How to hire an oncologist

How to hire an oncologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step oncologist hiring guide:

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

What does an oncologist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the oncologist you need to hire. Certain oncologist 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

   Hiring the perfect oncologist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of oncologist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Oncologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Oncologist	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	$63-323
   Pulmonary Physician	A pulmonary physician specializes in diagnosing and treating respiratory and cardiopulmonary health issues. They provide consultations when it comes to health concerns, conduct various assessments and examinations to identify the patients' conditions, study medical histories, develop care and treatment plans, prescribe medication, and educate patients throughout the procedures... Show more	$51-215
   Resident Physician	A Resident Physician participates in a program of graduate medical education and training in a specialized area of medicine. They work with other members of the healthcare team to provide direct medical care to patients.	$37-165

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Oncology
   • Patient Care
   • Hematology Oncology
   • Surgery
   • Chemotherapy
   • Private Practice
   • Aria
   • Prostate
   • Cancer Treatment
   • Treatment Planning
   • Exam Rooms
   • FTE
   • EKG

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop skills in managing diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension.
   • Scan all patient data in to EMR
   • Operate EKG and other equipment to administer diagnostic tests.
   • Treat many skin, lung, breast and prostate cancers as well.
   • Operate electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
   • Prepare chemotherapy medications in the infusion center.

   More oncologist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your oncologist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An oncologist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an oncologist in South Carolina may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level oncologist usually earns less than a senior-level oncologist. Additionally, an oncologist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average oncologist salary

   $298,009yearly

   $143.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level oncologist salary

   $132,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 16, 2026

   Average oncologist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	North Dakota	$432,027	$208
   2	Wisconsin	$406,939	$196
   3	Montana	$389,296	$187
   4	Nebraska	$369,446	$178
   5	Minnesota	$368,894	$177
   6	Iowa	$363,966	$175
   7	Illinois	$344,050	$165
   8	Washington	$333,908	$161
   9	Maine	$333,209	$160
   10	Pennsylvania	$331,455	$159
   11	New York	$324,694	$156
   12	Michigan	$319,259	$153
   13	Ohio	$307,105	$148
   14	Virginia	$300,124	$144
   15	Louisiana	$298,077	$143
   16	Kansas	$291,401	$140
   17	Missouri	$288,857	$139
   18	Tennessee	$282,833	$136
   19	North Carolina	$278,288	$134
   20	Arizona	$269,250	$129

   Average oncologist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Billings Clinic	$483,133	$232.28
   2	Yuma Regional Medical Center	$472,445	$227.14
   3	Sanford Health	$460,052	$221.18	1
   4	Trinity Health	$450,431	$216.55	21
   5	Campbell County Health	$433,525	$208.43
   6	Allina Health	$430,593	$207.02	19
   7	Phelps Health Foundation	$426,122	$204.87
   8	OSF HealthCare	$421,264	$202.53	35
   9	Altru Health System	$419,269	$201.57
   10	Providence Health & Services	$397,673	$191.19	97
   11	Novato Community Hospital	$390,542	$187.76
   12	Claxton Hepburn	$385,081	$185.14
   13	Houston Methodist	$378,536	$181.99	16
   14	PeaceHealth	$378,238	$181.85	37
   15	CentraCare Health	$376,243	$180.89	2
   16	Appalachian Regional Healthcare System	$375,430	$180.50
   17	TidalHealth	$371,842	$178.77
   18	Hoag	$371,108	$178.42
   19	USA Healthcare	$369,693	$177.74
   20	MaineGeneral Health	$365,120	$175.54	2

4. Writing an oncologist job description

   A good oncologist 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 an oncologist job description:

   Oncologist job description example

   An Outpatient health center in Buffalo County, Nebraska is looking to add a Radiation Oncologist to their team. This facility is located in a college town complete with bars, restaurants, and college sports. The area is famous for its incredible crane migration, and there are plenty of spots for camping, boating, kayaking, and golfing. This position is perfect for someone who loves the outdoors and four-season living.
   Certification: MD/DO Title: Radiation Oncologist Board Status : Board Certified Residency/Training: Radiation Oncology Setting : Outpatient Setting
   
   Compensation & Logistics
   Position Type : Locums to Perm Availability : Full-Tim Pay Rate : Negotiable Scheduling : Asap – December 31st Monday to Friday 8: 00 am to 5: 00 pm Clean background/No mal required
   
   KPG Provider Services is a West Coast Focused Company with offices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We are focused on offering the best, most rewarding opportunities while providing excellent compensation and support.
   
   Outstanding service is at the core of our culture. Our Medical Professionals will experience a service relationship characterized by respect, a sense of urgency, and attention to detail.
   
   Our team offers benefits like geographic expertise, understanding commuting times, and top market compensation rates.
   
   In short, we focus intently on the things that matter to you with a commitment to achieve exceptional outcomes. Call us and experience the difference!
   
   For a complete listing of our current openings visit www.kpgproviders.com!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find oncologists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your oncologist job on Zippia to find and attract quality oncologist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting oncologists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 oncologist

   Once you've selected the best oncologist 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new oncologist. 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 an oncologist?