How to hire a public health physician

How to hire a public health physician, step by step

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

What does a public health physician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a public health physician, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   This list presents public health physician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Public Health Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Public Health 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	$49-183
   Family Practice MD	A family practice MD is responsible for monitoring and diagnosing patients' conditions of all ages. Family practice MDs identify the patients' medical histories and administer treatment plans and medications... Show more	$76-292
   Family Practice Doctor	Family practice doctors provide lifelong care for a patient and their family. They offer medical attention to all family members, educates patients on disease prevention, provide health maintenance, and ensure mental and emotional needs are met... Show more	$48-165

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Primary Care
   • Patient Care
   • Urgent Care
   • Family Practice
   • Medical Care
   • Epic
   • Public Health
   • Health Services
   • Physical Examinations
   • Medical Services
   • Hematology Oncology
   • EHR
   • Medical History

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop skills in managing diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension.
   • Educate employees about the prevention of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
   • Develop, administer, and follow up on new to EHR competency assessments complete by new hires during EMR training.
   • Work and supervise patients with severe emotional problems.
   • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
   • Scan and upload patient documentation into eClinicalWorks system.

   More public health physician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the public health physician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A public health physician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a public health physician in Massachusetts may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level public health physician. Additionally, a public health physician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average public health physician salary

   $199,316yearly

   $95.83 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level public health physician salary

   $103,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average public health physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$231,466	$111
   2	Florida	$224,693	$108
   3	Minnesota	$221,842	$107
   4	Ohio	$219,670	$106
   5	Kentucky	$214,034	$103
   6	Wisconsin	$212,945	$102
   7	Georgia	$210,823	$101
   8	Illinois	$205,326	$99
   9	Oklahoma	$199,391	$96
   10	New Hampshire	$199,058	$96
   11	Virginia	$198,789	$96
   12	Arizona	$197,296	$95
   13	Colorado	$197,142	$95
   14	Michigan	$196,347	$94
   15	Indiana	$189,875	$91
   16	North Carolina	$187,502	$90
   17	Pennsylvania	$186,089	$89
   18	Washington	$184,069	$88
   19	Maryland	$180,165	$87
   20	Texas	$177,891	$86

   Average public health physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Alameda Health System	$282,164	$135.66	30
   2	Humana	$281,948	$135.55	221
   3	Baptist Health Care	$277,898	$133.60
   4	Community Health Systems	$273,247	$131.37	14
   5	Essentia Health	$255,430	$122.80	776
   6	Mohawk Valley Health System	$252,306	$121.30	3
   7	Olathe Health	$250,894	$120.62
   8	Atrium Health Floyd	$244,457	$117.53	111
   9	Highland General Hospital	$241,904	$116.30
   10	Novant Health	$240,439	$115.60	27
   11	COUNTY OF MERCED	$238,063	$114.45	2
   12	Merritt Hawkins	$229,974	$110.56
   13	Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital Inc	$223,131	$107.27	4
   14	Partners Healthcare Solutions Inc	$222,101	$106.78
   15	AdventHealth	$221,543	$106.51	92
   16	CHI Health	$219,136	$105.35
   17	Health Research, Inc.	$214,460	$103.11	3
   18	Southern Vermont Health & Recreation Center Foundation Inc	$212,181	$102.01	3
   19	SSM Health	$210,380	$101.14	49
   20	Medstar Health	$209,829	$100.88	10

4. Writing a public health physician job description

   A job description for a public health physician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a public health physician job description:

   Public health physician job description example

   Responsibilities. Physician shall provide full time, comprehensive inpatient services at Behavioral Health Hospital Greensboro North Carolina. Evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients within the inpatient setting with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Conducts thorough psychiatric evaluations, develop treatment plans, prescribe medication, and evaluate treatment results.
   
   Qualifications.
   Board Certification in adult psychiatry. Current North Carolina Medical License. DEA. United States citizenship, green card/permanent resident. H1-B on a case-by-case basis.
   Overview. If you desire to practice in a dynamic and growing community-based health care system, Cone Health may be the choice for you. We currently have a superb full-time opportunity for an outpatient-based psychiatrist at our Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic in Greensboro North Carolina. Located directly across from our Inpatient Behavioral Health Hospital, this exciting and challenging position provides full time, comprehensive outpatient psychiatric services. The city of Greensboro has a population of over 290,000 people and a regional population of approximately 1 million. A superb location within easy driving distance to the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as to the North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia beaches and offers a superb family/quality of life with outstanding weather! Talent Pool: Physicians Responsibilities:
   Education/Training: Utilizes literature and attends regional and national meetings to remain current and professionally competent. Participates inpatient, staff, and professional education programs. Participates in educational and research programs including didactic material , formal teaching conferences, clinical teaching, staff education conferences, and clinical research.
   
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Liaison: Participates in liaison duties with the other professional staff, and in development of patient referral sources. Keeps referring physicians informed of care and outcomes.
   
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Patient Care; Provides direct and indirect patient care to the assigned areas. Provides medical supervision of the interdisciplinary team and supervises residents and medical students in all aspects of their assigned duties. Participates in clinical research projects of interest. Provides accurate and timely documentation and sign off of care to establish up-to-date medical records for billing purposes.
   
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Professional Standards: Models and upholds the professional standards of MCHS including the Medical Staff By-Laws, Service Excellence commitments, practice standards, physician expectations and professional image standards. Acts in concert with MCHS Mission, Visio, and Values. Demonstrates collegial and respectful relationships with colleagues, patients, associates, family, and visitors. Upholds Socratic Oath, honors patient confidentiality, and acts with integrity at all times. Works in alignment and contributes towards achieving the goals and standards of MCHS.
   
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Quality and Safety: Participates, as needed, in medical audits, quality improvement programs, investigations, peer review, and other inquiries relating to the standards of professional care. Provides medical supervision and leadership to the interdisciplinary team to achieve the maximum benefit for each patient. Ensures safe practice standards and regulatory compliance.
   
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Quality Improvement: Engages in continuous improvements and use of evidence based practices working towards preeminent healthcare and service (with outcomes moving into the 90th percentile or above). Maintain records in accordance with the policies of MCHS, applicable laws and regulations. participates in development of clinical guidelines, procedures, programs, and makes recommendations to improve quality and efficiency of care. Shares specifically designated on-call responsibilities with other physician members of the assigned areas.
   
   -------------------------------------------------- Qualifications:
   EDUCATION: Required: Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) from a Medical School recognized by the North Carolina Medical Board. Also medical degrees from other countries that are equivalent to the United States MD or DO degrees from a Medical School recognized by the North Carolina Medical Board.
   EXPERIENCE: Required: Completed appropriate residency training (and fellowship training as required).
   LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION/REGISTRY/LISTING: REQUIRED
   
   Required: Practitioner must have completed the number of years in a residency program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and met all other requirements for eligibility to receive board certification recognized by either the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association in the primary medical specialty (or subspecialty) for which the Practitioner is applying for Clinical Privileges. If five (5) or more years have elapsed since the Practitioner completed such residency program, the Practitioner currently must have board-certification recognized by either the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association in such specialty (or subspecialty).
   
   Fully licensed to practice Medicine in the state of NC.
   
   Meets requirements of the Moses Cone Health System Medical Staff by-laws and obtains the appropriate level of medical staff privileges.
   
   The Practitioner must have a current, and valid DEA registration number, with no involuntary limitations on prescriptive authority (schedule limitations) resulting from DEA disciplinary actions.
   
   Each Practitioner shall maintain in force professional liability insurance as determined by the Moses Cone Health System Medical Executive Committee and Board of Trustees; currently $1 million each incident and each occurrence, and $3 million aggregate. The Practitioner must provide proof of professional liability insurance coverage, with a current certificate of insurance or a current copy of the policy. The professional liability insurance coverage shall be with a company approved by the North Carolina Insurance Commission and otherwise satisfactory to the Board of Trustees.
   
   PREFERRED

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right public health 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.

   To find public health physician candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit public health physicians, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 public health physician

   Once you've found the public health 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been 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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