How to hire a hospitalist physician

How to hire a hospitalist physician, step by step

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

What does a hospitalist physician do?

Post a hospitalist physician job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your hospitalist 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 hospitalist 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

   A hospitalist physician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, hospitalist 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.

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

   Type of Hospitalist Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Hospitalist 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	$80-174
   General Practitioner	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.	$40-166
   Family Practitioner	Family practitioners are medical professionals who are responsible for providing care for an entire family in small and rural communities. By using their knowledge in the medical profession, these doctors are required to diagnose and treat a variety of medical issues while referring patients to an appropriate specialist if medical problems are outside their range of practice... Show more	$43-172

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Internal Medicine
   • EMR
   • Acls
   • Surgery
   • Emergency Medicine
   • NP
   • Intubation
   • Medical Care
   • Inpatient Care
   • Bed Hospital
   • Physician Assistants
   • General Medicine
   • Home Health

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Conduct vendor assessments with variety of EMR vendors to assure adherence with CMS standards.
   • Maintain CRM database of referring physicians, including their demographics, referral patterns and other relevant information.
   • Participate in a pilot program that utilize physician assistants to assist physicians with covering unassign patients on the hospital wards.
   • Perform EKG, monitoring & interpretation of EKG.
   • Coordinate with marketing, sales and CME departments to build cohesive community physician outreach program.
   • Organize and schedule physician to physician meetings, lunch and learn events, and CME programs.

   More hospitalist physician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the hospitalist physician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A hospitalist 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 hospitalist physician in New York may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level hospitalist physician. Additionally, a hospitalist physician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average hospitalist physician salary

   $246,629yearly

   $118.57 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level hospitalist physician salary

   $167,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 12, 2026

   Average hospitalist physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$307,687	$148
   2	Oregon	$299,035	$144
   3	Iowa	$282,561	$136
   4	California	$278,660	$134
   5	New Mexico	$277,692	$134
   6	Arkansas	$274,802	$132
   7	Mississippi	$272,453	$131
   8	North Carolina	$269,871	$130
   9	Alabama	$268,202	$129
   10	Louisiana	$264,989	$127
   11	Tennessee	$264,456	$127
   12	Ohio	$263,911	$127
   13	Illinois	$262,066	$126
   14	Texas	$261,924	$126
   15	Missouri	$258,466	$124
   16	Nevada	$256,031	$123
   17	Arizona	$254,250	$122
   18	Virginia	$253,477	$122
   19	Florida	$250,884	$121
   20	Colorado	$249,213	$120

   Average hospitalist physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Yuma Regional Medical Center	$333,150	$160.17
   2	Union Hospital of Cecil County	$331,939	$159.59	9
   3	Central Ohio Primary Care	$327,653	$157.53	15
   4	Missouri Delta Medical Center	$327,421	$157.41
   5	Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital	$320,897	$154.28	3
   6	Baptist Health Care	$316,253	$152.04	2
   7	Apogee Physicians	$310,961	$149.50
   8	Trinity Health	$307,469	$147.82	176
   9	Rio Grande Hospital	$307,182	$147.68
   10	Cumberland Medical Center	$304,592	$146.44
   11	Genesis Health System	$300,539	$144.49	5
   12	Providence Health & Services	$297,182	$142.88	129
   13	Dignity Health	$295,907	$142.26	90
   14	Covenant HealthCare	$295,470	$142.05	3
   15	Willamette Valley Medical Center	$294,564	$141.62
   16	OSF HealthCare	$294,409	$141.54	60
   17	COBB WOMEN'S HEALTH	$292,069	$140.42
   18	MaineGeneral Health	$291,633	$140.21	10
   19	Allina Health	$291,328	$140.06	9
   20	Rutland Regional Medical Center	$290,694	$139.76

4. Writing a hospitalist physician job description

   A good hospitalist 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 hospitalist physician job description:

   Hospitalist physician job description example

   The qualified candidate will join a stable group practice of 27 Hospitalists who provide comprehensive inpatient care to all medical patients in the hospital. We have an open ICU and are looking for candidates excited about critical care and being the primary attendings for most medical ICU patients. The Pulmonary/critical care service is highly involved in the ICU and is available for assistance 24/7. The hospitalist candidate must be interested in procedures, occasional night shifts, and working 12-16 shifts per month. Our scheduling is not a set 7on/7off and offers some flexibility for physician preference.

   Current residents planning to take the boards after residency are welcome to apply.

   The mission of those who serve at Adventist Health is living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Located in the magnificent Pacific Northwest, the Portland area offers a high quality of life, gorgeous scenery, a vibrant downtown, and year-round outdoor activities.
   

   Benefits

   • Income Guarantee
   • Starting Bonus
   • Excellent Retirement Plans including 403(b) with match
   • Medical/Dental/Vision
   • CME Allowance

   Candidates must be Board Certified or Board Eligible, be Oregon licensed or eligible and meet the hospital's medical staff credentialing standards. Though experience is a plus, newly trained physicians will be considered. This is not a J-1 or H-1B eligible opportunity.
   

   Adventist Health Portland is part of the OHSU health system.

   Adventist Health is committed to the safety and wellbeing of our associates and patients. Therefore, we require that all associates receive all required vaccinations, including, but not limited to, measles, mumps, flu (based on the seasonal availability of the flu vaccine typically during October-March each year), COVID-19 vaccine (required in CA, HI and OR) etc., as a condition of employment, and annually thereafter. Medical and religious exemptions may apply

   PandoLogic. Keywords: Physician, Location: Portland, OR - 97216

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find hospitalist 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 hospitalist physicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level hospitalist 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.

   To find hospitalist 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

   To successfully recruit hospitalist physicians, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 hospitalist physician

   Once you have selected a candidate for the hospitalist physician position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new hospitalist 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

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a hospitalist physician?