Why great private practices get overlooked in physician recruiting, and what real representation looks like

Picture a six-physician GI group with a real partnership track, a fair call schedule and its own surgery center. It loses a candidate to a hospital offer the candidate never really wanted, because nobody told them the group’s story. We see this pattern more than any other: the practices with the most to offer are often the least represented.

Most physicians still practice in groups like these

In the AMA’s 2024 Physician Practice Benchmark Survey, 37.2% of physicians worked in single-specialty practices and 27.8% in multispecialty practices. Nearly half (47.4%) worked in practices of 10 or fewer physicians (AMA).

Those groups are hiring against heavy competition. Hospitals and corporate buyers acquired about 13,900 physician practices in 2024 and 2025 alone (PAI and Avalere Health). Every independent group with an open seat is competing for the same physicians as systems with bigger budgets and full recruiting departments.

Why these practices get underrepresented

1. Recruiting runs on volume. Many large firms are built around health-system contracts with dozens of open searches. One search for a six-physician group rarely wins a recruiter’s week.
2. Hospitals have in-house teams; most practices don’t. The median in-house physician recruitment department ran on a $512,500 budget in 2025, with each in-house recruiter carrying about 36.5 searches (AAPPR via Becker’s). In a private practice, recruiting usually lands on the administrator or a physician partner, on top of their real job.
3. The best parts don’t fit in a job ad. Ownership path, buy-in, ancillaries, call, culture, who makes decisions. A posting shows specialty, city and a salary range, so a candidate compares that number with a hospital guarantee and moves on.
4. Template pitches flatten the difference. When your practice is pitched the same way as every other opening on a recruiter’s desk, candidates hear the same pitch and can’t tell why yours is different.

What an open seat costs a small group

The median physician search took 119 days in 2025, and half of all physician searches were still open at year-end (AAPPR via Becker’s). In a health system, one vacancy is a line item. In a five-partner group, it means more call for everyone, longer waits for patients and partners who are tired before the search even starts.

What real representation looks like

• Learn the practice before the search starts: the partnership track, buy-in, compensation, call, payer mix and why people stay.
• Tell that story to the physicians it fits. Physicians who want ownership, autonomy or a specific practice model are out there. They need to hear about yours from someone who understands it.
• Screen for fit before you send a CV, so partners spend their time on candidates who already want what the practice offers.
• Keep the practice in the loop. Every Capstone client gets a login to our client portal to see each provider we submit, with CV and candidate summary.

Questions to ask any recruiting firm

• Who will actually work our search, and how many other searches are they carrying?
• How will you describe our practice to candidates? Can we see the pitch?
• How do you screen for fit, not just credentials?
• How will we see progress along the way?

For more, see our guide on how to choose a physician recruitment firm.

How Capstone works with practices

Capstone Recruiting Advisors is a boutique, partner-led firm focused on permanent physician and APP placement. We recruit every specialty, nationwide, for private and single-specialty practices, multispecialty groups, membership medicine practices, PE platforms and hospitals. Our partners bring 30+ years of combined experience and 100+ placements, and clients typically save 20–30% compared with larger national firms. For most practices we recommend a dedicated search, so your practice gets committed time and attention. Talk to a partner about your search

Frequently asked questions

Why do private practices have a harder time recruiting physicians?

Usually not because the job is worse. Hospitals have in-house recruiting teams and bigger budgets, while practice recruiting often falls to a busy administrator or partner. The things that make a practice attractive, like ownership, autonomy and culture, are also hard to get across in a job posting.

Is a recruiting firm worth it for a small practice?

It can be, if the firm actually represents the practice. Look for a firm that learns your partnership track, call and culture before it starts. Ask who will work the search and how many others they carry.

What’s the difference between a dedicated and a contingent search?

A dedicated search starts with a small initiation fee and gets a committed recruiter and plan from day one. A contingent search is paid only at placement. We recommend one or the other based on the role and the practice.