How to hire a primary care physician

How to hire a primary care physician, step by step

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

What does a primary care physician do?

Post a primary care physician job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the primary care physician you need to hire. Certain primary care physician 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 primary care physician 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of primary care physicians and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Primary Care Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Primary Care 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	$64-165
   General Practitioner	A General Practitioner provides primary and continuing medical care for patients within their community. They are responsible for diagnosing patients, checking patients results, and providing treatment as required.	$40-166
   Family Practitioner	Family practitioners are medical professionals who are responsible for providing care for an entire family in small and rural communities. By using their knowledge in the medical profession, these doctors are required to diagnose and treat a variety of medical issues while referring patients to an appropriate specialist if medical problems are outside their range of practice... Show more	$43-172

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Internal Medicine
   • Family Practice
   • Urgent Care
   • Pediatrics
   • Patient Care
   • EMR
   • Medical Care
   • Diagnosis
   • Outpatient Clinic
   • Rehabilitation
   • Medical Services
   • Primary Care
   • Customer Service

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Full spectrum of family medicine, including obstetrics, pediatrics and inpatient medicine.
   • Maintain renewal for physicians' licenses, DEA certificates, ACLS certifications and CME records.
   • Attend ICU patient care rounds with the medical team.
   • Display technical proficiency in using NaturaeSoft electronic medical record (EMR).
   • Provide on-site, immediate response for all hospital emergencies following ACLS protocols.
   • Enter prescriptions on computer, giving injections, filing charting information in patient chart.

   More primary care physician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your primary care physician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A primary care physician can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, primary care physicians' average salary in hawaii is 35% less than in north dakota.
   • Seniority. Entry-level primary care physicians 61% less than senior-level primary care physicians.
   • Certifications. A primary care physician with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a primary care physician's salary.

   Average primary care physician salary

   $214,843yearly

   $103.29 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level primary care physician salary

   $134,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 28, 2025

   Average primary care physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$258,459	$124
   2	Minnesota	$242,990	$117
   3	Oregon	$237,858	$114
   4	California	$225,786	$109
   5	New Mexico	$224,334	$108
   6	New Hampshire	$224,032	$108
   7	Colorado	$219,776	$106
   8	Nevada	$219,697	$106
   9	Texas	$219,524	$106
   10	Georgia	$213,390	$103
   11	Illinois	$213,351	$103
   12	Pennsylvania	$213,068	$102
   13	Missouri	$210,468	$101
   14	Alabama	$208,251	$100
   15	Oklahoma	$204,854	$98
   16	Ohio	$204,494	$98
   17	Indiana	$203,982	$98
   18	Maine	$203,885	$98
   19	Michigan	$203,498	$98
   20	Florida	$199,059	$96

   Average primary care physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Alameda Health System	$270,356	$129.98	25
   2	Freeman Health System	$269,797	$129.71	4
   3	Dignity Health	$259,810	$124.91	199
   4	Baptist Health Care	$259,122	$124.58	19
   5	Mayo Clinic	$258,401	$124.23	185
   6	Cottage Health	$258,077	$124.08	23
   7	Harrison County Community Hospital	$254,778	$122.49
   8	Cameron Regional Medical Center	$253,845	$122.04
   9	Fairview Health Services	$251,755	$121.04	115
   10	Saint Luke's Health System	$250,020	$120.20	6
   11	OSF HealthCare	$249,555	$119.98	199
   12	TJ Regional Health	$248,903	$119.66
   13	Lowell General Hospital	$248,838	$119.63
   14	Carbon	$244,849	$117.72
   15	MaineGeneral Health	$244,447	$117.52	13
   16	Coquille Valley Hospital	$244,186	$117.40
   17	Community Health Systems	$243,303	$116.97	86
   18	Mercy Corps	$243,243	$116.94	19
   19	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$242,853	$116.76	56
   20	Pikeville Medical Center	$242,834	$116.75

4. Writing a primary care physician job description

   A primary care 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 primary care physician job description:

   Primary care physician job description example

   Lee Health is a non-profit organization with nearly 90 practice locations throughout Southwest Florida. We have more than 16,000 employees, 4,500 volunteers, and over 830 employed primary care and specialty care providers. Our health system has four acute care hospitals and two specialty hospitals that together house 1,812 hospital beds.

   Position Information:

   Lee Physician Group Primary Care is seeking full time board eligible/board certified physicians in both internal medicine and family medicine to join practices in Fort Myers and the surrounding areas.

   LPG is seeking candidates interested in providing comprehensive and preventive care to their patients

   We have a variety of primary care practice structures, including both full-spectrum family medicine and adults only

   Practices have strong clinical support using team based care

   Schedules can be flexible, with options varying by practice location

   After-hours call by telephone only

   Physicians use Dragon dictation and EPIC EHR

   Benefits Summary:

   - Offers a competitive compensation package with salary and bonus opportunities

   - Generous paid time off to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL SW FLORIDA WEATHER AND BEACHES

   - Sign on bonus & relocation package

   - Dedicated CME time and funding

   - Malpractice through sovereign immunity

   - 403(b) retirement plan with match and 457(b) enhanced retirement option

   - Short term/long term disability

   - Participation in the Federal Public Service Loan Repayment/Forgiveness Program

   Fort Myers:

   In Fort Myers, there is something for everyone. With warm weather all year round, the area has numerous outdoor activities right at your fingertips, such as, boating, playing golf, fishing, enjoying the wildlife, beautiful walking & biking trails, and so much more! Fort Myers also has numerous restaurants, plenty of shopping close by in our malls and outlets, art, history and a wide variety of festivals all year round.

   Fort Myers International Airport is easy to get to, easy to use, and offers numerous direct flights and connections to meet all of your travel needs. Those in this area are also able to enjoy the Key West Express which allows for a 3-hour boat ride down to Key West! Fort Myers is minutes away from Sanibel Island, Captiva, and Naples. This area is also conveniently located near three of Floridas major cities, Orlando, Tampa and Miami.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right primary care physician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with primary care physicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit primary care physicians who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with primary care physician candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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 primary care physician

   Once you've found the primary care physician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new primary care physician. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a primary care physician?