February is American Heart Month, a federally designated event with one mission: the eradication of heart disease and stroke. Because the goal of American Heart Month is to ensure that people build healthier lives, we think it’s a great time to talk about the field of Cardiology. For physician recruiters, it’s important to know and understand the field and its distinct specializations.

First the facts: about 31,500 cardiologists are licensed to practice in the U.S. (per a Market Profile of Cardiologists), with about 71% of those practicing adult (general) cardiology (per Jama Cardiology). Cardiologists receive extensive education and training that includes four years of undergraduate studies, four years of medical school, three years of residency in in internal medicine or pediatrics, and three additional years in a cardiology fellowship.

Cardiologists (who must be board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine or ABIM) focus on the diagnosis, treatment and management of disorders of the cardiovascular or circulatory system, which includes the heart, arteries and veins. It’s important to note that all Cardiologists are not surgeons.

Salaries for Cardiologists are at an all-time high: Thoracic Surgery ($584k), Vascular Surgery ($485k), and Cardiology ($454k) ranked among the top 20 specialties with the highest average annual compensation this year (per Doximity’s Third Annual Compensation Report). What’s more, recruitment incentives for Cardiologists have reached unprecedented levels, and all with good reason: these specialties are in high demand and there’s a shrinking candidate pool. One report estimates there will be a shortage of almost 7,100 US-based cardiologists by 2025—the largest deficit of any internal medicine subspecialty (per HRSA Health Workforce). 

Did we get your heart pumping yet? We also have a few pointers for recruiting Cardiologists. 

• As for most physicians, burnout is a big factor. However, Cardiologists  are far more likely to use positive coping skills – like exercise, music, and talking with family and friends – to deal with burnout (per Medscape). If you have an open Cardiology position in a location with an active community with a plethora of exercise, outdoor, social, or cultural opportunities, it could be a huge selling point.
• The large majority of physicians are married or in a committed relationship, but the percentage of Cardiologists who are single is lower than the overall physician average: 3% compared to 7% (also per Medscape). Does the area you’re recruiting for offer opportunities for singles as well as families? If so, it could be something worth highlighting to a candidate.
• There are numerous subspecialties and surgery specialties within Cardiology, so our best advice is to dig in and learn what your candidates really do. It’s important to be able to speak their language when recruiting for this role. The internet is a great resource for this! Here’s a great video about what Cardiothoracic Surgeons do.

Are you recruiting for Cardiology specialties? We can help you optimize your recruiting messages for Cardiologists and every other specialty. We’ve scraped Doximity Talent Finder's database to find patterns in the most successful (and most unsuccessful) recruitment messaging from 2019, and we shared them during a recent webinar. You can watch the full webinar recording here!