WeekdayDoc Hiring Index · Physicians
Physician hiring index, October 2026: the specialties most in demand
Surgery was the tightest physician specialty in October 2026: postings stayed open a median 39 days and 40% stated a sign-on bonus. Measured from live job postings across 50+ sources — share of openings in a fixed source panel, how long postings stay open, how often a sign-on bonus is stated, and job-seeker interest per opening on WeekdayDoc. 23 of 288 physician specialties had enough postings and employers to be ranked.
Preliminary: October 2026 is still in progress. Figures update weekly until the month ends, then they are frozen.
Tightest specialty
Surgery
highest combined score across share change, seeker interest, time to close and sign-on prevalence
Median days a posting stays open
41
across 23 ranked specialties; postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have since closed
Postings stating a sign-on bonus
29%
median across ranked specialties, this month's postings in the source panel
What changed in October 2026
- Tightest: Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Medical Affairs, Urology, Cardiology.
- Share movers: Internal Medicine +2.3 pts; Surgery +2.1 pts; Primary Care -1.2 pts; Anesthesiology -1.0 pts; General Medicine +0.9 pts.
- Slowest to fill: Medical Affairs (69 days), Urology (68 days), Emergency Medicine (63 days); median 41 days.
- Sign-on bonuses most common: Emergency Medicine (51%), Occupational Medicine (49%), Medical Affairs (43%); median 29%.
- Loosest (most seeker competition on WeekdayDoc): General Medicine, Psychiatry, Pathology.
All ranked physician specialties
Tightness is the average z-score of share change, seeker interest (inverted), days to close and sign-on prevalence. Interest: 1.0 = the physician average on WeekdayDoc. Pay drift: advertised max on re-posted roles, one vote per employer.
| Specialty | Rank | Postings | Share | vs prior 3 mo | Interest | Days to close | Sign-on | Pay drift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surgery | 1 | 553 | 7.7% | +2.1 pts | 0.4× | 39 | 40% | — |
| Emergency Medicine | 2 | 240 | 2.7% | -0.6 pts | 0.6× | 63 | 51% | — |
| Medical Affairs | 3 | 135 | 1.6% | -0.0 pts | 1.7× | 69 | 43% | 0.0% |
| Urology | 4 | 67 | 1.0% | -0.3 pts | 0.2× | 68 | 27% | — |
| Cardiology | 5 | 198 | 3.2% | +0.3 pts | 1.0× | 52 | 36% | — |
| Pediatrics | 6 | 207 | 4.0% | +0.5 pts | 0.8× | 44 | 30% | 0.0% |
| Critical Care Medicine | 7 | 71 | 1.2% | +0.3 pts | 0.5× | 35 | 35% | — |
| Radiology | 8 | 187 | 2.7% | +0.0 pts | 1.1× | 53 | 31% | 0.0% |
| OB/GYN | 9 | 225 | 3.6% | -0.4 pts | 0.6× | 41 | 40% | 0.0% |
| Internal Medicine | 10 | 449 | 7.6% | +2.3 pts | 1.9× | 38 | 25% | 0.0% |
| Urgent Care | 11 | 84 | 1.0% | -0.5 pts | 0.5× | 46 | 31% | — |
| Hospital Medicine | 12 | 359 | 5.1% | -0.3 pts | 0.6× | 48 | 29% | 0.0% |
| Orthopedic Surgery | 13 | 124 | 2.3% | +0.5 pts | 0.4× | 38 | 22% | — |
| Neurology | 14 | 120 | 1.9% | -0.1 pts | 0.6× | 46 | 24% | 0.0% |
| Primary Care | 15 | 414 | 5.3% | -1.1 pts | 0.7× | 42 | 41% | 0.0% |
| Anesthesiology | 16 | 157 | 2.2% | -1.0 pts | 0.4× | 50 | 27% | +1.8% |
| Gastroenterology | 17 | 114 | 1.7% | -0.0 pts | 0.7× | 41 | 23% | — |
| Family Medicine | 18 | 699 | 10.8% | +0.4 pts | 1.3× | 37 | 30% | 0.0% |
| Oncology | 19 | 183 | 2.9% | -0.3 pts | 0.6× | 38 | 22% | 0.0% |
| Occupational Medicine | 20 | 70 | 0.7% | -0.1 pts | 3.3× | 38 | 49% | — |
| Pathology | 21 | 76 | 1.2% | +0.3 pts | 1.6× | 36 | 17% | — |
| Psychiatry | 22 | 619 | 9.9% | -0.1 pts | 2.7× | 33 | 28% | 0.0% |
| General Medicine | 23 | 87 | 1.4% | +0.9 pts | 0.9× | 21 | 3% | — |
265 further specialties had too few postings or employers to rank. Download this table as CSV.
Charts
Questions this issue answers
Which physician specialties were most in demand in October 2026?
Ranked by WeekdayDoc's tightness score (share change, seeker interest per opening, days to close and sign-on prevalence), the tightest physician specialties in October 2026 were 1. Surgery, 2. Emergency Medicine, 3. Medical Affairs, 4. Urology, 5. Cardiology. 23 specialties had enough postings (60+) from enough employers (12+) to be ranked.
Which physician jobs take longest to fill?
Among physician postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have since closed, the longest median time open in October 2026 was Medical Affairs (69 days), Urology (68 days), Emergency Medicine (63 days), Radiology (53 days), Cardiology (52 days). The median across ranked specialties was 41 days.
Which physician specialties offer sign-on bonuses most often?
In October 2026, the share of postings stating a sign-on bonus was highest for Emergency Medicine (51%), Occupational Medicine (49%), Medical Affairs (43%), Primary Care (41%), Surgery (40%); the median ranked specialty was 29%. "Stated" means the posting mentions a bonus; many do not give the amount.
Which physician specialties are growing or shrinking as a share of postings?
Measured inside a fixed panel of job sources, with each source weighted equally and counting distinct openings rather than duplicate listings, the largest moves in October 2026 versus the prior three-month average were Internal Medicine +2.3 pts, Surgery +2.1 pts, Primary Care -1.2 pts, Anesthesiology -1.0 pts, General Medicine +0.9 pts. Shares, not raw counts, are used because the number of listings WeekdayDoc collects changes with its coverage.
Which physician specialties had the most competition from other job seekers?
The loosest physician markets in October 2026 were General Medicine, Psychiatry, Pathology: more job seekers per opening on WeekdayDoc, faster closes and fewer sign-on bonuses. Seeker interest reflects WeekdayDoc's own audience and is reported only when clearly above or below the physician average.
Is advertised physician pay rising?
WeekdayDoc compares re-posted roles (same employer, specialty and title, at least 60 days apart), one vote per employer. In October 2026, of 12 specialties with enough re-posts, 12 showed an unchanged advertised maximum and 0 showed an increase of 2% or more. Employers re-posting a role mostly advertise the same range.
How is the WeekdayDoc Hiring Index calculated?
From live job postings on WeekdayDoc (about 145,000 across 50+ sources). Share of openings is measured inside a fixed panel of sources present in every month of the window, each source weighted equally (capped), counting distinct openings (employer + title + state). Days to close uses postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have closed. Sign-on prevalence is the share of this month's postings stating a bonus. Seeker interest is job views per live posting relative to the profession average on WeekdayDoc. Specialties need 60+ postings from 12+ employers to be ranked. Full method: https://www.weekdaydoc.com/hiring-index/methodology.
How should I cite this?
"WeekdayDoc Hiring Index, Physicians, October 2026" with a link to this page. Figures on a published issue do not change; the current month is marked preliminary until it ends.
Method and citation
Shares are measured inside a fixed panel of sources present in every month of the window, with each source weighted equally (capped), and count distinct openings (employer + title + state), not rows. Days to close: median lifespan of postings opened 60–150 days earlier that have since closed. Sign-on: share of this month's postings stating a bonus (amount often not given). Seeker interest: job views per live posting relative to the physician average on WeekdayDoc — our audience, so it is labelled as such. Pay drift: advertised maximum on re-posted roles (same employer, specialty and title, 60+ days apart), one vote per employer. Specialties need 60+ postings from 12+ employers to be ranked. Full methodology.
Cite as: WeekdayDoc Hiring Index, Physicians, October 2026 — https://www.weekdaydoc.com/hiring-index/physicians/2026-10. Data: CC BY 4.0 with attribution.