Physician Recruitment Firm
Physician recruitment firm for hospitals, health systems, and community health centers
MedStaff Nationwide is a physician recruitment firm for permanent placement. Our physician recruiters find, vet, and present board-certified physicians, and the nurse practitioners and physician assistants who work alongside them, on contingency: no retainer and no fee unless you hire, a 27-day average time-to-fill, and a replacement guarantee on every placement.
We stand behind every placement — any candidate who doesn't complete onboarding is replaced at no cost.
Why organizations hire us
Retained-search discipline, contingency terms
Most physician recruiting firms either charge a retainer up front or run a high-volume contingency desk that forwards resumes. We do neither. Every search gets a dedicated recruiter, a structured intake, direct outreach to physicians who are not applying anywhere, and a full credential and reference check before you see a candidate.
You pay only when you hire, and if the physician does not complete onboarding we re-run the search at no cost. We are privately owned, based in Milford, Connecticut, and recruit in all 50 states.
Right now we are running 306 active physician searches in 31 states, in markets including Lafayette, Indianapolis, Michigan City, and Crown Point, with posted compensation from $140k–$650k.
Physician search lines
- Permanent physician recruitment306 open
Every specialty, from family medicine and psychiatry to cardiology and surgery
- FQHC and community health recruitment
Physicians for health centers, with loan repayment and FTCA coverage built into the pitch
- Hospital and health system recruitment
Employed physicians, hospitalists, and specialists for community and regional systems
- Rural and critical access recruitment
The searches postings cannot fill, with relocation and loan repayment settled up front
- Locum tenens coverage
Interim physicians through MedStaff Locum Tenens while the permanent search runs
- Nurse practitioners and physician assistants
Advanced practice providers for the same clinics and service lines
Physician searches by specialty
The physician searches we are running right now
Live counts from our open permanent searches, updated hourly. Posted compensation is the annual range advertised on those searches; the specialty links go to each recruiting page and the counts to the open roles.
| Specialty | Open searches | States | Posted compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family medicine | 136 | 27 | $160k–$450k |
| Psychiatry | 41 | 13 | $230k–$500k |
| Cardiology | 24 | 6 | $300k–$700k |
| OB/GYN | 19 | 9 | $140k–$490k |
| Internal medicine | 14 | 8 | $175k–$355k |
| Hospital medicine | 7 | 3 | $515k |
| Pediatrics | 7 | 5 | $215k–$305k |
| Surgery | 4 | 2 | — |
| Other physician specialties | 54 | 13 | $200k–$790k |
| All physician searches | 306 | 31 | $140k–$650k |
What each physician search turns on
- Family medicine
- Our largest physician search line. Outpatient only or with hospital or OB coverage, panel size, and call decide the pool; health center and rural roles add loan repayment to the pitch.
- Internal medicine
- Outpatient internists for primary care and specialty clinics. Most candidates weigh a clinic role against hospital medicine, so schedule, panel, and support staff are settled at intake.
- Hospital medicine
- Hospitalists and nocturnists, usually on block schedules such as seven on, seven off. Census, admissions per shift, ICU coverage, and nights set the market rate.
- Psychiatry
- Adult, child and adolescent, and addiction psychiatry across inpatient units, community mental health, outpatient clinics, and telepsychiatry. Call and the in-person to virtual mix decide who accepts.
- OB/GYN
- Full-scope OB/GYN, gynecology-only, and laborist roles. Delivery volume and the call model are the first questions every candidate asks, so both are in writing before the search opens.
- Pediatrics
- General pediatricians for practices and community health centers, and pediatric hospitalists. Panel size, call, and newborn nursery coverage shape the search.
- Cardiology
- Invasive, non-invasive, and interventional cardiologists for hospital systems and specialty groups. Cath lab call and the split between clinic, imaging, and procedures define the role.
- Surgery
- General and specialty surgeons for community and regional hospitals, where call coverage, OR block time, and the referral base decide the search.
- Neurology, GI, pulmonology, and other specialties
- Subspecialists for health systems building or backfilling a service line. Referral volume, procedure mix, and call sharing set the candidate’s expectations.
- Medical directors
- Physician leaders for clinics, health centers, and behavioral health programs, screened for leadership and operations experience as well as clinical depth.
Who we recruit physicians for
Every setting that employs physicians, and what each search turns on
The discipline is the same everywhere: a structured intake, direct outreach, verification, and a managed credentialing file. The pitch, the candidate pool, and the timeline change with the setting.
Hospitals and health systems
Employed physicians for community hospitals, regional systems, and multi-site networks: hospitalists, specialists, and the employed primary care that feeds them. Privileging runs alongside the search so the start date holds.
FQHCs and community health centers
Family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, and psychiatry for health centers and look-alikes, recruited on loan repayment, schedule, and mission rather than base salary alone.
Rural and critical access hospitals
Physicians for communities where postings bring nobody. Relocation, loan repayment, call sharing, and what the community offers a family are part of the pitch from the first call.
Medical groups and private practices
Single-specialty and multispecialty groups adding a physician or replacing a retiring partner, with the partnership track and productivity terms explained before the first interview.
Behavioral health organizations
Psychiatrists for community mental health centers, inpatient units, and outpatient programs, alongside the psychiatric nurse practitioners and therapists who work with them.
Urgent care networks
Physicians for urgent care, where shift length, site coverage, and patient volume per shift decide the hire.
FQHC and community health
Physician recruitment for FQHCs and community health centers
Community health centers compete for the same physicians as the hospital down the road, usually with a lower base salary. They win on what a hospital often cannot offer: National Health Service Corps and state loan repayment at eligible sites, malpractice coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act at deemed health centers, predictable outpatient schedules, and a mission many physicians went into medicine for.
We put the site's HPSA score, NHSC status, and loan repayment figures into the first candidate conversation, and screen for mission fit and comfort with a Medicaid-heavy, sliding-fee panel. Health centers can also sponsor J-1 physicians through their state's Conrad 30 waiver program, which requires three years of full-time service at the site.
Our FQHC recruitment page covers every role a health center hires for, and our FQHC recruiting playbook explains the pay, loan repayment, and pitch that win.
Settled before an FQHC search opens
- HPSA score and National Health Service Corps site status
- NHSC, state, and employer loan repayment, with the amount in writing
- FTCA deeming and what it covers for the new physician
- Panel size, visit length, and the Medicaid and sliding-fee mix
- Integrated behavioral health and dental on site
- Evening and weekend clinic hours, and call
- The languages the patient population needs
Our Process
How a physician search runs
Deep Discovery
We start with a structured intake — understanding your clinical needs, culture, and mission.
Precision Sourcing
Drawing on our 190,000-candidate database and direct outreach, we identify the nation's top providers.
Vetting & Compliance
Every candidate is screened for credentials, references, licensure, and motivation before you ever see a résumé.
Presentation & Feedback
Expect curated shortlists, transparent timelines, and proactive updates — no surprises.
Partnership Beyond Placement
We track retention and performance post-hire and stay engaged for long-term success.
Cost
What a physician recruitment firm costs, and when you pay
We work on contingency. There is no retainer, no engagement fee, and no fee unless you hire. The placement fee is a percentage of the physician's first-year base compensation, agreed in writing before the search opens, and it does not change if the search runs long.
Against that fee, an open physician position costs lost visits, locum bills, and strain on the physicians covering the gap, every week it stays open.
- When the fee is owed
- Only when you hire. Nothing is owed when the search opens, when candidates are presented, or if the search does not close. The payment terms are written into the agreement before the search opens.
- Replacement guarantee
- If a placed physician does not complete onboarding, we re-run the search at no additional cost. Our 12-month retention across placements is 96 percent.
- The market
- Our guide to how much physician recruiters charge covers the fee ranges firms quote and how each pricing model works.
Retained, contingency, or engaged search
- Retained search
- One firm, engaged exclusively and paid in installments, commonly a third at signing, a third at candidate presentation, and a third at placement, whether or not the search fills. Built for physician executives, academic searches, and rare subspecialties.
- Contingency search
- The firm is paid only when you hire a candidate it presented, and it carries the risk of the search. The right fit for nearly all clinical roles, and for health centers and rural hospitals that cannot pay a retainer for a search that may not fill. This is how we work.
- Engaged search
- A modest fee at signing, credited against a reduced contingency fee at placement: a middle path some firms offer on hard searches.
The trade-offs in full: retained vs. contingency physician search.
Choosing a firm
What to ask any physician recruitment firm, and our answers
Our guide to choosing a physician recruiting firm lists the questions that separate the best firms from the rest. These are our answers, in writing, before you sign anything.
If your search is a better fit for a retained firm, such as a department chair or a rare subspecialty in a small market, we will tell you on the first call.
- Who will run the search?
- One named recruiter owns your search from intake to start date and sends you a written update every week.
- Where do candidates come from?
- Direct outreach to physicians who are working and not applying anywhere, from a database of more than 190,000 clinicians, alongside applicants to the roles we advertise. Every candidate gets the same screen, wherever they came from.
- What is verified before a candidate is presented?
- License status, board certification or eligibility, references, and why the physician would move, where, and on what terms. You see a curated shortlist, not a stack of resumes.
- How is the fee structured, and when is it due?
- A percentage of first-year base compensation, agreed in writing before the search opens and owed only if you hire. No retainer, and no engagement fee.
- What does the guarantee cover?
- If the physician does not complete onboarding, we re-run the search at no cost.
- What is your average time-to-fill?
- 27 days from signed agreement to accepted offer, measured across every permanent clinical search, not the best case.
- Can we talk to your clients?
- Yes. Ask on the first call for references from organizations like yours.
Searches in progress
Physician roles we are recruiting for today
Physician - OB/GYN
Psychiatric Provider
Staff Psychiatrist
Pediatrician
Psychiatrist
Pulmonologist
Which one you need
Physician recruiters, physician staffing agencies, and job boards
Physician recruitment firm, physician recruiting agency, physician recruiting company, physician headhunter: in a search box the names are interchangeable, and they all describe the first column below. A physician staffing agency is a different service, and a job board is a third. Most organizations that call us have already tried at least one of the other two.
Physician recruiters
A permanent search run by a dedicated recruiter: direct outreach to physicians who are not applying anywhere, full vetting, interview and offer support, and a hire who becomes your employee.
Best for: a role open more than 60 days, a specialty with few active applicants, or a market where the job boards are not producing qualified candidates.
Physician staffing agencies
Locum tenens coverage on a daily or hourly rate. The physician stays the agency's contractor, and the engagement ends when the need does.
Best for: a leave, a seasonal surge, or coverage while a permanent search runs. MedStaff Locum Tenens handles this side.
Job boards
A posting that reaches physicians who are actively looking this week. Low cost, no screening, and the same candidates every competitor sees.
Best for: common roles in strong markets where applicants arrive on their own. When a posting has been up 90 days without a hire, it has become a search.
Physician recruiters by state
Physician recruiters in every state
Each state page lists the searches we are running there, compensation benchmarks by occupation, the licensed-provider pool we recruit from, and the state's federal shortage areas and community health centers. The number beside a state is the searches open there right now.
What Clients Say
“Alyssa is amazing. Does not waste my staff's time. Very articulate and focused.”
“Great company to work with. The staff at MedStaff is reliable, professional, and knowledgeable of client needs. The process was easy and the candidates were outstanding.”
Why Employers Choose MedStaff
- Exclusive access to top-tier clinicians across every specialty
- Dedicated account manager and transparent communication
- National reach with boutique-level attention
- Proven results backed by data, not promises
FAQ
Physician recruitment, answered
- What does a physician recruitment firm do?
- A physician recruitment firm sources, screens, and presents physicians for permanent positions on behalf of a hospital, health system, health center, or medical group. MedStaff Nationwide handles the full search: defining the role, direct outreach to physicians who are not applying anywhere, credential and reference verification, interview coordination, offer support, and follow-through after the start date.
- How much do physician recruiters charge?
- MedStaff Nationwide works on contingency. There is no retainer and no fee unless you hire. The placement fee is a percentage of first-year base compensation, agreed in writing before the search opens, and every placement includes a replacement guarantee.
- Is there a retainer or any up-front cost?
- No. Nothing is owed when the search opens, when candidates are presented, or if the search does not close. The fee is owed only when you hire, on the payment terms written into the agreement.
- How long does it take to recruit a physician?
- The national average for a physician search is several months. Our average time-to-fill across permanent clinical searches is 27 days from signed agreement to accepted offer, with credentialing and licensing started in parallel so the start date holds.
- Is a contingency search as thorough as a retained search?
- Ours is. Every search gets a dedicated recruiter, a structured intake, direct sourcing from our 190,000-candidate database and outreach, and full vetting before presentation. The difference is that you pay only when you hire.
- When should we use a retained search firm instead?
- For physician executive roles such as a chief medical officer or department chair, committee-driven academic searches, and rare subspecialties with a very small candidate pool. For nearly all clinical roles, contingency with one firm is the better fit, and if your search is one we would send to a retained firm, we will tell you on the first call.
- Which physician specialties do you recruit?
- Family medicine, internal medicine, hospital medicine, psychiatry, OB/GYN, pediatrics, cardiology, surgery, neurology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, and other specialties, plus medical directors. We also recruit nurse practitioners, physician assistants, CRNAs, nurses, therapists, psychologists, dentists, and dental hygienists.
- Do you recruit physicians for FQHCs and community health centers?
- Yes. We build National Health Service Corps and state loan repayment, HPSA scoring, FTCA malpractice coverage at deemed health centers, and the schedule into the first candidate conversation, because for many physicians those outweigh a higher base salary elsewhere.
- Do you recruit in my state?
- Yes. We recruit in all 50 states and are running 306 physician searches in 31 states right now. Each state page lists our open searches there, compensation benchmarks by occupation, the licensed-provider pool we recruit from, and federal shortage-area data.
- Is a physician recruitment firm the same as a physician recruiting agency or a physician headhunter?
- Yes. Physician recruitment firm, physician recruiting agency, physician recruiting company, physician search firm, and physician headhunter all describe the same service: a recruiter who finds a physician for a permanent position on your staff. The term that means something different is physician staffing agency, which supplies locum tenens coverage. MedStaff Nationwide runs permanent physician recruitment, and our sister company MedStaff Locum Tenens handles staffing.
- What is the difference between physician recruiters and a physician staffing agency?
- Physician recruiters find a permanent physician who joins your medical staff as your employee, for a one-time placement fee. A physician staffing agency supplies locum tenens physicians on a daily or hourly rate for coverage, and the physician stays the agency's contractor. MedStaff Nationwide does both, permanent search through this practice and interim coverage through MedStaff Locum Tenens, and tells you at intake which one your situation needs.
- Can you cover the position with a locum physician while the search runs?
- Yes. MedStaff Locum Tenens places credentialed physicians on one all-inclusive hourly or daily rate stated on a written Work Order, with malpractice coverage inside the rate and a complete credentialing file to your medical staff office within five business days of the physician accepting the assignment. Conversion terms are written into the agreement if the locum becomes your permanent hire.
- What does the replacement guarantee cover?
- If a placed physician does not complete onboarding, we re-run the search at no additional cost. Our 12-month retention rate across placements is 96 percent.
- Do physicians pay anything to work with you?
- No. The hiring organization pays our fee. Physicians never pay us anything.
- What should I ask physician recruiters before signing an agreement?
- Who will run the search and how often you will hear from them, where candidates come from (direct outreach or job-board applicants), what is verified before a candidate is presented, how the fee is structured and when it is due, what the guarantee covers, and the average time-to-fill across all of their searches rather than the best case.
From our research desk
Related recruiting services
Other clinicians we recruit
For Physicians
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