Radiology among the 6 most-requested talent searches by specialty, staffing firm says

Radiology is among the six most-requested talent searches by medical specialty, a national staffing firm announced on Monday.  

Healthcare employers made 61 requests for radiologists in the 2023-24, behind physician specialties such as gastroenterology (69), internal medicine (85), and OB-GYN (87). Family medicine was the second most popular search among employers, with 188 requests, and nurse practitioners held the top spot for the fourth year in a row (426).

Radiology also was among the top 3 searches by specialty in 2022-23, with 155 engagements, AMN reported previously.

“NPs are in rapidly growing demand as physician shortages persist,” Leah Grant, MBA, president of AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions, said in an Aug. 5 announcement from the Dallas-based company. “Without them, access to healthcare would be even more problematic, particularly in rural and other underserved areas.”

When sorting the list as the top 10 talent search engagements as a percentage of all providers in various specialties (patient care only), radiology was No. 5. Hematology/oncology topped the “absolute demand” list followed by gastroenterology, urology and cardiology. About 63% of AMN Healthcare’s search engagements this year were for physician specialists including diagnostic imaging experts. Like the previous year’s survey, radiologists “remain in strong demand, reflecting the needs of an aging population that is reliant on specialty care.”

“Because older people generate a relatively high number of medical procedures, population aging also drives the need for radiologists and anesthesiologists,” the report noted. “Virtually every medical procedure requires a diagnostic image to be read by a radiologist, which explains why radiologists ranked sixth on AMN Healthcare’s list of most requested search engagements last year.”

New market entrants also are driving demand for radiologists and other physicians, Grant and colleagues noted. In the past, hospitals and medical groups were the primary competitors for docs. But now other talent seekers such as private equity firms, insurance companies, retail clinics, urgent care centers and telehealth platforms are driving increased competition.

“Healthcare is evolving as new market entrants seek to change how and where care is delivered,” Grant said in the announcement. “More types of organizations are recruiting physicians and NPs, causing starting salaries to trend up.”

 Overall radiology salaries across all positions grew by about 4.87% year over year, up to an average starting salary of $495,000. Orthopedic surgeons recorded the highest average pay at $686,000, while dermatologists saw the biggest year-over-year gain at 13.8% (up to $486,000). Family medicine physicians were lowest on the list, earning average pay of $271,000.  

AMN Healthcare also offered salary breakdowns based on practice settings (see table below). Radiologists in academia earn an average salary of $422,000, about 20.4% lower than peers in non-academic settings who average $508,000. Teleradiologists, meanwhile, earn an average of $456,000, AMN reported.

While demand for NPs is high, they still earn far less than physicians. On average, nurse practitioner pay is about $164,000, up 8% year over year and 32% from five years ago. NPs earned an average signing bonus of $11,000 compared to $31,000 for physicians. Average relocation ($11,000) and CME allowances ($4,000) also were higher for physicians compared to NPs (about $8,000 and $2,00, respectively).

AMN Healthcare’s 2024 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives report is based on a representative sample of 2,138 search engagements conducted between April 2023 and March 2024. You can access a copy of the report for free here.