How to hire a resident physician

How to hire a resident physician, step by step

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

What does a resident physician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your resident physician job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a resident physician for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   Type of Resident Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Resident 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	$37-165
   Doctor	A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary... Show more	$50-196
   Otolaryngologist	An otolaryngologist is a physician who specializes in the care and treatment of the ear, nose, and throat and is commonly known as an ENT (ear, nose, and throat). This type of doctor is unique because they are trained in both medicine and surgery... Show more	$75-234

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Family Medicine
   • Medical Education
   • Primary Care
   • Internal Medicine
   • Psychiatry
   • Critical Care
   • Medical Care
   • Outpatient Clinic
   • EKG
   • Emergency Medicine
   • IV
   • Emergency Room
   • ICU

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
   • See CTO position with Vocada above.

   More resident physician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your resident physician job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A resident physician salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, resident physicians' average salary in oklahoma is 30% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level resident physicians earn 77% less than senior-level resident physicians.
   • Certifications. A resident physician with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a resident physician's salary.

   Average resident physician salary

   $164,598yearly

   $79.13 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level resident physician salary

   $78,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average resident physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$136,654	$66
   2	California	$135,337	$65
   3	Connecticut	$131,387	$63
   4	North Dakota	$126,314	$61
   5	Oregon	$124,221	$60
   6	New Jersey	$122,905	$59
   7	New York	$117,917	$57
   8	Pennsylvania	$117,022	$56
   9	Florida	$116,288	$56
   10	Nevada	$116,087	$56
   11	Wisconsin	$115,876	$56
   12	District of Columbia	$111,507	$54
   13	Georgia	$111,483	$54
   14	Ohio	$111,233	$53
   15	Tennessee	$108,416	$52
   16	Michigan	$106,756	$51
   17	South Carolina	$105,292	$51
   18	Iowa	$102,522	$49
   19	Illinois	$101,316	$49
   20	Missouri	$99,260	$48

   Average resident physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Baptist Health Care	$252,563	$121.42
   2	Aurora Health Care	$239,644	$115.21	8
   3	Harrison Steve MD	$237,315	$114.09
   4	Prime Healthcare	$207,707	$99.86	56
   5	North Shore Health Systems	$206,219	$99.14
   6	ST. JOSEPH'S MERCY HEALTH CENTER	$206,219	$99.14
   7	The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania	$206,219	$99.14
   8	Caritas Valley Regional Health System Inc	$206,219	$99.14
   9	METRO HEALTH FOUNDATION OF	$206,219	$99.14
   10	Integrity Locums	$205,824	$98.95
   11	Providence Health & Services	$202,766	$97.48	213
   12	Acadia Healthcare	$189,389	$91.05	21
   13	Marshall University	$184,396	$88.65	4
   14	LifePoint Health	$183,335	$88.14	73
   15	WESTERN RESERVE HEALTH EDUCATION INC	$181,552	$87.28
   16	Optum	$177,397	$85.29	264
   17	St. Francis Medical Center	$176,683	$84.94	12
   18	University Of South Dakota Foundation	$170,743	$82.09
   19	Piedmont Healthcare	$164,496	$79.08	157
   20	In His Image	$161,853	$77.81

4. Writing a resident physician job description

   A job description for a resident 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 resident physician job description:

   Resident physician job description example

   Under supervision of a licensed, practicing physician with medical staff privileges, observes and provides medical services within scope of practice to patients in an assigned area.
   
   All candidates/residents/fellows must possess the physical and mental skills and abilities necessary to successfully complete the Residency/fellowship Program Curriculum. To be successful, one must progress with increasing independence throughout the program and, by the time of program completion, must be capable of competent and independent practice in that field. To achieve the optimal educational experience, residents/fellows are required to participate in all phases of the training program. The faculty of STF residency/fellowship programs recognizes its responsibility to recommend applicants for residency/fellowship training who have the knowledge, attitude and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. The faculty is responsible for adhering to these standards during the selection of resident/fellow applicants and promotion of residents/fellows in the residency/fellowship program. This policy is not meant to be all-inclusive or to constitute all measures or standards.
   
   Residency/fellowship requires a specific set of minimum physical, mental, emotional and social abilities necessary to be successful. Candidates/Residents/fellows must possess all of the abilities listed in the five categories outlined in this policy. The use of an intermediary that would, in effect, require a candidate/resident/fellow to rely on someone else's power of observation or communication would not be permitted. Although these standards serve to delineate the necessary physical and mental abilities of all candidates/residents/fellows, they are not intended to deter any candidate/resident/fellow for whom reasonable accommodation will allow the fulfillment of the complete training program. This policy does not preclude the residency/fellowship from temporarily restructuring resident/fellow duties as it deems appropriate for candidates/residents/fellows with acute illness, injury, or other circumstances of a temporary nature.
   *Minimum Education*
   X Graduate of a college of medicine in the United States accredited by COCA or LCME
   X Graduate of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
   X American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredited medical schools
   X COMLEX Part II, or USMLE Step 2 X PREFERRED
   X Graduate of an accepted international medical university
   
   *Minimum Education*
   □ Doctor of Medicine X Required
   
   *Required Skills*
   Requires critical thinking skills, decisive judgment and the ability to work with minimal supervision. Must be able to work in a stressful environment and take appropriate action.
   
   *Required Skills*
   Georgia law requires Residents/fellows to hold a current training license for practice in his/her specialty; your appointment is subject to maintaining a training license or unrestricted license from the State of Georgia and from any other state's licensing authority where the Resident may be assigned. Upon renewal of a required license, Resident/fellows must provide a copy of current license renewal to the GME office immediately. Resident/fellow shall notify the GME office of any action threatened or taken against his/her license.
   
   If Resident/fellow has or elects to obtain an unrestricted license during residency/fellowship, Resident shall provide documentation of licensure to the GME office along with any renewal information and any action threatened or taken against his/her license. All licensure requirements as defined by state law and STF must be met prior to entry into the residency/fellowship and to continue residency/fellowship.
   
   **Job:** **Please select a valid job field*
   
   **Organization:** **St. Francis Hospital*
   
   **Title:** *Physician Resident PGY-2*
   
   **Location:** *Georgia-Columbus*
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find resident physicians for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting resident 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 resident physician

   Once you have selected a candidate for the resident physician position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new resident 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.)

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