10 statistics on the competitive physician hiring market

The market for physicians is becoming more intense as hospitals and medical groups compete for a shrinking pool of talent.

Current projections from the Association of American Medical Colleges show the U.S. faces a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, and the demand for care will likely increase as the Baby Boomer population ages. Many physicians and communities are already feeling the pinch.

Medscape conducted a survey of 1,001 physicians from March 20 to April 24, 2025 focused on the openings for physicians within their organizations. Here are 10 takeaways:

1. Two-thirds of the physicians surveyed said their organizations were trying to hire full-time physicians.
2. The competition for talent is heating up across the U.S. The Northeastern states are the most competitive, with 71% of the workplaces trying to hire physicians. Around 69% of healthcare providers in the South and West report having openings, and 66% of workplaces are hiring in the Midwest.
3. More than half of the organizations were hiring at multiple locations, and 81% aim to hire one to five full time physicians.
4. The desirability of open roles is increasing for about half of healthcare workplaces. Over the last three years, the number of qualified physicians applying for open positions grew at 22% of the workplaces, and stayed about the same at another 37%.
5. Despite more applicants coming in, 63% of physicians said there is a shortage of qualified applicants in their markets; 52% said there was a shortage of qualified NP and PA candidates.

• “Even with the team-based approach to care employed by many healthcare facilities today, physicians remain the key to healthcare delivery,” Jeff Decker, president of the physician and leadership solutions division at AMN Healthcare, told Medscape. “You almost can’t have too many of them, and they are always in strong demand.”

6. Just 10% of physicians said they were confident about improving the physician shortage in the coming years; 42% said they were unconfident and 16% were very unconfident.
7. Hiring new physicians isn’t just a “nice to have.” Around 40% of physicians surveyed said the unfilled roles will affect their work-life balance.
8. There are many tactics employers are taking to bring in more qualified physicians. The most popular tactic used was tapping the networks of existing physicians and medical staff members (used by 56% of respondents) while another 32% said they network at conferences and association meetings.
9. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they increased compensation to bring in more candidates and 20% boosted benefits.
10. While many are reporting physician shortages, just 16% said they’d turned away patients because of the shortage; 72% said they haven’t turned patients away for being short staffed, and 11% said they were unsure.

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