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What is a medical staff physician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Janet Williams Ph.D.
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A medical staff physician is licensed to practice medicine and works in a hospital or healthcare facility. They diagnose illnesses, order and interpret tests, prescribe medications, and create treatment plans, working collaboratively with other healthcare professionals to ensure the best care for patients. Medical staff physicians may specialize in a particular area of medicine, such as cardiology, pediatrics, or oncology.

What general advice would you give to a medical staff physician?

Janet Williams Ph.D.Janet Williams Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Biology, College of Our Lady of the Elms

Students who wish to continue their education in healthcare (MD, DO, DMD, DVM, PA, PT, OT, and many other areas), should ensure that they have plenty of experience in healthcare by becoming certified as an EMT or CNA, and spend at least 1-2 years working or volunteering in that capacity. Students should graduate with strong GPAs, over 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, and should have taken all of their prerequisite courses. Students should be prepared to take standardized admissions exams, and plan to do well in them.
ScoreMedical Staff PhysicianUS Average
Salary
10.0

Avg. Salary $206,686

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
10.0

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
1.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 19.02%

Black or African American 5.28%

Hispanic or Latino 9.84%

Unknown 4.49%

White 61.20%

Gender

female 61.31%

male 38.69%

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
10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a medical staff physician?

Pros

  • High salary and job stability

  • Opportunities for career advancement

  • Constant learning opportunities

  • Exposure to cutting-edge technology and techniques

  • Access to continuing education and professional development resources

Cons

  • Long work hours

  • Risk of burnout and compassion fatigue from dealing with sick and dying patients

  • Legal liability for medical errors

  • Frequent changes in healthcare policies and regulations

  • Inadequate compensation for non-clinical work

Medical staff physician career paths

Key steps to become a medical staff physician

  1. Explore medical staff physician education requirements

    Most common medical staff physician degrees

    Bachelor's

    32.5 %

    Doctorate

    19.8 %

    Master's

    12.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific medical staff physician skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patients36.88%
    Healthcare15.26%
    Patient Care9.01%
    Primary Care5.22%
    Internal Medicine4.56%
  3. Complete relevant medical staff physician training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical staff physicians 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 medical staff physician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical staff physician resumes.
  4. Research medical staff physician duties and responsibilities

    • Manage catheters and dress wounds.
    • Assist nursing leadership with ICU and telemetry bed triage at times of high census.
    • Experience with Medicare and Medicaid regulations, billing requirements, collections, and HIPAA and compliance rules.Experience working with informational systems.
    • Prepare necessary correspondence that is related to medical records of patients including sending lab results to outside physicians/hospitals.
  5. Prepare your medical staff physician resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical staff physician 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 medical staff physician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable medical staff physician resume templates

    Build a professional medical staff physician 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 medical staff physician resume.
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
    Medical Staff Physician Resume
  6. Apply for medical staff physician jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a medical staff physician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first medical staff physician job

Zippi

Are you a medical staff physician?

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Average medical staff physician salary

The average medical staff physician salary in the United States is $206,686 per year or $99 per hour. Medical staff physician salaries range between $128,000 and $332,000 per year.

Average medical staff physician salary
$206,686 Yearly
$99.37 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do medical staff physicians rate their job?

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Medical staff physician reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

The definition of Physician Liaison here is entirely incorrect. You are describing a provider role - not what liaisons do. Please refer to physicianliaison.com which is AAPL, the national organization of physician liaisons.

Cons

Your definition is incorrect. Please refer to physicianliaison.com which is AAPL, the national organization of physician liaisons.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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