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What is a physician liaison and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
John Colclough
introduction image

As a Physician Liaison, you will help medical facilities in building meaningful and positive relationships with community physicians. You will most likely work in the sales office or business development office, and you will meet with physicians from time to time for service introduction and promotion.

As a Physician Liaison, you need to have specific traits and skills. You need to have great communication skills. You will be working and dealing with a lot of people, so you should know how to approach different types of people. Next is compassion. You need to be compassionate as a Physician Liaison because you are working with real people here. Lastly, you need to be detail-oriented. Since lives are on your hands, you need to always be mindful of details and commit little to no mistakes.

As a Physician Liaison, you can earn an annual average salary of $196,389 with a 7% job growth rate. You can also explore other roles and further your career as you start as a Physician Liaison. You can be an Account Manager or a Senior Account Manager.

What general advice would you give to a physician liaison?

John Colclough

Professor, Marshall University

Be patient and stay informed. Many performers think their career is about the work in the rehearsal hall or in performance-not so, the real work is in the management of your business. Being an authority of WHO, WHAT and WHERE is key. WHO are the players in your market? The directors, actors, casting people, producing organizations, etc...these are who you need to know-your network. WHAT opportunities exist in your market? The theatres, video companies, universities (if you have an MFA you may be able to teach a class or two), Improvisation groups, any opportunity that allows you to grow your brand is worth your attention. And finally, WHERE are the opportunities-knowing your community and having a sense of how each company fits into the fabric of the community. Having a sense of where the company resides both geographically and virtually (web sites) and having a solid knowledge base of details of each company can inform your marketing tactics as well as provide you with specific details unique to each organization. Careers develop over time and keeping expectations realistic over the first year can be challenging. Be practical and methodical in your approach: save money (there's never enough), find a place to live (the best you can afford), find a side hustle (you're going to need money and routine), find out the lay of the land (WHO, WHAT, and WHERE), develop your skill set (take a class and meet colleagues), go to productions, screenings, workshops, document your growth (keep a journal or calendar to track your progress), celebrate your successes and be patient with your stumbles-Hard knocks are the best teachers!
ScorePhysician LiaisonUS Average
Salary
10.0

Avg. Salary $210,572

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 19.06%

Black or African American 5.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.73%

Unknown 4.48%

White 61.33%

Gender

female 73.76%

male 26.24%

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

Physician liaison career paths

Key steps to become a physician liaison

  1. Explore physician liaison education requirements

    Most common physician liaison degrees

    Bachelor's

    65.1 %

    Associate

    13.9 %

    Master's

    10.2 %
  2. Start to develop specific physician liaison skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patients21.39%
    Patient Care6.27%
    Service Line5.78%
    Business Development4.48%
    CRM3.79%
  3. Complete relevant physician liaison training and internships

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

    • Distribute Medicare and Medicaid numbers to billing department, manage care department and all other applicable areas.
    • Promote and market the following destination programs: therapeutic endoscopy, general surgery and surgical oncology.
    • Visit referring physician offices with radiation oncology practice information and promotional materials to build effective referral relationships.
    • Trouble shooting physician and nurse relate EHR issues during implementation.
  5. Prepare your physician liaison resume

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

    Choose from 10+ customizable physician liaison resume templates

    Build a professional physician liaison 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 physician liaison resume.
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
    Physician Liaison Resume
  6. Apply for physician liaison jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a physician liaison 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 physician liaison job

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Average physician liaison salary

The average physician liaison salary in the United States is $210,572 per year or $101 per hour. Physician liaison salaries range between $106,000 and $417,000 per year.

Average physician liaison salary
$210,572 Yearly
$101.24 hourly

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How do physician liaisons rate their job?

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Physician liaison reviews

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5.0
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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