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How to hire a general practitioner

General practitioner hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring general practitioners in the United States:

  • HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
  • It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
  • The median cost to hire a general practitioner is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per general practitioner on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • There are currently 16,760 general practitioners in the US and 64,698 job openings.
  • Lawrence, MA, has the highest demand for general practitioners, with 4 job openings.
  • New York, NY has the highest concentration of general practitioners.

How to hire a general practitioner, step by step

To hire a general practitioner, 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 general practitioner, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step general practitioner hiring guide:

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

What does a general practitioner do?

A 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.

Learn more about the specifics of what a general practitioner does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the general practitioner you need to hire. Certain general practitioner 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 general practitioner's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, general practitioners 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 general practitioner salaries for various roles:

    Type of General PractitionerDescriptionHourly rate
    General PractitionerPhysicians 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$40-166
    PhysicianPhysicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis... Show more$61-212
    Professor Of Family MedicineA professor of family medicine is a medical expert who facilitates discussions and lectures for future medical practitioners. Their responsibilities revolve around developing teaching strategies, creating lesson and assessment plans, organizing activities and projects, preparing coursework, and monitoring the progress of students... Show more$46-160
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Patients
    • Diagnosis
    • Internal Medicine
    • Outpatient Clinic
    • Emergency Room
    • Oral Surgery
    • Medical Care
    • Primary Care
    • Patient Care
    • Physical Exams
    • Health Education
    • Medical History
    • Suturing
    • Surgical Procedures
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Shadow and note specific medical cases as well as participated in patient diagnosis and treatment plan discussions
    • Evaluate a variety of medical conditions and afflictions, including making comprehensive diagnosis and specifying treatment plans.
    • Serve as initial contact to hospital patients; conduct thorough patient assessments and coordinate referrals to appropriate physicians base on findings
    • Assist in major elective and emergency surgeries such as appendectomies, exploratory laparotomy, thyroid surgery, hysterectomy and cesarean operations.
    • Collect and dispatch blood samples according to national malaria eradication and sputum samples for national tuberculosis control program.
    More general practitioner duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your general practitioner job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A general practitioner can vary based on:

    • Location. For example, general practitioners' average salary in hawaii is 26% less than in mississippi.
    • Seniority. Entry-level general practitioners 76% less than senior-level general practitioners.
    • Certifications. A general practitioner with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a general practitioner's salary.

    Average general practitioner salary

    $172,831yearly

    $83.09 hourly rate

    Entry-level general practitioner salary
    $85,000 yearly salary
    Updated January 22, 2026

    Average general practitioner salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Oklahoma$191,056$92
    2Wisconsin$185,241$89
    3Nebraska$180,117$87
    4Ohio$176,825$85
    5New Jersey$171,836$83
    6Missouri$169,846$82
    7Michigan$165,075$79
    8Virginia$164,166$79
    9Arizona$164,104$79
    10Texas$162,380$78
    11Illinois$160,754$77
    12Indiana$159,996$77
    13New York$158,626$76
    14Massachusetts$155,590$75
    15Tennessee$155,565$75
    16Oregon$154,578$74
    17California$154,154$74
    18Rhode Island$140,703$68
    19District of Columbia$140,096$67
    20Hawaii$127,244$61

    Average general practitioner salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Altru Health System$255,787$122.97
    2Bradford Regional Medical Center (upper Allegheny Health System)$254,902$122.55
    3Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center Lumberton$252,710$121.50
    4Sanford Health$249,760$120.0817
    5Wayne County Hospital and Clinic System$248,021$119.24
    6INTEGRIS Health$245,387$117.977
    7Apogee Physicians$243,270$116.96
    8PeaceHealth$240,494$115.6268
    9Appalachian Regional Healthcare System$236,066$113.49
    10Harrison Steve MD$232,098$111.59
    11MidMichigan Health$231,567$111.331
    12Aurora Health Care$231,075$111.0916
    13Samaritan Medical Center$224,760$108.06
    14OhioHealth$223,833$107.612
    15Franciscan Health$222,491$106.9711
    16Universal Primary Care$218,854$105.22
    17Mountain Medical$217,256$104.45
    18Crystal Run Health$217,006$104.33
    19IU Health Inc$212,610$102.222
    20MercyOne$209,945$100.945
  4. Writing a general practitioner job description

    A good general practitioner 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 general practitioner job description:

    General practitioner job description example

    Bulger Veterinary Hospital, located in Lawrence, Massachusetts, is looking to add a full -time General Practitioner to join our 24/7 Emergency, General Practice and Specialty referral hospital.

    We are located at a newly built, 16,500 square foot facility in Lawrence, MA. Our general practice, originally located in North Andover, MA, has been established for over 40 years and seeks to provide a full service experience for our clients and our veterinarians. We offer specialty care in Surgery, Internal Medicine, Ophthalmology, Exotics, Anesthesia, Cardiology, Critical Care, and Diagnostic Imaging, as well as a busy emergency service. The hospital is supported by nearby Ethos hospitals with Neurology, Oncology, Interventional Radiology, and an in-network compounding pharmacy.

    Our hospital is a unique setting for a general practitioner. Our highly collaborative team works together to ensure the highest levels of patient care. General practice doctors have the valuable resource of specialists and emergency clinicians to assist both formally and informally with cases, and all doctors are treated respectfully. Individual practitioners are encouraged to pursue interests, and our team of general practitioners provides such services as acupuncture, rehabilitation, theriogenology, and dentistry. Our cases do not need to be referred to other facilities when they require overnight care or any of our specialty services and referrals are seamless. Our doctors are supported by a team of well-trained technicians and client care members. The culture of our team is driven by the desire to provide unsurpassed and compassionate patient care along with exceptional client service.

    We are looking for a talented, energetic, personable individual with strong communication and interpersonal skills, who will be a contributing member of our highly collaborative veterinary team. The most important feature of our team is that we all care about and enjoy working together.

    Our purpose-built 16,500-square foot facility has 5 surgery suites, with a dedicated clean orthopedic suite. For the general practitioner with an interest in dentistry, we have a dedicated dental suite with two dental tables, each equipped with high quality dental equipment including high speed drill and digital dental radiography. Our diagnostic equipment includes digital radiology, ultrasound, and on-site 64 slice CT. MRI and fluoroscopy capability are available at our in-network hospital 20 miles away. In addition to practicing, doctors also have the opportunity to work with the Clinical Trial Initiative for Ethos and have access to our comprehensive online library of veterinary journals.

    Bulger Veterinary Hospital is part of the Ethos Veterinary Health network of hospitals, providing our clinicians the opportunity to be part of a larger network of hospitals, but still maintain our distinctive identity. The focus of Ethos is on advancing veterinary medicine, along with providing high quality, compassionate care, which improves the lives of patients and their human companions.

    Our continued growth and success of providing a remarkable work environment resides in the people we hire. Bulger has a culture that strives for excellence, is optimistic, collaborative and supportive. Our staff at enjoy an excellent working environment, competitive compensation, and growth opportunities at all levels.

    Ethos is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Ethos does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, merit, and business need.

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  5. Post your job

    To find general practitioners 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 general practitioners they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level general practitioners 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 general practitioner job on Zippia to find and attract quality general practitioner candidates.
    • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Your first interview with general practitioner 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.

    You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 general practitioner

    Once you've found the general practitioner candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new general practitioner. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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How much does it cost to hire a general practitioner?

There are different types of costs for hiring general practitioners. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new general practitioner employee.

You can expect to pay around $172,831 per year for a general practitioner, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for general practitioners in the US typically range between $40 and $166 an hour.

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