The Physician Onboarding Process & Checklist

So you’ve hired a physician—What’s Next?

They've already impressed you with their interviewing skills and are either on your way to credentialing or already have it covered. Whether they’re a resident stepping into their first role or an experienced locum tenens physician, the onboarding process lays the groundwork for everyone's success. From scheduling and EHR training to team integration, a smooth transition ensures they can contribute quickly and confidently.

Effective onboarding hinges on organization, clear expectations, and proactive support. To help you streamline the process, we’ve created two step-by-step checklists: one tailored for permanent roles and another for locums doctors. While each physician’s needs may vary, these guides ensure you’re equipped to assess fit, accelerate readiness, and set them—and your team—up for a great experience.

Physician Onboarding

• Locum Tenens Physician Onboarding Checklist
• Physician Onboarding Checklist (Pemanent Role)
• What is physician onboarding?
• Locum Tenens Onboarding
• Permanent Physician Onboarding Details

Locum Tenens Physician Onboarding Checklist

1. Pre-Arrival: Credentialing & Licensing (Start ASAP – delays can jeopardize contracts)

• Credentialing submitted immediately after accepting an offer to prevent delays.
• State licensing initiated (if applicable; not all locums need assistance).
• Malpractice insurance confirmed if provided by the agency (Era Locums covers malpractice insurance).
• Privileging begins.

2. 2 Weeks Before Start: Privileging finalized (Critical – contracts can be canceled if delayed!)

• Hospital/facility privileging paperwork should be finalized at this stage.
• Recruiter/facility checks progress frequently to prevent lapses.

3. First-Day Logistics (Often time-sensitive because locums work may begin immediately, especially for those with 24 hour shifts)

• Contact person name, phone, and email provided.
• Meeting location/time confirmed (e.g., "Meet Dr. Smith at ER desk at 7 AM").
• Parking instructions and permits (if needed) shared.
• Badge/ID process outlined (where to go, documents required).
• Same-day work possibility addressed (e.g., "Be prepared for a 24-hour shift").

4. Ongoing Support

• Recruiter checks in after first shift to address issues.
• Feedback loop for facility/doctor to adjust as needed.

Perm Physician Onboarding Checklist

1. Pre-Arrival Preparation (Before Day 1)

• Offer Acceptance & Contract Finalization
  • Signing contracts, credentialing, and licensing.
  • Clear communication about compensation, benefits, and expectations.
• Welcome Package
  • Employee handbook, organizational chart, and culture guide.
  • First-week schedule and key contacts.
• Housing & Relocation Assistance (if applicable)

2. First Week: Orientation & Introductions

• HR & Compliance
  • Benefits enrollment, payroll setup, and mandatory training.
• Clinical & Administrative Orientation
  • EHR training, clinic/hospital workflows, and billing processes.
  • Tour of facilities (clinics, labs, call rooms, etc.).
• IT & Administrative Setup
  • Email, EHR access, and software logins.
  • Badge, parking, and facility access.
• Meet Key Stakeholders
  • Introductions to team members (nurses, MAs, admin staff, department heads).
  • Mentorship pairing (senior physician or "buddy").

3. First 30 Days: Role-Specific Integration

• Clinical Ramp-Up
  • Gradual patient load increase (if applicable).
  • Shadowing colleagues or reverse-shadowing (if needed).
• Department & Culture Immersion
  • Attend team meetings, grand rounds, and departmental events.
  • Clarify performance metrics and evaluation criteria.
• Feedback Check-In
  • 30-day meeting with supervisor to address concerns.

4. First 90 Days: Performance & Relationship Building

• Full Patient Panel/Responsibilities
  • Transition to independent practice (if applicable).
• Ongoing Training
  • Advanced EHR tips, billing/coding updates, or specialty-specific workshops.
• Peer & Patient Feedback
  • Informal 360° reviews from colleagues and staff.
• Community & Network Integration
  • Encourage participation in hospital committees or local professional groups.

5. 6-12 Months: Long-Term Growth & Retention

• Formal Performance Review
  • Discuss career goals, challenges, and opportunities.
• Leadership & Development Opportunities
  • Encourage CME, conferences, or leadership training.
• Retention Strategies
  • Re-evaluate workload, work-life balance, and job satisfaction.

Physician Onboarding 101

What is physician onboarding?

The final step before a new physician becomes an employee is the onboarding process. Over a period of 30-90 days, physicians receive support on learning new systems, understanding facility procedures, and building relationships with key stakeholders, all while clinical hours ramp up.

In ideal circumstances, you'll have a chance to welcome your new provider by before they walk in the door. That would mean you'll have their schedule set up, including meetings with hospital staff and administrators, and be able to give them a run down on your clinical ramp-up schedule.

Locum Tenens Onboarding

1. Pre-Arrival for Locum Tenens

Unlike permanent hires, locum tenens physicians require swift, focused preparation to ensure they’re cleared to work the moment they arrive. Credentialing is the top priority—this process (often mislabeled as "onboarding" to the physician) must begin immediately to avoid delays that could jeopardize contracts. While not all locums need licensing assistance, those requiring new state licenses should initiate applications early, as processing times vary.

Privileging is the make-or-break step, typically due two weeks before start. Facilities often reserve the right to cancel contracts if privileging isn’t completed on time, so recruiters must proactively track progress and escalate delays. A backup plan—such as temporary privileges or an alternate start date—should be in place. Confirm malpractice coverage details upfront, as locums often rely on agency- or facility-provided insurance. Clear communication during this phase prevents last-minute surprises and ensures the physician is focused on their role, not paperwork.

2. First Day of Locums Work

For locum tenens physicians, the first day is often fast-paced, even involving immediate patient care, especially in 24-hour shift settings like ERs or hospitals. Unlike permanent hires, there’s rarely a lengthy orientation; instead, the focus is on essential operational details. Before arrival, the physician should receive clear instructions on where to go, who to meet (including a direct contact person), and what time to arrive. Parking, badge access, and facility protocols (e.g., EHR logins, code pager systems) must be communicated upfront to avoid delays. Since locums may start seeing patients the same day, ensuring they know their schedule, work area, and any urgent department needs is critical.

Efficiency is key because locums are expected to hit the ground running. A brief tour, introductions to key staff, and a quick review of facility policies (e.g., prescribing rules, emergency procedures) may replace formal training. The recruiter or facility should confirm the physician has all necessary tools (scrubs, devices, login credentials) ready upon arrival. A post-shift check-in helps address any concerns early, ensuring smoother transitions for future assignments. By streamlining first-day logistics, locums can focus on patient care rather than administrative hurdles.

Permanent Physician Onboarding

1. Pre-Arrival Preparation (Before Day 1)

For both locum tenens and permanent roles, the primary focus before day 1 is on distributing the right paperwork and preparing the welcome package. The provider should already be aware about the deadline window you'll accept for credentials to be completed and already have the paperwork in-process. 

The welcome package is key to a great onboarding experience for permanent roles, and setting your new hire up for a successful tenure. In particular, you'll want to provide them detailed information about the location where they'll be working to help them acclimate to the role, especially if it's in a rural or more remote location.

2. First Week: Orientation & Introductions

A locums physician’s first week sets the tone for their entire assignment—and your team’s experience. While compliance, training, and system access are essential, the human connections they form during onboarding often determine how quickly they’ll thrive in their role.

Your guidance during this critical window ensures they move beyond paperwork and into productivity. Start by streamlining HR essentials like payroll and credentialing, then transition into clinical orientation. Familiarizing them with workspaces, EHR systems, and practice workflows from day one prevents avoidable delays.

But the real difference-maker? Integration. Introducing them to key team members—administrators, nurses, MAs, and physician mentors—creates the support network they’ll rely on daily. By proactively facilitating these connections and clarifying peer support resources, you’re not just onboarding a contractor; you’re strengthening your team’s cohesion and patient care continuity.

3. First 30 Days: Role-Specific Integration

Every physician integrates differently into your unique workplace culture. Some benefit from a gradual ramp-up period with shadowing opportunities, while others thrive when diving straight into clinical responsibilities. In these fast-track scenarios, their participation in meetings, grand rounds, and departmental discussions becomes more than mandatory - it's their fastest path to cultural immersion and role clarity.

The first 30 days are particularly crucial for setting expectations. Your guidance in establishing clear performance metrics and scheduling structured check-ins with their supervising physician can make the difference between smooth acclimation and preventable struggles. These touchpoints allow for early course correction while demonstrating your organization's investment in their success.

Remember, the onboarding approach you facilitate directly impacts both physician performance and retention. By being intentional about these early integration opportunities, you're not just filling a staffing need - you're building a lasting professional relationship.

4. First 90 Days: Performance & Relationship Building

Within the first 90 days, you want the provider to feel like they're moving with confidence. They should have a full patient panel and some physicians may even transition to an independent practice depending on their specialization. Training at the 90 day mark will include more advanced methods for using the provider’s EHR systems and deeper insights into the billing system.

Specialists should attend specialty-specific trainings and workshops. This is also the point at which you should be facilitating more comprehensive feedback from the provider's colleagues and team during 360° reviews. And to round out the first three months, encourage them to look into local professional groups as well as hospital committees where they might serve and build deeper roots in the community.

5. 6-12 Months: Long-Term Growth & Retention

As physicians approach the six-month to one-year mark in their assignment, a structured performance review becomes a pivotal point for engagement. Your role in guiding this conversation helps them contextualize feedback, celebrate progress, and address challenges. It’s also a chance to explore alignment: Do their career goals intersect with your organization’s opportunities, from leadership development to CME? Is the assignment meeting their needs—and yours—when it comes to workload and sustainability? By framing this discussion as a two-way dialogue, you solidify their connection to your team while gathering insights to refine your onboarding process.

Best Practices for Effective Physician Onboarding

There are three best practices that facilities can implement to create a top notch onboarding process:

• Assign a Mentor – This helps with cultural and clinical navigation.
• Structure Feedback Loops – Regular check-ins at 30/60/90 days.
• Cultural Integration – Social events and team-building activities that indicate a cohesive culture.

Physician Onboarding FAQs

What are the 4 pillars of physician onboarding?

The 4 C’s of physician onboarding are: compliance, clarification, culture and connection. Compliance refers to best practices. Clarification is about asking questions as they pop up and communicating clearly with administrative and clinical staff. A core component of the onboarding process is give the physician an opportunity to learn the organization’s culture and assess their fit within it. The fourth and final pillar is maybe the most important one: connection. This process should help a new hire connect and build relationships with their team, key stakeholders, administrators and a mentor. 

What happens during physician onboarding?

During physician onboarding physicians should learn everything they need to know about the role, schedule and new work environment. This includes filling them in on everything from finding the navigating the facility to training on new EHRs to building and developing the relationships with colleagues and administrators.

We’re Here to Make Onboarding Seamless

Onboarding a new physician can be both exciting and complex. From credentialing to orientation, ensuring a smooth transition is key to their—and your—success. At Era, our expert recruiters provide concierge-level support to help you integrate locums physicians efficiently, so they can hit the ground running and contribute from day one.

Let’s set them up for success—together. Reach out today to learn how we can streamline onboarding and make every placement a success story.