Primary Care Physician (MD/DO), $210K Base, New Grads Welcome, Charlotte Region

First Care Medical Clinic is hiring a full-time primary care physician for its integrated care clinics in the Charlotte region and Rock Hill, SC. You will work alongside an in-house care manager, therapist, and psychiatric provider, with labs, ultrasound, and other services on site. New graduates are welcome, and we want someone to start as soon as licensure allows.

Quick Facts

Why This Role

• Care for patients of all ages. Full-scope primary care including acute visits, chronic disease management, wellness exams, and preventive screening.
• A team around the patient. The care manager, therapist, and psychiatric provider are part of the model. Warm handoffs for behavioral and psychiatric needs happen in real time, so you are not carrying every part of a complex patient’s care alone.
• Services on site. Labs, vaccinations, ultrasound, TM-Flow testing, allergy immunotherapy, Holter monitoring, home sleep testing, EKGs, chronic care management, and remote physiologic monitoring.
• Learn from clinical leaders. You onboard alongside the Medical Director and Lead APP, who work across clinics.
• Room to grow. Contribute to quality improvement and new services, work with leadership on how care is delivered, and mentor newer clinicians as you gain experience.

Why This Practice

First Care Medical Clinic was founded in 1994 by Dr. Benedict Okwara, then an emergency room physician in Monroe. He kept seeing patients in the ER for needs that did not require an emergency room, from medication refills to sick visits, so he opened First Care as an urgent care practice. About three years later, he realized that many of those patients had no primary care provider at all. Preventive medicine had always guided his thinking, so he turned First Care into a comprehensive primary care practice, and that has been its purpose ever since.

What began as a single office in Monroe is now 10 clinics in Albemarle, Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, Locust, Monroe, Rock Hill, and Salisbury. We see ourselves as public servants, so we meet patients where they are. New and established patients can walk in without an appointment and be seen by a provider, and we book Ubers and taxis for patients who need a ride, because a lack of transportation should not keep anyone from the care they need.

“At First Care Medical Clinic, we believe that the patient is the most important person. We are here to serve the patient.”

First Care Medical Clinic core belief

We believe coordinated care is better for patients and for outcomes, so most needs can be met in one place: annual wellness exams, acute visits, vaccinations, allergy immunotherapy, EKGs, ultrasound, home sleep testing, in-house lab services, chronic care management, and remote physiologic monitoring. The goal is a true medical home.

In 2025, First Care expanded into behavioral health with the Collaborative Care Model. Many patients’ mental health needs were going unmet because of a shortage of outside psychiatrists and behavioral health providers, so under Dr. Okwara’s leadership First Care built that capability in-house, starting with behavioral health care managers and consulting psychiatrists. In 2026 we added psychiatric providers and therapists. Today the primary care provider, care manager, therapist, and psychiatric provider work together to treat the whole person under one roof.

Our team of about 90 includes at least four medical assistants at every clinic covering the front desk, triage, lab, and clinical support. Our patients are roughly 50% Medicaid, 30% Medicare and Medicare Advantage, 15% commercial, and 5% uninsured, so you will see a broad mix of people and needs.

Why Now

We have immediate openings and want new team members to start as soon as licensure allows. New graduates are welcome. First Care is a strong place to build clinical skills with a diverse patient population, working alongside experienced clinical leaders in an integrated care model. Our leadership aims to respond to candidates the same day whenever possible.

Why the Charlotte Region

Our clinics span the Charlotte metro and nearby Piedmont communities in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Gaston, Rowan, and Stanly counties, plus Rock Hill, SC. Charlotte is the largest city in the Carolinas, with a major airport, a lively food and arts scene, and Lake Norman and Lake Wylie close by. Smaller communities like Albemarle, Locust, and Salisbury often offer more affordable housing and a slower pace, with Morrow Mountain State Park and the Uwharrie National Forest nearby. The mountains and the coast are each within a few hours’ drive.

What to Expect

We want you to know how we work before you decide.

• Onboarding, then a home clinic. New providers rotate across clinics for the first 8 weeks while learning alongside the Medical Director and Lead APP. After onboarding, each provider is assigned a home clinic.
• A set schedule. Schedules are set by clinic needs and are not customized. Shifts start at 9 AM and run until the last patient is seen and closing tasks are complete.
• Walk-in access. New and established patients can walk in without an appointment, so volume and flow vary by day and clinic. Our planning range is 15 to 25 patients per provider per day.
• Charting around visits. Documentation is completed around scheduled patient visits and closed the same day. There is no dedicated admin block built into the day.
• In-person and in uniform. This is an in-person role with matching First Care scrubs and a lab coat.
• Our tools. Providers use eClinicalWorks with the [Register to View] scribe for every visit.
• Meetings. A weekly virtual call (Wednesdays, 8:30 AM ET), a monthly review with the Medical Director, and a monthly in-person provider meeting in Charlotte or Concord.
• Full-time and part-time. Full-time is the standard. Part-time physician arrangements may be available; ask us.

Who thrives here: providers who are patient-centered, adaptable, and collaborative, and who want to practice in a team-integrated primary care model. This may be less of a fit if you want to build an individual patient panel of your own rather than practice in a team-integrated model, need a highly predictable routine, or are uncomfortable with evolving workflows.

What You’ll Get

• Base salary of $210,000
• Health insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC), plus dental and vision (Unum)
• 401(k) with employer match up to 3.5%
• Malpractice coverage
• Paid time off based on tenure, and CME per your employment contract
• Cost of NC and SC licensure covered
• Eligible to apply for the Community Care Recruitment Program (CCRP), a selection-based award for eligible residents and early-career clinicians who commit to a CCPN practice. Awards are not guaranteed.

What We’re Looking For

• MD or DO, Board Certified or Board Eligible (Family Medicine preferred; see Quick Facts)
• Eligible for North Carolina and South Carolina medical licensure
• Comfortable seeing pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients
• Patient-centered, adaptable, and a good teammate
• Willingness to rotate across clinics during onboarding
• Background check required

First Care Medical Clinic is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

This role is posted, sourced, and screened by Workforce Support Programs, part of the Community Care Physician Network (CCPN) under Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC).