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

What is a senior physician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The health environment relies heavily on senior physicians for many functions, as you will have to work near patients to control anxiety. But first, you will diagnose health issues, prescribe medications, and follow up with patients regularly. You will often find yourself planning and executing medical programs that will develop children and adolescents' mental and physical health.

Apart from this, you will also work hand-in-hand with surgeons, physicians, ER, ICU, and endoscopy staff. It is your job to review and replan the night schedule for coverage of emergency department consultation requests.

Senior physicians usually study medicine or health care administration in college. You may also obtain a master's degree in either of these disciplines. You will need to interact with patients and other staff members, which is why interpersonal skills are a must-have. When you get a job, the average salary you can expect is $163,931 per year or $78.81 per hour.

ScoreSenior PhysicianUS Average

Salary

9.6

Avg. Salary $178,091

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.9

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 11.57%

Black or African American 5.51%

Hispanic or Latino 12.08%

Unknown 3.79%

White 66.69%

Gender

female 58.19%

male 41.81%

Age - 37

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 - 37

Stress level

9.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior physician

Explore senior physician education requirements

Most common senior physician degrees

Bachelor's

53.2 %

Doctorate

14.8 %

Master's

13.4 %

Start to develop specific senior physician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	31.24%
Internal Medicine	5.81%
Primary Care	5.57%
Family Practice	5.38%
Patient Care	5.36%

Complete relevant senior physician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior physicians 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 senior physician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior physician resumes.

Research senior physician duties and responsibilities

Manage emergency medical treatments on patients with life threatening illnesses and/or injuries.
Work closely with patients to manage their depression and anxiety beginning with initial diagnosis to med-initiation and follow-up care.
Assist with dental surgery and lab procedures.
Provide training and education of clients on EMR submission.

Get senior physician experience

Prepare your senior physician resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable senior physician resume templates

Build a professional senior physician 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 senior physician resume.