System	$226,197	$108.75	1

4. Writing a family practice physician job description

   A good family practice physician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a family practice physician job description:

   Family practice physician job description example

   Greene County Health Care is a Community Health Center providing comprehensive medical, dental and behavioral health services for members of our communities in Greene, Pitt and Pamlico counties in eastern North Carolina.
   
   The Physician delivers age-appropriate professional primary medical services to adult, geriatric and/or pediatric patients in an ambulatory care setting in accordance with organizational policies and procedures and consistent with the scope of medical practice as defined by the North Carolina Medical Practice Act, North Carolina Medical Board’s rules and position statements, and other applicable laws and regulations; and provides clinical leadership and supervision of midlevel providers and clinical staff.
   
   Provides medical evaluation, treatment and consultation services to patients of the clinic according to accepted standards of care and applicable laws and regulations.
   
   Documents appropriate chief complaint, past medical, family and social history, review of systems, medical examination, treatments, medications and allergies, assess and plan for each patient.
   
   Provides medication orders/refills for treatments and prescriptions. Administration of medications, ancillary testing and/or referrals.
   
   Provides patient education as needed and medical orders for care of patients by community agencies such as home health, home care, nursing home and/or hospice.
   
   Completes documentation to comply with insurance and reimbursement guidelines and GCHC policies and procedures.
   Works with Medical Director to provide leadership and medical direction for the clinic. Supervises assigned midlevel providers and other clinical staff in the conduct of patient related-care and delegates authority/responsibility when needed. Reviews medical record documentation of assigned midlevel providers and other clinical staff to assess for quality and appropriateness of care. Qualifications and Skills Graduate of an accredited school of medicine. Completion of residency training. Completion of mandatory continuing medical education as required for medical license. Completion of mandatory in-house orientation and in-service programs as required by GCHC policies and procedures. Knowledge of the scope of practice for physicians, mid-level providers, nurses, and other clinical staff in North Carolina. Knowledge of safety and infection control standards applicable to an ambulatory care setting. Current and valid medical license in good standing with the North Carolina Medical Board required. Certification in Basic Life Support (Healthcare Provider) required within six months of hire date then every two years thereafter. ACLS or PALS preferred. Powered by JazzHR XVBuL5u3f1

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right family practice physician for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   To find family practice physician candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit family practice physicians, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 practice physician

   Once you've selected the best family practice physician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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.)

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