How to hire a staff physician

How to hire a staff physician, step by step

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

What does a staff physician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your staff 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 staff 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 staff physician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, staff 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 shows salaries for various types of staff physicians.

   Type of Staff Physician	Description	Hourly rate
   Staff 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	$65-165
   Medical Doctor	A Medical Doctor, also known as a physician, is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats patients from injuries and illnesses. As a Medical Doctor, your day-to-day duties will typically include assessing a patient's symptoms, prescribing and administering treatment to patients, and providing follow-up medical care to patients... Show more	$45-166
   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
   • Surgery
   • Internal Medicine
   • Rehabilitation
   • Primary Care
   • Veterans
   • Physician Assistants
   • Family Practice
   • Pediatrics
   • Family Medicine
   • Resuscitation
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Medical Services
   • Emergency Medicine

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Initiate new treatment protocols for managing complex patients with co-morbid psychiatric and medical illnesses.
   • Read x-ray & ekg till refer to specialist.
   • Serve as a junior house physician in the pediatrics and neonatology intensive care unit.
   • Assist and independently place hem dialysis catheter.
   • Initial medical evaluation and medical management of patients receiving medication assist therapy for chemical dependency.
   • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service

   More staff physician duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, staff physicians' average salary in hawaii is 27% less than in north dakota.
   • Seniority. Entry-level staff physicians 60% less than senior-level staff physicians.
   • Certifications. A staff 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 staff physician's salary.

   Average staff physician salary

   $216,755yearly

   $104.21 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level staff physician salary

   $136,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average staff physician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Minnesota	$259,073	$125
   2	Wisconsin	$236,982	$114
   3	Michigan	$229,527	$110
   4	Indiana	$225,524	$108
   5	Louisiana	$223,091	$107
   6	Texas	$221,872	$107
   7	New York	$219,472	$106
   8	Iowa	$216,995	$104
   9	Ohio	$212,904	$102
   10	Alabama	$212,701	$102
   11	Maine	$211,571	$102
   12	California	$210,086	$101
   13	Arizona	$207,099	$100
   14	Missouri	$203,885	$98
   15	Illinois	$198,984	$96
   16	Connecticut	$198,654	$96
   17	West Virginia	$196,993	$95
   18	Maryland	$193,812	$93
   19	Tennessee	$192,555	$93
   20	Florida	$192,456	$93

   Average staff physician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Scripps Health	$264,362	$127.10
   2	Mayo Clinic	$263,023	$126.45	160
   3	Dignity Health	$256,256	$123.20	185
   4	Baptist Health Care	$255,101	$122.64	2
   5	Wood County Hospital	$251,883	$121.10
   6	DMH	$247,059	$118.78
   7	Punxsutawney Area Hospital	$245,333	$117.95
   8	Beaumont Health	$242,992	$116.82
   9	Community Health Systems	$242,768	$116.72	103
   10	Erlanger Health System	$241,989	$116.34	62
   11	Trinity Health	$240,505	$115.63	431
   12	Southeastern Lifestyle Fitness Center Lumberton	$238,355	$114.59	18
   13	Capital Region Medical Center	$238,170	$114.50
   14	BJC HealthCare	$237,830	$114.34	129
   15	Four Seasons	$237,658	$114.26	3
   16	State of Connecticut	$236,790	$113.84	9
   17	Dallas Regional Medical Center	$235,603	$113.27
   18	Covenant HealthCare	$234,000	$112.50	6
   19	Greater Houston Anesthesiology	$231,707	$111.40
   20	Jellico Medical Center	$231,394	$111.25

4. Writing a staff physician job description

   A staff 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a staff physician job description:

   Staff physician job description example

   Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services is dedicated to Hope, Healing, and Recovery for our patients. We are in partnership with Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital and are currently seeking a physician to serve in a medical staff role. This is a 50 bed inpatient rehabilitation facility that serves patients in need of rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational, and speech-language therapies.
   
   Your career growth begins when you join an interdisciplinary team, where doctors, nurses, therapists and other experts work together to form individualized care plans for our patients and residents. The goal of our team is to focus on each patient as an individual to ensure that we are meeting their clinical needs and creating a fun and dynamic healing environment.
   
   The position is an Independent Contractor role and will collaborate with the Medical Director, Program Director (or CEO) and the entire clinical team to provide clinical care in conformance with the facility's policies and procedures, state and federal laws and regulations, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission.
   Why partner with Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services?
   
   
   Independent contractor status
   Flexible schedule
   Latest technology
   Team environment
   Training and support
   Best in Class compliance team
   
   
   
   
   Qualifications
   As a physician you will have:
   
   
   Doctor of medicine or osteopathy, duly licensed and registered to practice medicine or surgery, and is in good standing under the laws of the state.
   Certified and maintains all board certifications in his or her specialty areas by a nationally recognized board.
   Demonstrates appropriate experience or training to provide rehabilitation services through one of the following:
   
   A formal residency in PMR
   A fellowship in rehabilitation for a minimum of one year
   Has completed a one year hospital internship with a minimum of two years' of training or experience as a collaborative team member in the medical management of inpatients requiring rehabilitation services

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find staff physicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any staff physicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level staff physicians with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your staff physician job on Zippia to find and recruit staff physician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting staff 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 staff physician

   Once you've selected the best staff physician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   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.

   To prepare for the new staff physician first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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How much does it cost to hire a staff physician?