Sought-after physician specialty roles are taking longer to fill

Modern Healthcare – Wednesday, September 24, 2025
By Tim Broderick

The time it took to fill open positions for the most sought-after physician specialties increased to almost five months in 2024, according to new research.

The nonprofit Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment, with research firm Industry Insights, examined 2024 data from more than 15,000 searches of the association’s site, 61% of which were related to physician searches.

A Modern Healthcare analysis of the data shows the challenge employers have in addressing the physician shortage, which may become more acute as a result of changes in the H-1B visa program and tougher immigration rules. The analysis involved the physician specialties reported in 2023 and 2024 that had more than 100 searches in each of the two years. The analysis found the estimated median days to fill the selected jobs increased by 11.5%, to 145 days in 2024 from 130 days in 2023.

Oncology positions were the hardest to fill, at an estimated median of 332 days. Cardiology positions followed with an estimated median of 248 days to fill.

Here are the top 10 specialties in 2024 with the longest estimated number of days needed to fill an open position.

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