How to hire an in-house physician

How to hire an in-house physician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step in-house physician hiring guide:

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

What does an in-house physician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the in-house physician you need to hire. Certain in-house 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?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an in-house physician to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an in-house physician that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of in-house physicians.

   Type of In-House Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   In-House 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	$54-165
   Family Practice MD	A family practice MD is responsible for monitoring and diagnosing patients' conditions of all ages. Family practice MDs identify the patients' medical histories and administer treatment plans and medications... Show more	$76-292
   Family Practice Doctor	Family practice doctors provide lifelong care for a patient and their family. They offer medical attention to all family members, educates patients on disease prevention, provide health maintenance, and ensure mental and emotional needs are met... Show more	$48-165

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Home Health
   • Patients
   • Internal Medicine
   • Urgent Care
   • Pediatrics
   • Surgery
   • EMR
   • Health System
   • ICU
   • Physical Examinations
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Emergency Room
   • Surgical Procedures
   • EHR

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Work in collaboration with multidisciplinary health care professionals to effectively manage transplant patients' care.
   • Admit and discharge patients, coordinate communication with nurses and other medical personnel.
   • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
   • Assist physician with minor office surgeries and other various procedures ECG's and immunizations.

   More in-house physician duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, in-house physicians' average salary in hawaii is 36% less than in vermont.
   • Seniority. Entry-level in-house physicians earn 67% less than senior-level in-house physicians.
   • Certifications. An in-house 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 an in-house physician's salary.

   Average in-house physician salary

   $198,030yearly

   $95.21 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level in-house physician salary

   $113,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 17, 2026

   Average in-house physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Pennsylvania	$203,738	$98
   2	Ohio	$198,278	$95
   3	Wisconsin	$197,246	$95
   4	Connecticut	$195,487	$94
   5	Illinois	$189,476	$91
   6	California	$189,439	$91
   7	New Jersey	$184,428	$89
   8	Florida	$183,867	$88
   9	Kentucky	$183,260	$88
   10	Michigan	$182,660	$88
   11	Rhode Island	$178,597	$86
   12	Massachusetts	$158,301	$76
   13	Utah	$155,372	$75
   14	New York	$152,587	$73

   Average in-house physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Drake Co	$221,044	$106.27
   2	UHHS/CSAHS - Cuyahoga, Inc.	$219,114	$105.34
   3	St John Macomb Hospital: Montoya Aurea Cabig MD	$219,114	$105.34
   4	Res-Care Premier	$207,727	$99.87	2
   5	Hospital for Special Care	$202,918	$97.56
   6	Northeast Medical Group	$196,218	$94.34
   7	Saint Joseph Hospital	$169,900	$81.68
   8	Montefiore Health System	$150,801	$72.50
   9	UnitedHealth Group	$143,904	$69.18	431
   10	Niagara Hospice	$126,009	$60.58
   11	St. Vincent Charity Medical Center	$124,908	$60.05
   12	Intermountain Healthcare	$124,163	$59.69	27
   13	The Brooklyn Hospital Center	$118,335	$56.89
   14	Baptist Health Home Care	$99,029	$47.61	2
   15	Hospital of St Raphael	$82,665	$39.74
   16	RWJBarnabas Health	$77,696	$37.35	18
   17	BronxCare Health System	$74,995	$36.06	1
   18	Lutheran Medical Center	$73,796	$35.48
   19	Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital	$72,503	$34.86	12
   20	Fairview Hospital / Cleveland Clinic	$68,675	$33.02

4. Writing an in-house physician job description

   An in-house 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 an in-house physician job description:

   In-house physician job description example

   + QUALIFICATIONS
   
   + Doctor of Medicine current Connecticut State Licensure required.
   
   + Board certification or eligibility in Internal Medicine, Primary Care or Family Medicine.
   
   + Demonstrated commitment to continued professional development through appropriate continuing education required.
   
   + Recent experience in patient acute care management is required.
   
   + JOB SUMMARY
   
   + House physicians are independent licensed practitioners who will provide direct patient care within specifically delineated clinical privileges during the evenings, nights, weekends, holidays and as needed. As such, house physicians will be available in-house to provide continued physician coverage, respond to any emergency and other patient care needs, and all matters in need of physician intervention.
   
   + PHYSICAL DEMANDS
   
   + As a physician, duties require ability to examine, adequately assess, and treat patients in all circumstances. In addition, duties require the ability to move quickly and have the dexterity and strength to perform patient care procedures listed on the approved clinical privileges. Those duties will require frequent walking, stair climbing, some bending, and lifting objects not greater than 30 pounds.
   
   + COGNITIVE DEMANDS
   
   + The nature of being a physician demands deductive reasoning, abstract thinking, the ability to infer clues which are at times diffuse and unclear and at others vague and uncertain. Also requires high level problem solving and extensive analytical skills to manage complex medical problems to serve patient needs. Effective verbal and written communication skills to maximize efficiency of care and patient management, and continued care.
   
   + ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
   
   + To review, sign and comply with house physician guidelines.
   
   + Plans/implements all interventions and interactions with an awareness of cultural, ethnic, religious, language and age-related/developmental needs of each patient.
   
   + To provide hospital and emergency patient care coverage, as well as evaluation and management of patients in all programs, in accordance with duly approved clinical privileges during assigned hours.
   
   + To promptly respond to urgent/emergency patient care needs in an appropriate and timely manner. To closely follow patients' medical care during assigned hours, and remain flexible to changing responsibilities and demands.
   
   + To keep patient's attending physician, and the treatment team informed of significant changes in patient's medical status and document these changes in the medical record in a clear and timely manner.
   
   + To perform comprehensive patient history and physicals for admissions and re-admissions during assigned hours and comply with all medical record documentation requirements.
   
   + To comply with Patient Safety, and Infection Control and Universal Body Substance Precaution Standards
   
   + To comply with a patient's death pronouncement, reporting and documentation requirements.
   
   + To demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills in relationship with patients, families and staff.
   
   + To comply with attendance and patient sign out requirements.
   
   + To attend required meetings and orientation in the Department of Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine.
   
   + To identify opportunities for improving patient care and safety, and report to the Chief of Staff.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right in-house 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.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your in-house physician job on Zippia to find and recruit in-house 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

   To successfully recruit in-house 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 in-house physician

   Once you've selected the best in-house 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.

   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 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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How much does it cost to hire an in-house physician?