How to hire a physical medicine physician

How to hire a physical medicine physician, step by step

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

What does a physical medicine physician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The physical medicine physician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

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

   Here's a comparison of physical medicine physician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Physical Medicine Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Physical Medicine 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	$47-187
   Physiatrist	Physiatrists must have a bachelor's degree in physical sciences or a related field, a M.D. or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, and 4 to 7 years' internship and residency training specializing in rehab and physical medicine... Show more	$70-305
   Physician	Physicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis... Show more	$61-212

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Rehabilitation
   • Physical Medicine
   • Physical Therapy
   • Family Practice
   • Internal Medicine
   • Private Practice
   • Outpatient Clinic
   • Direct Patient Care
   • EHR
   • Sports Medicine
   • Patient Education
   • Medical Treatment
   • R
   • Medical History

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multidisciplinary teams and achieve excellent patient outcomes in inpatient rehabilitation settings.
   • Assist with managing chronic illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, and CHF.
   • Provide physician input for the development of rehabilitation order care sets for Cerner's EMR software.
   • Maintain current HIPPA, OSHA and other govern files.
   • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
   • Assist with managing chronic illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, and CHF.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your physical medicine physician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A physical medicine physician 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 a physical medicine physician in Indiana may be lower than in Oklahoma, and an entry-level physical medicine physician usually earns less than a senior-level physical medicine physician. Additionally, a physical medicine physician 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 physical medicine physician salary

   $196,716yearly

   $94.58 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level physical medicine physician salary

   $99,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average physical medicine physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Missouri	$221,453	$106
   2	Nebraska	$221,111	$106
   3	Mississippi	$217,917	$105
   4	Minnesota	$217,111	$104
   5	Rhode Island	$216,614	$104
   6	North Dakota	$215,788	$104
   7	Oregon	$212,523	$102
   8	Colorado	$204,037	$98
   9	California	$203,810	$98
   10	Wisconsin	$203,125	$98
   11	New Hampshire	$201,219	$97
   12	Arkansas	$200,722	$97
   13	South Dakota	$200,673	$96
   14	Washington	$199,849	$96
   15	Iowa	$199,025	$96
   16	Virginia	$198,777	$96
   17	Texas	$198,322	$95
   18	Nevada	$198,036	$95
   19	Ohio	$192,654	$93
   20	Georgia	$191,844	$92

   Average physical medicine physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sanford Health	$296,924	$142.75	476
   2	Lloyd Staffing	$278,320	$133.81
   3	Appalachian Regional Healthcare System	$261,125	$125.54
   4	Overlake Medical Center & Clinics	$259,825	$124.92	14
   5	Bay Regional Medical Center	$258,366	$124.21
   6	Wentworth-Douglass Hospital	$255,654	$122.91	2
   7	Covenant HealthCare	$255,238	$122.71	2
   8	Atrium Health Floyd	$251,340	$120.84	187
   9	Mercy Health	$248,651	$119.54	65
   10	CHRISTUS Health	$246,700	$118.61	522
   11	All Medical Personnel	$246,000	$118.27	107
   12	Northwestern Medicine	$244,882	$117.73	36
   13	Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare	$240,561	$115.65	2
   14	Baylor Scott & White Health	$240,368	$115.56	484
   15	SIMED Health	$236,527	$113.71	10
   16	Barton Associates	$234,407	$112.70	37
   17	Lee Regional Health System	$234,079	$112.54	35
   18	UnityPoint Health	$232,675	$111.86	115
   19	Selective	$231,069	$111.09
   20	MercyOne	$229,000	$110.10	7

4. Writing a physical medicine physician job description

   A physical medicine 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. Below, you can find an example of a physical medicine physician job description:

   Physical medicine physician job description example

   MultiCare Health System seeks a BE/BC adult Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physiatrist to join its thriving practice based in Tacoma, WA, at Tacoma General Hospital. Physicians affiliated with MultiCare are recognized as being among the best healthcare providers in the Northwest Region with an expansive primary care clinical network as well as both adult and pediatric specialists providing easy access for patient consultations right here in the community.
   What we have to offer:
   • Competitive compensation package to include sign on, relocation, and student loan repayment incentives
   • Substantial benefits: medical, dental, annual leave, CME, retirement, and malpractice insurance (including tail)
   • 24/7 in-house hospitalists consulting on the inpatient rehabilitation unit
   • An experienced, passionate, and collaborative team of five Physiatrists What you will do:
   • Provide PM&R Consults for patients with complex rehabilitation needs, or might be candidates for the inpatient rehab program.
   • Participate in one week of inpatient rehabilitation call coverage every sixth week at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA.
   • Follow 8-12 patients per day providing input on spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, multiple trauma, neurogenic bowel/bladder, skin integrity, amputation, and other complex medical rehab cases.
   • Collaborate with inpatient Rehabilitation Psychology, inpatient Neuropsychology, inpatient adaptive driving program, dedicated outpatient Rehabilitation Nursing Clinic and community outreach programs for TBI, stroke, and SCI populations. What you will need:
   • Preference for candidates with aptitude in neuro-rehabilitative consultation management
   • Board certified/eligible in Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation by the time of employment
   • Licensed in the state of WA by the time of employment
   • DEA, NPI & prescriptive authority
   • Current BLS for Healthcare Providers certification by the American Heart Association Why MultiCare:
   • Washington's largest community-based, locally governed, not-for-profit health system
   • “Most Wired” healthcare system 10 years in a row
   • Named to Forbes “America's Best Employers"
   • Live in a PNW locale that offers breathtaking forest, mountain, and water views
   • Easy drive to Seattle, Portland, SeaTac Airport, and Victoria, BC by way of ferry PandoLogic. Keywords: Pediatric Physiatrist, Location: Tacoma, WA - 98405

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right physical medicine 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 physical medicine physician job on Zippia to find and recruit physical medicine 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

   Recruiting physical medicine physicians 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 to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 physical medicine physician

   Once you've decided on a perfect physical medicine physician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   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 a physical medicine physician?