America’s 10 Hardest-to-Fill Healthcare Jobs

If you work in the healthcare field, you know all too well there’s a shortage of nurses. But, nursing jobs aren’t the only roles that are increasingly hard to fill these days. By 2025, we’re expected to see a shortage of around 11,000 doctors and surgeons as well. Based on a recent report released by Indeed.com, we’re breaking down the 10 hardest-to-fill nursing and physician positions in healthcare.  

As one of the nation’s largest hiring websites, Indeed.com compiled its list using job fill dates. Only those jobs with the highest percentage of unfilled positions after 60 days even had a shot of making the list. Here’s what they found.

1. Pulmonologist

Nearly 66% of all job openings for pulmonologists were still unfilled after 60 days according to Indeed.com. That puts this position at the top of the list of the most difficult-to-fill healthcare jobs.  

2. Rheumatologist

With less than 2 rheumatologists per 100,000 Americans, it’s no surprise that doctors who treat rheumatic diseases are second on this list. Indeed.com reports that 65.6% of all job posts for rheumatologists still remain open after 60 days.

3. Nurse Practitioner

As the shortage of primary care physicians reaches an all-time high, the demand for NPs is growing as well. Nearly 60% of all nurse practitioner job openings still need to be filled after 60 days.

4. Agency Nurse

The flexibility and quick pay opportunity of working as an agency nurse makes it a desirable option for RNs and LVN/LPNs alike. But, with high demand for agency nurses, the role is still among the top most difficult healthcare jobs to fill with 57.8% of available jobs still not filled after 60 days.

5. Cardiologist

With heart disease topping the list as the leading cause of death worldwide, it makes sense that cardiologists are always in high demand. Indeed.com reports that after 60 days 55.3% of cardiologist job openings remain unfilled.

6. Radiologist

With 55.3% of jobs still unfilled after 60 days, radiologists are in the exact same spot as cardiologists. However, with more than 25% of all active radiologists expected to retire in the next five years, chances are good that this position will continue to be a challenge to fill.

7. Emergency Medicine Physician

Americans make more than 136 million visits to the emergency department annually according to the CDC, and when they arrive they expect to be seen by an emergency medicine physician making them in high demand. Indeed.com says 55.2% of jobs for this position are still open after 60 days.

8. Psychiatrist

If you’ve ever tried to schedule the first appointment with a psychiatrist, you know firsthand that their appointment calendars stay full. Unfortunately, there are no signs of that changing any time soon. Just under 55% of all job posts for psychiatrists remain unfilled after 60 days. 

9. Vascular Surgeon

Between 35% and 45% of all current vascular surgeons are expected to retire in the next 10 years. Despite the growing recruitment to help replace the anticipated loss in that workforce, 53.7% of vascular surgeon positions continue to go unfilled after 60 days.

10. Urologist

Urology is another field expected to lose a large percentage of its workforce to retirement. It rounds out the top 10 list with 53.6% of urologists jobs still not filled 60 days after being posted.

To see which positions came in slots 11-15 on the list as well as what can be done to address the shortages, check out Indeed.com’s full report.