Internal medicine physicians saw the greatest average signing bonus offered to recruits this year among the five most requested medical specialties, according to Merritt Hawkins' 2020 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives.
The report tracks a representative sample of 3,251 permanent physician and advanced practitioner recruiting engagements Merritt Hawkins/AMN Healthcare's physician staffing companies conducted from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020.
Searches were primarily conducted for hospitals (36 percent) and group practices (32 percent) but also occurred for urgent care, federally qualified health centers, academics, Indian Health Service and concierge medicine.
Analysts found that signing bonuses offered to physicians averaged $27,893 this year, down from $32,692 the year prior. Average signing bonuses offered to nurse practitioners and physician assistants also declined year over year, from $9,000 to $8,500.
The following figures are signing bonuses for the five specialties most in demand.
Internal Medicine
Average: $26,000
High: $75,000
Low: $10,000
Family Practice
Average: $25,100
High: $75,000
Low: $2,500
Psychiatry
Average: $24,704
High: $50,000
Low: $10,000
OB-GYN
Average: $24,660
High: $100,000
Low: $10,000
Radiology
Average: $23,428
High: $100,000
Low: $8,000
To view a list of average base salaries for 20 recruited medical specialties, click here.