Healthcare & Medical Jobs in Washington, DC
Four hospitals share one corner of Northwest DC, the Irving Street medical campus, and together with Foggy Bottom, Georgetown and Ward 8 they make healthcare one of the city's largest private employers. The guides below cover every healthcare and medical role in Washington, who is hiring and what it pays.
Why Healthcare Work Is Different in Washington
Most of the District's clinical jobs sit in a few dense pockets. The Irving Street campus off Michigan Avenue NW holds MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the largest private hospital in DC, along with Children's National Hospital, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and the Washington DC VA Medical Center. GW University Hospital, a Level I trauma center, anchors Foggy Bottom; MedStar Georgetown University Hospital sits on Reservoir Road NW; Sibley Memorial serves upper Northwest; and Howard University Hospital stands on Georgia Avenue NW. East of the river, Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center opened on the St. Elizabeths East campus in Congress Heights in April 2025 and has been replacing contract nurses with permanent hires.
The District runs its own health licensing through the DC Board of Nursing inside DC Health, so nurses and nurse aides need DC credentials, and many also hold Maryland or Virginia licenses because systems such as MedStar and Kaiser Permanente run sites across the DMV. DC requires pay ranges in job postings and has an $18.40 minimum wage, so support roles start higher here than in most of the country. The physician side is shifting too: in August 2026 most of the GW Medical Faculty Associates practice moved to Capital Medical, a new physician group run by a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, which also owns GW Hospital and Cedar Hill.
Top Healthcare Employers in Washington
These employers hire across nursing, patient care and allied health in the District:
- MedStar Washington Hospital Center - the 912-bed teaching hospital on Irving Street NW, with a 12-month nurse residency for new graduates.
- Children's National Hospital - the Magnet-recognized pediatric system on Michigan Avenue NW, hiring RNs, LPNs and patient care technicians.
- George Washington University Hospital - the 395-bed Level I trauma center in Foggy Bottom, owned by Universal Health Services.
- Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center - the newest hospital in the District, in Ward 8, hiring emergency and inpatient nurses.
- Sibley Memorial Hospital - Johns Hopkins Medicine's DC hospital in upper Northwest, posting RN and patient care technician roles with pay ranges.
- Washington DC VA Medical Center - the federal hospital on Irving Street NW, hiring nurses and allied health staff through USAJOBS.
- Kaiser Permanente - the Capitol Hill Medical Center and Northwest DC medical offices hire nurses, medical assistants, lab and imaging staff.
Healthcare Career Paths in Washington
- Nursing - Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse. Licensed roles that need a DC Board of Nursing license, with the deepest hiring at the Irving Street campus hospitals and in long-term care.
- Patient care support - Certified Nursing Assistant. The fastest way in, with a short training program instead of a degree, and a common first step toward nursing school.
- Industry overview - Healthcare. The starting point for comparing roles, employers and training across the District, with more role guides added as they publish.
How to Start a Healthcare Career in Washington
- DC registered nurse license - issued by the DC Board of Nursing after an approved nursing program and the NCLEX-RN; renewal requires 24 hours of continuing education every two years.
- DC licensed practical nurse license - issued by the DC Board of Nursing after an approved practical nursing program and the NCLEX-PN.
- DC certified nursing assistant - a DC Board of Nursing certification after an approved nurse aide program and the NNAAP exam, with a listing on the DC Nurse Aide Registry.
- UDC Community College - the Lamond-Riggs campus on South Dakota Avenue NE offers the AASN nursing degree and the Practical Nursing Certificate, and appears on DC Health's list of nurse aide training programs.
- Four-year nursing schools - the Berkley School of Nursing at Georgetown on Reservoir Road NW and the Conway School of Nursing at Catholic University in Brookland both offer BSN and 12-month accelerated BSN programs.
- BLS and specialty certifications - BLS for nearly every clinical role, plus ACLS, PALS or TNCC for emergency and critical care nurses.
The RN, LPN and CNA credentials are legally required to work in those roles in DC; BLS, ACLS, PALS, TNCC and a BSN are employer requirements or preferences that vary by hospital and unit.
Healthcare Salaries in Washington
- Entry - about $20.50 to $25 per hour for certified nursing assistants and patient care technicians.
- Mid - roughly $28 to $40 per hour for LPNs and newer registered nurses.
- Senior - about $42 to $65 per hour for experienced RNs, with PRN and specialty shifts posting higher.
These are estimates from pay ranges in recent DC postings. Hospital systems such as Sibley and Kaiser post the highest RN ranges, nursing homes add night and weekend differentials, and federal employers like the VA and the Armed Forces Retirement Home move up through GS steps with federal retirement. Across the metro, BLS put the average healthcare practitioner wage at $57.09 an hour and healthcare support at $21.00 an hour in its May 2024 figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the biggest healthcare employers in Washington, DC?
MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Children's National, GW University Hospital, Sibley Memorial, Howard University Hospital, the Washington DC VA Medical Center, Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente are among the largest. Unity Health Care also runs more than 20 community health sites across the city.
Do I need a DC license to work in healthcare in Washington?
Nurses and nurse aides do. The DC Board of Nursing, part of DC Health, licenses RNs and LPNs and certifies CNAs, and local postings ask for DC credentials. Non-clinical roles such as registration or scheduling do not need a license.
What is the fastest way to start a healthcare job in DC?
Nurse aide training is the quickest route. After an approved program and the NNAAP exam you can work as a CNA, and hospitals such as Sibley hire certified aides as patient care technicians.
Where can I study nursing in Washington?
UDC Community College offers an associate degree in nursing and a Practical Nursing Certificate at its Lamond-Riggs campus. Georgetown's Berkley School of Nursing and Catholic University's Conway School of Nursing offer BSN and accelerated BSN programs.
Do DC healthcare jobs post pay?
Yes. DC requires pay ranges in job postings, so most local listings show what the job pays. That makes it easy to compare a hospital offer with a nursing home or federal job before you apply.
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