How To Become A Hospitalist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hospitalist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A hospitalist specializes in caring for hospitalized patients. They are typically internal medicine physicians or family medicine doctors who work exclusively in hospital settings with a variety of healthcare providers. Hospitalists diagnose and treat medical conditions, order tests and procedures, prescribe medications, and create discharge plans for their patients. Hospitalists work long hours and are often on-call, but they get to focus solely on their own patients' needs without the distraction of an outpatient practice.

ScoreHospitalistUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $214,817

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.7

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 18.11%

Black or African American 5.20%

Hispanic or Latino 9.23%

Unknown 2.77%

White 64.60%

Gender

female 55.51%

male 44.49%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

9.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a hospitalist?

Pros

Consistent schedule with regular time off
Competitive salary and benefits
No need for personal liability insurance
Minimal paperwork and administrative tasks
Reduced patient follow-up responsibilities

Cons

High patient volume and workload
Limited control over patient assignments
Long and irregular work hours
Risk of burnout and emotional exhaustion
High level of stress due to critical care situations

Key steps to become a hospitalist

Explore hospitalist education requirements

Most common hospitalist degrees

Doctorate

30.8 %

Bachelor's

25.6 %

Certificate

19.8 %

Start to develop specific hospitalist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	43.89%
EMR	13.27%
Acls	5.91%
Epic	5.82%
Rehabilitation	4.62%

Complete relevant hospitalist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hospitalists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hospitalist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hospitalist resumes.

Research hospitalist duties and responsibilities

Manage acute and chronic illnesses including cardiac, respiratory, GI, infectious and skin issues.
Provide acute care to infants, children and adolescents admit to the hospital, nursery and emergency room.
Work with full EMR system.
Calculate medications and TPN dosages.

Prepare your hospitalist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hospitalist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hospitalist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable hospitalist resume templates

Build a professional hospitalist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hospitalist resume.