How to hire a surgeon

How to hire a surgeon, step by step

Here's a step-by-step surgeon hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a surgeon job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new surgeon
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a surgeon do?

Post a surgeon job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your surgeon 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 surgeon 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 surgeon's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, surgeons 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 surgeons.

   Type of Surgeon	Description	Hourly rate
   Surgeon	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	$40-136
   Physician	Physicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis... Show more	$61-212
   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

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • General Surgery
   • Healthcare
   • Patient Care
   • Mohs
   • Private Practice
   • Ortho
   • Internal Medicine
   • Radiology
   • MRI
   • EMR
   • Primary Care
   • Medical Education
   • Rehabilitation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage insurance authorization and hospital bookings for surgery.
   • Assist senior staff in dental treatment of several complex procedures including dental treatment of medically compromise patients.
   • Coordinate with patients and medical staff at civilian and military treatment facilities to schedule medical appointments and retrieve medical documentation.
   • Observe fracture plating, skin grafting, wind cleaning, amputation, and other Orthopaedic surgeries.

   More surgeon duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your surgeon job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A surgeon salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a surgeon in Utah may be lower than in Maine, and an entry-level surgeon usually earns less than a senior-level surgeon. Additionally, a surgeon with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average surgeon salary

   $155,553yearly

   $74.79 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level surgeon salary

   $85,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average surgeon salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Maine	$171,675	$83
   2	New York	$148,807	$72
   3	Massachusetts	$146,349	$70
   4	Pennsylvania	$145,963	$70
   5	New Jersey	$139,533	$67
   6	Connecticut	$134,919	$65
   7	Ohio	$134,231	$65
   8	Nevada	$132,044	$63
   9	Wisconsin	$131,070	$63
   10	Virginia	$130,235	$63
   11	Washington	$123,995	$60
   12	Minnesota	$123,971	$60
   13	California	$121,043	$58
   14	Michigan	$119,980	$58
   15	Illinois	$117,500	$56
   16	Indiana	$114,903	$55
   17	District of Columbia	$113,061	$54
   18	Missouri	$110,900	$53
   19	Nebraska	$110,620	$53
   20	Arizona	$109,745	$53

   Average surgeon salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	MaineGeneral Health	$367,507	$176.69	18
   2	Scripps Health	$347,792	$167.21
   3	Advocate Aurora Health	$331,658	$159.45	48
   4	Houston Methodist	$322,591	$155.09	61
   5	Altru Health System	$320,443	$154.06	3
   6	Piedmont Healthcare	$319,363	$153.54	59
   7	Aurora Health Care	$318,116	$152.94	30
   8	Northwestern Medicine	$315,988	$151.92	47
   9	Penobscot Valley Hospital	$308,238	$148.19
   10	Baylor Scott & White Health	$307,968	$148.06	468
   11	Wellmont Health System	$305,636	$146.94
   12	DMH	$303,191	$145.76
   13	Virtua Health	$298,222	$143.38	5
   14	Greenwood Leflore Hospital	$293,676	$141.19
   15	OSF HealthCare	$291,872	$140.32	141
   16	Olathe Health	$282,585	$135.86
   17	Northern Arizona Healthcare Corporation	$282,088	$135.62	26
   18	United Medical Center	$279,592	$134.42
   19	Hays Medical Center	$278,145	$133.72
   20	CovenantHealth	$272,463	$130.99	16

4. Writing a surgeon job description

   A surgeon 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 surgeon job description:

   Surgeon job description example

   An inpatient health center in the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Area is looking to add a Critical Care Surgeon to their team. Fort Wayne has been praised for its livability and beauty, with two rivers running through the city, along with a wealth of great architecture and four distinct seasons. The city is also one of Indiana’s cultural hubs, with everything from an annual barbecue rib event to a Japanese cherry blossom festival. The area’s multiple bodies of water also make for great spots for outdoor recreation, including sailing, kayaking, and fishing.
   Certification: MD/DO Title: Critical Care Surgeon Board Status : Board Certified Residency/Training: General Surgery, Critical Care Setting : Inpatient
   
   Compensation & Logistics
   Position Type : Locum Tenens 1099 Availability : Full-Time Scheduling : 7: 00AM – 5: 00PM or 5: 00PM – 7: 00AM
   
   KPG Provider Services is a West Coast Focused Company with offices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We are focused on offering the best, most rewarding opportunities while providing excellent compensation and support.
   
   Outstanding service is at the core of our culture. Our Medical Professionals will experience a service relationship characterized by respect, a sense of urgency, and attention to detail.
   
   Our team offers benefits like geographic expertise, understanding commuting times, and top market compensation rates.
   
   In short, we focus intently on the things that matter to you with a commitment to achieve exceptional outcomes. Call us and experience the difference!
   
   For a complete listing of our current openings visit www.kpgproviders.com!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find surgeons 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 surgeons they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level surgeons 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 surgeon job on Zippia to find and attract quality surgeon candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit surgeons, 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 surgeon

   Once you've found the surgeon 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 important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is 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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How much does it cost to hire a surgeon?