Physician Recruiting FAQ

We charge no upfront fee. A standard placement fee is due only when a candidate we present signs an offer. Fee structure (retained vs. contingency) is agreed in writing during scoping. Standard structure is a percentage of first-year base compensation.

Most searches produce a written, qualified shortlist within 30–60 days of kickoff. Rural and subspecialty surgical roles can extend to 60–120 days. Locum tenens coverage typically starts in 14–30 days for in-state-licensed candidates.

Both. Retained engagements get prioritized recruiter capacity and exclusivity, are appropriate for strategic or hard-to-recruit roles, and include a phased fee structure. Contingency searches are appropriate for non-urgent, broadly competitive roles — no upfront fee, full fee due only on signed placement.

No. Recruiter fees are paid by the hiring employer. Candidates pay nothing for recruiting services, CV review, comp benchmarking, or offer negotiation support.

No. All candidate inquiries are strictly confidential. We do not share names or CVs with any employer without your written consent on a per-opportunity basis.

We routinely talk with physicians who are 12–24 months from a move. We can scope the market, share comp benchmarks for your specialty and geography, and notify you when matching roles open.

Active outreach to our owned candidate network, passive-candidate sourcing across the MedicalRecruiting.com 1.5M-contact healthcare network, board-certification database screening, and referral chains from prior placements.

Yes. Every candidate we present has been screened for board certification, state license eligibility, written compensation expectation alignment, and stated geographic/family fit. Profiles include reason-for-move narrative.

Scoping call (week 1), search activation (weeks 1–2), first qualified shortlist (weeks 4–8), interviews (weeks 6–12), offer (weeks 10–16), signed acceptance (weeks 12–20), start date (90–180 days after acceptance for credentialing).

Standard placement contracts include a replacement window — typically 90 days from the placed physician's start date — during which we conduct a replacement search at no additional fee if the physician departs.

Yes. Signing bonuses, loan-repayment stipends, residency stipends, relocation budgets, and CME allowances are all negotiable and routinely structured into offers we model. We benchmark each lever against MGMA/AAMC ranges for the specialty and geography.

All major medical specialties — see our specialties index for the full list with subspecialty depth. Highest-volume specialties in our active pipeline: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Hospitalist, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, OB/GYN, Cardiology, GI, Radiology, Pulm/CC, and Hematology/Oncology.

All 50 US states plus the District of Columbia. We have particularly deep pipelines in HPSA-designated rural counties and J-1 waiver markets via Conrad State 30 programs.

Yes. See our locum tenens page for engagement specifics, rate ranges, and typical specialty coverage windows.