OB/GYN Recruitment

Question: We are recruiting a half-time OB/GYN for our practice. What would be appropriate to offer as a starting salary?

Answer: According to the MGMA, the median salary for an OB/GYN is $262,000. Of course, a part-time physician can expect to make less.

When considering the starting offer, I would also factor in overhead. Overhead costs for someone working 20 hours a week are more than half of those working 40 hours a week. Many costs in medical practice are non-variable; they stay the same no matter how much anyone works.

So, present the whole package. What will be her share of overhead? What will malpractice insurance cost you? Will you need more staff or can she use existing staff?

I’d also encourage considering a productivity-based compensation so that she’d get, say, $100,000 guaranteed, then get another $30,000 if her RVUs meet or exceed 50 percent of benchmarks (use the norm in your practice or MGMA’s). She could be eligible for another bonus or 10 percent of the revenue from any RVUs, provided that they exceed 50 percent of your benchmark by more than 20 percent.

Finally, I recommend asking your potential hires about what they need from the job. If they are happy just finding a part-time spot that let’s them keep a hand in medicine, money may not be the motivating factor.