Staff physician vs attending physician

The differences between staff physicians and attending physicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a staff physician and an attending physician. Additionally, a staff physician has an average salary of $216,755, which is higher than the $200,702 average annual salary of an attending physician.

The top three skills for a staff physician include patients, surgery and internal medicine. The most important skills for an attending physician are patients, primary care, and surgery.

Staff physician vs attending physician overview

	Staff Physician	Attending Physician
Yearly salary	$216,755	$200,702
Hourly rate	$104.21	$96.49
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	107,732	53,195
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

What does a staff physician do?

A Staff Physician oversees and directs the work of physicians and mid-level practitioners, and assists in internal quality control audits. They are also responsible for making diagnoses and prescribing specialized treatment plans.

What does an attending physician do?

An Attending Physician typically supervises fellows, residents, medical students, and other practitioners. They are responsible for supervising each patient every day, reviewing treatment plans with residents, and supervising patient management documents.

Staff physician vs attending physician salary

Staff physicians and attending physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Staff Physician	Attending Physician
Average salary	$216,755	$200,702
Salary range	Between $136,000 And $344,000	Between $125,000 And $321,000
Highest paying City	Minneapolis, MN	Miami, FL
Highest paying state	North Dakota	New Jersey
Best paying company	Scripps Health	Community Health Systems
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between staff physician and attending physician education

There are a few differences between a staff physician and an attending physician in terms of educational background:

	Staff Physician	Attending Physician
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	Duke University	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Staff physician vs attending physician demographics

Here are the differences between staff physicians' and attending physicians' demographics:

	Staff Physician	Attending Physician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2%	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between staff physician and attending physician duties and responsibilities

Staff physician example 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

Attending physician example responsibilities.

Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Prepare patients for ultrasound guide injections and aspirations which includes draping patients, prepping medications and preparing sterile instruments.
Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.

Staff physician vs attending physician skills

Common staff physician skills

Patients, 28%
Surgery, 10%
Internal Medicine, 7%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Primary Care, 7%
Veterans, 5%

Common attending physician skills

Patients, 35%
Primary Care, 8%
Surgery, 5%
Internal Medicine, 5%
BLS, 4%
Rehabilitation, 3%

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Staff Physician
Staff Physician vs Attending Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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