Primary Care Physician Signing Bonuses Becoming the Norm
FRIDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Signing bonuses for primary care physicians are becoming ubiquitous in a competitive hiring landscape, according to an article published Oct. 25 in Medical Economics.
The Medicus Firm conducted a physician compensation survey, an annual survey of over 2,500 doctors.
The survey found that 85.27 percent of the searches the firm filled last year offered a signing bonus for primary care physicians. The average signing bonus was $24,037, with the highest bonus offered being $150,000. The firm suggests that the shortage of primary care physicians and the competitiveness of the market are making signing bonuses the new normal. Compensation plans are also shifting towards base salary plus incentive compensation.
"Sign-on bonuses were once considered icing on the cake, but now they're more like the cake itself," Jim Stone, president of the Medicus Firm, told Medical Economics. "They've gone from being nice to have to being expected."
