How To Become A Physician Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a physician specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A physician specialist specializes in treating one particular field of health, such as oncology, urology, or gynecology. Unlike general physicians, they only see patients who have a problem fitting within their specialty and do not perform general physical exams. Often patients need referrals from their primary care physicians to see a physician specialist.

Physician specialists perform the same tasks that regular physicians do, except focusing on only one system of the body. They examine patients, diagnose their issues, and come up with treatment plans. They prescribe medication or recommend surgery if necessary. Physician specialists also handle the same paperwork that generalists do, such as patient records and insurance information.

Physician specialists earn an average annual salary of $197,026, which is more than the average physician salary. However, they also need to put in more work before they can practice. In addition to getting a bachelor's degree, finishing medical school, and getting licensed as a doctor, physician specialists need to complete an additional residency and certification in their specialty of choice.

ScorePhysician SpecialistUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $210,219

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 3.77%

Black or African American 9.57%

Hispanic or Latino 11.96%

Unknown 3.77%

White 70.56%

Gender

female 75.00%

male 25.00%

Age - 51

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 - 51

Stress level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.3

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a physician specialist

Explore physician specialist education requirements

Most common physician specialist degrees

Bachelor's

42.4 %

Associate

17.7 %

Master's

12.5 %

Start to develop specific physician specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	38.87%
Patient Care	22.92%
Surgery	17.75%
Internal Medicine	2.59%
Excellent Interpersonal	2.12%

Complete relevant physician specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New physician specialists 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 specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real physician specialist resumes.

Gain additional physician specialist certifications

Physician specialist certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific physician specialist certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for physician specialists include Medical Assistant and Certified Professional Coder (CPC).

More About Certifications

Research physician specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage providers' office and call schedules, outlook calendars and assist with surgery scheduling.
Generate referral letters for physicians, manage and sort medical documents within the EHR system, and assist with e-prescribing.
Review complete ultrasound and non-stress testing reports and assign appropriate ICD-10 and CPT codes.
Train in AllScripts EMR system.

Prepare your physician specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your physician specialist 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 specialist 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 specialist resume templates

Build a professional physician specialist 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 specialist resume.