For a hospital, an open physician position is a service-line problem: coverage gaps, lost volume and burned-out colleagues. Capstone Recruiting Advisors recruits permanent physicians and advanced practice providers for hospitals and health systems in every specialty. We work alongside your in-house team as an extension of it, taking on the searches that need more time and attention than a full desk allows.
The numbers behind the pressure
- Searches take months. The median physician search took 119 days in 2025, and the typical physician started 229 days after the job was posted (AAPPR via Becker’s).
- Half stay open. 50% of physician searches were still open at the end of 2025.
- In-house teams are stretched. Recruiters carried a median of 36.5 searches each, while median department budgets fell 7.4%.
- Vacancies are expensive. Physicians generate an average of $2.38 million a year in net revenue for their affiliated hospitals (Fierce Healthcare).
- The shortage is growing. The AAMC projects a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036 (AAMC).
Where Capstone helps most
- Hard-to-fill specialties — GI, urology, neurology, cardiology, oncology, endocrinology and others where fill rates are lowest.
- Community hospitals — where telling the hospital’s story well makes the difference.
- Service-line launches and expansions — recruiting the first physicians for a new program.
- Overflow for in-house teams — taking specific searches off a full desk.
How we work with your team
- We align with your in-house recruiters on roles, messaging and candidate flow, so we add capacity without duplicating outreach.
- We design each search around the service line, call model, comp plan and community.
- We go after passive physicians — 81% of our placements came from physicians who weren’t job-hunting.
- We present only vetted, interested candidates and coordinate site visits.
- We support offers through signature and stay involved through start date.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work alongside hospital in-house recruiters?
Yes. We often take specific hard-to-fill searches so the in-house team can focus on the rest.
Can you help us reduce locum tenens spending?
Yes. Converting long-running locum coverage into permanent hires is a common reason hospitals call us.
Do you recruit for academic medical centers?
Yes. See academic medical center recruitment.
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