Category Archive: Compensation

Radiology: “Don’t Choose Something You Hate”

A Radiology Resident’s Perspective: An interview with a radiology resident who has asked to remain completely anonymous for reasons you may soon understand.

Part of an interview series entitled, “Specialty Spotlights“, which asks medical students’ most burning questions to physicians of every specialty.  See what doctors from every specialty had to say about why they chose their specialty and how to match in their residency.

 

  • What attracted you to Radiology?

The money.  Choosing a specialty for its salary is considered an anathema in the medical community.  Because the discussion of salary is taboo, many medical students have taken to talking about a specialty’s “lifestyle.”  In reality, lifestyle and salary/work ratio are near synonymous.  With the notable exceptions of radiation oncology and dermatology, radiology is unquestionably at the top of the heap.  Factoring in vacation, hours, and salary the average private practice (PP) radiologist made nearly twice as much per hour as a general surgeon.  If you are going to sacrifice your youth to medical education then you should be lucratively rewarded.

As I learned more about radiology, I realized that the specialty has all sorts of unique advantages.  Without a patient base, a radiologist is free to move about the country at will.  They can work from home or from anywhere in the world with teleradiology.  This mobility, free of the fetter of patient care, continues to drive radiologist’s salaries higher. Radiologists tend to practice longer than any other specialty (except pathology) presumably due to the relaxed work environment.  However many radiologists retire early, which is silly because radiology differs little from retirement.

When I began my clinical rotations, I made a very important and life altering discovery.  Clinical medicine sucks.  I hated the whole experience.  I agonized at having to pick between such awful choices.  People kept telling me, “Just do what you love!”  I have different advice, “Don’t do what you hate!”  Radiology is unique in that we have an integral role in patient care without having to be dragged into any of patient care’s unpleasantries.  I am no longer screamed at by patients at 2 am because they think nexium is causing back pain.  I no longer have to hold a screaming child for a shot or calm down a sundowning gomer.  If you have the opportunity to save lives from a distance, I highly recommend it.

 

While the lifestyle is enviable, radiology is anything but easy.  Radiology is an intellectually rigorous specialty that encompasses the entire breadth of medicine.  The training requires extensive study of anatomy, pathology, physics, and treatment.  In emergencies, films must be read quickly and accurately.  Entire medical treatment plans are sometimes based on a radiologist’s dictation.  Medical imaging continues to be at the forefront of modern medicine. Technology advances rapidly and a radiologist should expect to spend most of his or her career keeping up with current technology.

 

  • Describe a Radiologist’s typical work day?

The typical radiologist comes to work and reads films in the dark for the majority of the day.  The work day in punctuated by phone calls, administrative responsibilities, and procedures (thoracenteses, liver biopsies, chest tubes, barium swallows, etc.).  Contrary to popular belief, these procedures are performed by general radiologists with no special “interventional” training.

 

The Radiologist’s Dilemma: This radiologist can’t decide which LED TV to buy. A common problem…

  • What type of lifestyle can a Radiologist expect?  

Based on information on the ACR website, job postings, and anecdotal experience the average radiologist works about 50 hours a week.  Generally this is a 7am-4pm M-F with one short call until 9pm and 1-2 weekend days per month.  Work schedules are flexible.  It is also possible to rearrange the work schedule in many different ways with your partners.  Our work schedule isn’t tied to patient management so we can divide it anyway we wish.  PP radiologists average 10 weeks of vacation per year, a figure that makes teachers envious.

  • What is the average salary of a Radiologist?

Based on the most recent Merrit Hawkins salary scan the average radiologist makes $417,000(1).  Andrew has compiled the entire source of physician salary data into one easily searchable article.  The Ultimate Guide to Physician Salaries. I highly recommend it.

 

  • What is the job market like for Radiology?

The job market is somewhat tight at the moment, though this is not unique to radiology.

 

  • What are the potential downsides of Radiology that students should be aware of?

My specialty is perfect.

 

  • What else would you tell medical students who are considering Radiology?

Don’t do what you hate.  Kill the boards and standardized tests.  Keep your options open.

 

  • How competitive is the Radiology match?

Radiology is a very competitive specialty.  The average USMLE STEP 1 is 240(2).  26% of successfully graduates are inducted into AOA.  Most have some research.  Luckily, radiology is a surprising large specialty.  With nearly 1000 positions per year, there are plenty of spots to go around.  More residency positions are created every year.  For this reason, radiology is less competitive than dermatology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, orthopedics, otolaryngology, or ophthalmology.  Clinicians actively try to dissuade medical students from going into radiology.

 

  • What are residencies looking for in a Radiology applicant?

Personality, 3rd year grades, board scores, research.  In that order.

 

  • What else would you tell medical students who are considering Radiology?

I wish I knew how fat I would get on pre-interview dinners.  Radiology interviews are great.  If I could do it again, I would.

 

  • What should students look for in a Radiology residency?
  1. A balance of case volume and teaching:  There are “work” residencies and “study” residencies.  “Work” residencies focus on learning to read films and dictate efficiently but can lack structured educational activities such as lectures and research.  If case volume is too high, you may be trained to be a transcriptionist instead of a radiologist.  On the other hand, at certain programs the residents are underworked and spend a large portion of their day studying and researching.  While these residencies sound cushy, it is embarrassing for residents to have to fight each other for cases.  One should look for a program where the residents do not have to compete with fellows for films/cases.
  2. “View-box” teaching:  The ideal situation is that the resident reads a film independently, checks out with the attending who teaches and answers questions, and then the resident dictates a report.  The suboptimal way is that the resident types a brief preliminary report which is later finalized by an attending with no face-to-face contact.  (Though the latter situation is appropriate for senior residents reading basic films.)
  3. Modern Equipment:  Radiology is a rapidly changing field.  Don’t be behind in the technology before you even start!
  4. Residents and Faculty:  Go someplace where you will fit in and feel comfortable.
  5. Facilities:  Palace or dump?
  6. Food:  You are what you eat.
  7. Fitness:  For something to do with all your free time.

 

  • What other advice do you have for students applying to Radiology?

I met an old southern radiologist when I was a medical student.  He looked like a colonel in the Civil War.  Grizzled and wizened, he looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Son, what is it ya wanna do with yo life?”

“Radiology, sir.”

He said, ”Well that shows remawkable judgment and good sense.”

You are choosing a career for LIFE.  Choose a specialty that you will enjoy when you’re 64.  Most people have the same specialty longer than they are married.  Treat your specialty choice with the same careful consideration as you would with any major life decision.  Or don’t, and go into ER.  What do I care?  Peace.

 

MYTH OR FACT:

Physicians from all specialties frequently switch to radiology after realizing their mistake

  1. Radiology is going to be Outsourced! – A favorite MYTH of surgeons, foreign doctors, and the ignorant.  First and foremost, as long as radiology is considered to be medical practice, then it will require aUS medical license.  Credentialing is increasingly difficult and the notion that any hospital would credential an unknown inRanipet,India is absurd.  Second, general radiologists now perform far too many procedures to not have a physical presence at a hospital.  And third, there is no way to sue that physician in Ranipet.
  2. Radiology doesn’t have enough patient contact  – MYTH.  Radiology has as much patient contact as you want.  At any time, I can put down my mocha latte and go talk to my patients.  I don’t, but I could.  Radiology requires a one year internship that is designed to shatter any delusions medical students still have about patient contact.
  3. Radiology has turf wars with other specialties.  – This is FACT, but it is not unique to radiology.  The most notable radiology turf war is with cardiologists over cardiac imaging.  Clinicians reading their own films is grossly inappropriate.  Clinicians are 4 times more likely to order a film if they are reading it themselves3.  Beyond the unscrupulous avarice, the radiation from unnecessary studies causes direct harm to patients.
  4. Radiologists sit in the dark all dayFACT, but there is nothing stopping me from turning the lights on while I read films.

 

Editor's Note: For more help choosing a specialty in medicine, I highly recommend one these great books about choosing a specialty. If you have already decided on radiology, I recommend the First Aid for the Match to help you get ready for interviews.

 

Allied Health Salaries

The new Medscape Physician Compensation Report identified internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics as the lowest earners in medicine (each with an average of less than $165,000 per year).  I wanted to compare these results to the updated information from the Cejka Search group who publish data on the salaries of allied health professionals. The Cejka Database is the best place I have found for reliable information about the salaries of allied health practitioners. The list of allied health workers is long and includes:

  • Nurse Practitioners (NP)
  • Certified Nurse Aneasthatists (CRNA)
  • Physicians Assistant (PA)
  • Podiatrist (DPM)
  • Occupational Therapist (OT)
  • Physical Therapist (PT)
  • Optomotrist (OD)
  • Psychologist (PhD)
  • Dentist (DMD or DDS)
  • Midwife

Cejka reports the following salary information for these allied health professionals.  As you can see, CRNAs and Dentists earn more money than our country’s primary care physicians (pediatricians, family physicians, general internists).  This is just the yearly salary information, not taking into account the number of hours worked. Very few allied health professionals work the average hours per week worked by primary care physicians in the US (60 hours is a very conservative estimate for our PCPs). This means the dollars per hour is vastly different between some allied health practitioners and our primary care doctors. How do you feel about this?

From Cejka Search

The Ultimate Guide to Physician Salaries

In light of the new Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2012 that was just released, I thought it was time to compile all the data on physician salaries into one place. There are many resources online that report average physician salaries, and many of them offer very different results. I recently wrote an article detailing the pros and the cons many of these online physician salary and compensation databases.  However, it can be a bit tedious to go through all the work of visiting each website to compare results.  So, I have done all the work for you. In this article I will present the physician salary by specialty data from all the reliable and relevant online physician salary databases.  Feel free to compare and contrast the information presented by each different company.

Medscape Physician Compensation Report

In my opinion, the Medscape average physician salary report is the most reliable data on the internet. It represents more than 20,000 physician surveys answered by doctors in every specialty in every part of the country. See my article about the 2012 Medscape report to learn about all the great information they report in their results.

 

Careers In Medicine: Specialty Pages

Careers in Medicine (CiM) is a great resource for medical students and medical residents (link to my previous article about Careers in medicine). One of the greatest tools it provides is a list of salary information for each specialty.  Careers in Medicine separates the compensation information using two very important distinctions: academic vs. private practice and starting salaries vs. established salaries.  CiM obtains the academic salary information from the Association of American Medical Colleges AAMC Report on Medical School Faculty Salaries. The data about private practice salaries comes from the MGMA Physician Compensation Survey.  Below, I have compiled a table of the salaries reported for each specialty. (Click here to download the formatted table) On the CiM website you can also see salary data for every sub-specialty; this is especially important for internal medicine, pediatrics, and general surgery where the sub-specialty choice results in very different salaries.

Compiled from the Careers in Medicine website, AAMC

 

Allied Physicians: Old Salary Survey

Many students use the alliedphysicians.com resource to learn about physician salaries by specialty. However, you should know that it has not been updated since 2006, so the information is likely a bit off now but the trends are still the same.

From alliedphysicians.com

 

Cejka Search

The Cejka Search Group is a great resource for salary information but also for job openings and employment information. Their physician salary survey is up-to-date and updated frequently. They freely publish their salary information in order to advertise the many physician job openings they have available.

Physician Specialty

Median Physician Compensation Data

Allergy & Immunology

$249,674

Anesthesiology

$370,500

Cardiac & Thoracic Surgery

$533,084

Cardiology

$402,000

Colon & Rectal Surgery

$394,723

Critical Care Medicine

$264,750

Dermatology

$375,176

Diagnostic Radiology – Interventional

$478,000

Diagnostic Radiology – Non-Interventional

$454,205

Emergency Care

$267,293

Endocrinology

$218,855

Family Medicine

$208,861

Family Medicine – with Obstetrics

$209,565

Gastroenterology

$405,000

General Surgery

$357,091

Geriatrics

$187,602

Gynecological Oncology

$413,500

Gynecology

$232,075

Gynecology & Obstetrics

$275,152

Hematology & Medical Oncology

$320,907

Hospitalist

$215,716

Hypertension & Nephrology

$259,677

Infectious Disease

$227,750

Intensivist

$313,152

Internal Medicine

$214,307

Neonatology

$280,771

Neurological Surgery

$592,811

Neurology

$236,500

Nuclear Medicine (M.D. only)

$331,000

Obstetrics

$275,152

Occupational / Environmental Medicine

$223,750

Ophthalmology

$238,200

Oral Surgery

$380,500

Orthopedic Surgery

$500,672

Orthopedic Surgery – Hand

$476,039

Orthopedic Surgery – Joint Replacement

$605,953

Orthopedic Surgery – Pediatrics

$425,000

Orthopedic Surgery – Spine

$688,503

Orthopedic-Medical

$297,348

Otolaryngology

$368,777

Pathology (M.D. only)

$354,750

Pediatric Allergy

$198,458

Pediatric Cardiology

$233,958

Pediatric Endocrinology

$187,957

Pediatric Gastroenterology

$240,895

Pediatric Hematology / Oncology

$212,577

Pediatric Infectious Disease

$209,680

Pediatric Intensive Care

$272,000

Pediatric Nephrology

$198,686

Pediatric Neurology

$219,561

Pediatric Pulmonary Disease

$201,841

Pediatric Surgery

$419,783

Pediatrics & Adolescent

$209,873

Perinatology

$394,121

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

$237,628

Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

$390,142

Psychiatry

$214,740

Psychiatry – Child

$216,360

Pulmonary Disease

$306,829

Radiation Therapy (M.D. only)

$447,250

Reproductive Endocrinology

$317,312

Rheumatologic Disease

$224,000

Sports Medicine

$231,540

Transplant Surgery – Kidney

$365,125

Transplant Surgery – Liver

$454,287

Trauma Surgery

$424,555

Urgent Care

$222,920

Urology

$413,941

Vascular Surgery

$413,629

Profiles Database Physician Salary Data

Profilesdatabase.com is another online physician recruitment company. They also publish their physician salary data freely in order to publicize their many job openings. Like the Cejka Search, these numbers are updated frequently and seem to be very reliable.

Specialty

National Average, Six Years in Practice

Median Starting Range

Allergy & Immunology

$246,000.00

$190,000.00

Anesthesiology

$360,000.00

$265,000.00

Cardiac & Thoracic Surgery

$522,875.00

$360,000.00

Cardiology

$402,000.00

$272,000.00

Colon& Rectal Surgery

$389,700.00

$290,000.00

Critical Care Medicine

$258,750.00

$198,000.00

Dermatology

$365,450.00

$234,000.00

Diagnostic Radiology – Interventional

$469,800.00

$335,000.00

Diagnostic Radiology – Non-Interventional

$444,850.00

$330,000.00

Endocrinology

$214,550.00

$165,000.00

Family Medicine

$199,850.00

$138,000.00

Family Medicine – with Obstetrics

$207,900.00

$142,000.00

Gastroenterology

$398,800.00

$272,000.00

General Surgery

$350,000.00

$225,000.00

Gynecological Oncology

$402,000.00

$300,000.00

Gynecology

$233,000.00

$210,000.00

Gynecology & Obstetrics

$279,750.00

$200,000.00

Hematology & Medical Oncology

$314,800.00

$222,000.00

Hospitalist

$210,950.00

$165,000.00

Nephrology

$252,000.00

$180,000.00

Infectious Disease

$225,000.00

$158,000.00

Internal Medicine

$208,790.00

$145,000.00

Neonatology

$275,400.00

$196,000.00

Neurological Surgery

$589,500.00

$395,000.00

Neurology

$237,000.00

$190,000.00

Ophthalmology

$248,000.00

$210,000.00

Orthopedic Surgery

$485,500.00

$315,000.00

Orthopedic Surgery – Pediatrics

$395,420.00

$318,000.00

Orthopedic Surgery – Spine

$625,000.00

$465,000.00

Otolaryngology

$350,000.00

$222,000.00

Pediatric Cardiology

$230,900.00

$189,000.00

Pediatric Endocrinology

$187,600.00

$170,000.00

Pediatric Gastroenterology

$230,500.00

$175,000.00

Pediatric Hematology / Oncology

$210,000.00

$175,000.00

Pediatric Infectious Disease

$205,00.00

$173,000.00

Pediatric Intensive Care

$252,500.00

$195,000.00

Pediatric Nephrology

$196,000.00

$172,000.00

Pediatric Neurology

$218,200.00

$182,000.00

Pediatric Pulmonary Disease

$190,000.00

$162,000.00

Pediatric Surgery

$401,000.00

$295,000.00

Pediatrics

$202,500.00

$162,000.00

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

$233,300.00

$178,000.00

Plastic  Surgery

$382,000.00

$273,000.00

Psychiatry

$211,000.00

$165,000.00

Psychiatry – Child

$218,300.00

$159,000.00

Pulmonary Disease

$298,000.00

$191,500.00

Rheumatology

$220,500.00

$163,500.00

Trauma Surgery

$400,000.00

$298,000.00

Urgent Care

$215,000.00

$142,000.00

Urology

$400,000.00

$250,000.00

Vascular Surgery

$405,000.00

$259,400.00

Merritt Hawkins: Physician Salary By Specialty

Merritt Hawkins is a physician salary survey that reports the average starting salary offered to new residency graduates.  The entire report for the year 2011 is available for free in PDF (click here). Remember, because these data represent new hires, the are STARTING SALARIES and should be compared to other reports accordingly. I will reprint the starting salaries of the 20 most highly recruited specialties below. The Merritt Hawkins PDF also reports the average signing bonus and average income guarantees. (If you are interested, I discuss the Merritt Hawkins report on the salaries of allied health professionals in another post)

 

From Merritt Hawkins Free PDF

 

The Medscape Physician Compensation Report, 2012

Each year Medscape conducts a nationwide study of physician salaries and compensation.  Medscape is surely one of the best online resources for researching physician salaries.  (See my article here about all the different online resources, databases, and surveys regarding physician salaries)  The data are a combination of over 20,000 surveys completed by physicians of every specialty all over the country.  The results for 2012 were published in late April. To compare the results of the Medscape Physician Compensation Report to the other well-known online survey results, check out my ‘Ultimate Guide to Physician Salaries‘ where you can compare all the available resources.

Results: Physician Salary by Specialty

Radiology and orthopedics are again the big money winners, bringing home an average salary of $315,000.  Family medicine and pediatrics earn the smallest salaries of all physicians at less than $160,000 a piece.

Taken from medscape.com

 

To see the full results, go to http://www.medscape.com/sites/public/physician-comp/2012.  You will need to obtain a FREE username and password, but the information is well worth the 10 seconds that will take.

 

Results: Physician Salary by Location

The Medscape survey also sheds light on some very interesting questions like ‘where in the US do physicians earn the most money?’  As you can see by the medscape graphic below, the average physician salary is nearly equal in all parts of the country. This is not the case in each specialty, but overall, there is no large difference.

Taken from medscape.com

 

Results: Changes in Salary since 2010

Medscape compares the average salary by specialty in 2012 to the same averages seen in 2010. The resulting data shed some light on the changes in physician salaries over the past couple years.  As you can see in the graphic below, ophthalmologists have enjoyed the largest increase in salary over the past two years while radiologists, orthopedists, and general surgeons have suffered the largest decline in wage.   The increase in ophthalmology compensation is interesting as they were the specialty that suffered the largest decline in salary between 2000 and 2010.  What we learn from this graph is simple: those that earn the most are the the greatest risk of declining salaries. This is because those who decide how much we all get reimbursed (i.e. Medicare and Medicaid bosses) will always go after those that are earning the most money. This is exactly what is happening right now to radiology and orthopedics, and is exactly what happened to ophthalmology 10 years ago.

From medscape.com

Results: Hours, Lifestyle, Satisfaction

In addition to salary information, the Medscape compensation report also details the number of hours worked in a week, the number of patients seen in a week, how satisfied doctors are with their specialty of choice, and many other questions.  Each of these questions is divided up by specialties so we can compare the results between specialties.

Again, here is the link to the main Medscape Physician Compensation Report
http://www.medscape.com/sites/public/physician-comp/2012

Also, medscape provides a detailed report for each specialty including the above data: salary, hours, lifestyle, satisfaction, etc. Click on the specialty below to be taken to the individual report. [LOGIN REQUIRED]


 

Resident and Fellow Salaries and Benefits

2011 Average Resident and Fellow Stipends

Every year the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) compiles a survey of intern, resident, and fellow salaries across the country.  While most medical and surgical residents are paid similar stipends, there are certainly differences.  This will become a somewhat important factor in ranking residency programs during the fourth year of medical school.  The recent AAMC resident and fellow stipend report can be found here as a pdf document. The complete document describes current resident salaries and displays a chart of the average resident salaries all the way back to the 1960s.  Additionally, it details the difference in stipends between the northeast, the south, the west, and the midwest. Finally, it explains in detail what is included in the average benefits packages (i.e. medical insurance premiums, retirment plans, life insurance, disability ect).

The report contains salary information for all training levels, intern thru post graduate year (PGY) eight. The national mean salary of each PGY level and the percent change from 2010 is shown below.  (taken from the AAMC document)

The next table displays the average first year resident (i.e. ‘intern’) salary each year since 1968.  The average increase in salary in recent years has been 2-4%.

As you will see in the complete document, the residency programs that pay the most are church sponsored hospitals in the northeast.  Those that pay the least are state hospitals in the south.

Book Review: Over our Heads (2011)

Dr. Rulon Stacey, PhD is the president and CEO of Poudre Valley Health System, he is the current president of the American College of Health Care Executives, and recently won the Malcolm Baldrige Award presented by President Obama. He recently published a new book: Over Our Heads: An Analogy on Healthcare, Good Intentions and Unforeseen Consequences, which outlines some of the problems with health care in our country.  In the book he uses an allegory of a grocery store owner to explain how government regulation has created a cumbersome and expensive health care system that is near the brink of failure.  He cites specific government bills and describes how each of them has affected the health care system.  The allegory allows the layperson to understand some of the difficult nuances of health care and government regulation.  I think this is an extremely important book written by a man who knows the system as well as anyone else.  I recommend the short read to all medical students and everyone else.  Below is the official book description from Amazon.

 

 


 

 

Costs continue to soar, and Americans already crippled by a sluggish economy struggle to pay escalating insurance premiums. Politicians, entertainers, and other public figures regularly demonize healthcare professionals as the ones who created this situation through either greed or mismanagement. Meanwhile, it seems as though government solutions just make things worse, and the problems keep piling up.

How did we get to this point? According to Rulon Stacey author of Over Our Heads: An Analogy on Healthcare, Good Intentions and Unforeseen Consequences the roots of the problem are inseparable from the solution. Government intervention, meant to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, has instead created a system so convoluted and complex that we can no longer keep up with current policy.

This book is Stacey's attempt to describe, in a concise and relatable way, where our national healthcare policy went wrong. His analogy centers on a grocery store in the fictional town of Capital Springs and details what happens when the city government decides to issue food vouchers in order to help the community s poor and then gradually begins to reduce their reimbursement.

As the mayor tinkers with the program, the results of his actions lead to higher prices, inadequate distribution, and a situation analogous to where healthcare finds itself right now. The book ends with the election of an even more generous mayor and a grim prediction of what will happen to the industry if current public policy remains unchanged.

Readers will learn three key lessons:
1. Government intervention, fueled by good intentions, caused this crisis.
2. Current public policy is based on faulty information and should be evaluated.
3. If left unchecked, health reform will continue to promise more healthcare for less reimbursement…and the whole system will surely collapse on itself.

This book will be welcomed by healthcare professionals searching for a way to tell their story, political reformers building a case for change, students seeking a defined case study on the healthcare cost crisis, and citizens seeking insights on how we got so far in over our heads and where we re likely to end up.

Average Physician Salary

In this article I will highlight some of the best online resources for researching physician salaries by specialty. I will explain why each site is good and why each site is less than idea. I do not print out any of the salary information. I recently wrote another article where all the salary information from these sites is printed. “The Ultimate Guide to Physician Salaries” is a complete analysis of all physician salary data online. You no longer have to google ‘physician salary’ to find all the best information, the Ultimate Guide to Physician Salary has it all laid out in one place.

The longer you are a medical student, the more you will think about this question. In most academic medicine circles, it is taboo to discuss salaries and earnings.  However, this is an important question and one that SHOULD NOT make you feel guilty.  The information is important in planning your life, budgeting your money and loan dollars, and in choosing a specialty.

 

There are a number of ways to research physician salaries, none of which is perfect.  When conducting this research you must remember that most private physicians own their own practice, are not employed, and therefore do not have an easy reportable income.  In this article we will review the best online resources to research physician salaries, and the pros and cons of each resource.  You should remember that most of these numbers come from email or snail mail surveys with small response rates, so the numbers will vary.  If the data you find online do not come from large physician surveys, they are probably not reliable.  Below I outline four very reliable sources.

 

#1  Medscape Physician Compensation Report

Each year Medscape conducts an enormous survey of physicians of every specialty (see my dedicated article about the newest report).  To access the results of the survey you must be a member of Medscape/Web MD.  This is a free service that I would suggest to all medical students even if you do not access their survey results (membership also provides free access to the best ipod/ipad/iphone apps for medical school which I discuss here).

Access to the site allows you to view the data for all specialties of medicine.  Medscape publishes one conglomerate presentation where they compare compensation among all specialties, all practice settings (private vs. multi specialty group vs. academic), and all locations (urban vs. rural).  In addition, they publish a presentation for each sub-specialty where they explore gender effects, time spent with patients, patient visits in a week, geographical sector (east coast vs. west coast vs. south vs. mid-west), and other factors affecting compensation.

http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2011/
(login needed)

PROS:
Represents responses from over 15,000 physicians, the largest report of its kind.
Neat display and graphics
Tons of extra information about location, practice setting, etc
Updated yearly
They report the changes to compensation from year to year
Access to their site provides many other benefits (apps)

CONS:
You must have a login, which is free and non-intrusive

 

#2 Careers in Medicine website 

As I discussed in a previous article, the Careers in Medicine (CiM) website is a fantastic resource for all medical students.  The site provides tools to understand personality traits, which specialties you might enjoy the most, and ample information about each specialty in medicine.  One of the best parts about the website is the unbiased salary information they provide about each specialty and some sub-specialties.

Once you are logged on (medical school email address required) you will have to find the links to specialty pages, and then find the compensation tab.  These information reported is survey information and is updated periodically.  They offer the unique ability to compare academic salaries to those of private practitioners in each specialty and sub-specialty.  In addition, they report the salary information broken up into “First three years of career” and “Late career” to compare how compensation might change as your practice gets settled.

https://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/cim/

PROS:
Unbiased information available only to medical students
Compare compensation of academic to private practice physicians
Part of a great web resource for all medical students
Includes ample information about each specialty

CONS:
You must have a login, which is free for all medical students
There is not compensation information about smaller sub-specialties

 

 #3 Merritt Hawkins

Merritt Hawkins is another web-based survey company that conducts an annual physician compensation survey.  Their data, however, is a little different than the other companies.  The report the results of salary and incentives offered to physicians through head-huThe results of their survey are open to the public.  They conduct a number of great analyses including identifying the most recruited specialties, where to find probono medical work, and their salary information.

Their main site provides links to all the above information

http://merritthawkins.com/

Their most recent salary information (2010) is available at the link below.

http://www.merritthawkins.com/uploadedFiles/MerrittHawkings/Surveys/mha2010incentivesurvPDF.pdf

PROS:
PDF format with ample information
Compare the results of the last 4 years’ surveys in the same pdf
Very large survey providing reliable results

CONS:
Not all specialties (ophthalmology) are included
No ditinction between practice situation and location

 

 #4 CEJKA Search

This is a little known resource that provides great information.  The AMGA Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey is a  company that has been following physician salaries for 30 years.  They report the results of their analysis for free on their website.  There is no nonsense to their data, they simply list the median salary for all specialties in medicine.  They also provide compensation information for physician executives and for mid-level providers (PA, CNP, CRNA, Podiatrist, Optometrist, etc.)

 

http://www.cejkasearch.com/view-compensation-data/

PROS:
Clean format, easy to access
Easy to compare, all information on one webpage

CONS:
Fewer respondants than other surveys
Private company

#5 Allied Physicians Survey

The Allied Physicians survey is one of the most readily available tools to research physician salary information.  The organization has been collecting salary information since 2003.  It is unclear if they are still updating the information on their website as it posts “2006” as the most recent update.  The great part about this survey, however, is the ability to quickly compare all the specialties of medicine. They are reported in one webpage, side by side, so you do not have to click one hundred times to see all the information

http://www.alliedphysicians.com/salary-surveys/physicians/

PROS:
Clean format, easy to access
Easy to compare specialties
Demonstrates three compensation tiers (starting, 1-3 years, >3 years)

CONS:
Unclear if the survey is still being updated

 

#6 Public Record Information

As I mentioned in a previous post, many states have now made public university salary information open to the public.  This means that the salaries of many physicians who work at public academic medical centers are now widely accessible.  You can simply google “salary information” and the university you are interested in researching to find the data.  Or, you can go to the website below which has compiled all the information for you.

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries

PROS:
-Learn about real salary information of academic physicians
-Salary data for chairmen, deans, CEOs are all public record

CONS:
-Not all states represented
-Many universities have incentive structures built into salary information, so the numbers you see reported may not be the actual salary brought home by the physician.

Freedom of Information Acts and Physician Salaries

Many states have passed freedom of information acts that force public universities to publish the salary data for all of their employees. Whether you agree or disagree with this form of legislation, you should all know what information these acts provide you.  There are now a large number of academic medical centers whose salary information is available to you and the public.  A quick Google search will find the university you are interested and the department, specialty, or physician you would like to learn about.

If you are interested in working in academics, estimating your future salary was next to impossible before this information was made public.  We all know that academic docs usually make less money than private docs, but the taboo issue is never discussed.  Many sites provide survey information on how much physicians make in different specialties, but these rarely distinguish between private and academic physicians.  Now, thanks to the Freedom of Information Acts, you can know.

Because this information is public record, you can just search for it on the web.  I have found that the Collegiate Times website is very well organized and lets you search by University, Department, or Name.

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries

One last caveat.  You will see some information that is surely inaccurate.  Many physicians’ income in an academic center comes from a number of different sources (multiple departments, multiple hospitals, bonuses for productivity etc).  So, if you see an orthopedic surgeon making $60,000 don’t get an aneurysm, there is something else going on.

Careers in Medicine from the AAMC

If you have ever wondered how to choose a specialty, this website might be your best resource. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) provides all medical students free registration and access to this very useful tool.

https://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/cim/

The website provides students with multiple decision tools including…

  • quizzes to determine what personality traits you obtain
  • online surveys to help determine what your career goals
  • surveys that suggest possible specialties that fit with your traits and priorities
  • what characteristics of each specialty might appeal or disuade you

In addition, the most powerful part of the website are the specialty specific pages available to all students.  These pages outline a number of things about each specialty

  • Patient population, including age, gender, ethnicity
  • Top 5 most common diagnoses seen by the specialty
  • Competativeness of the match
  • Personality traits common to most in the specialty
  • Average compensation data for the specialty

I urge all medical students to sign up for this fantastic tool.  You should begin your specialty search early in your career.  To the 1st and 2nd year students, it is never too early!  Begin by learning about your career goals and your personality traits and you will start to identify specialties that may fit into your mold.

 

 

The Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2011

(See my article about the new 2012 Medscape Compensation Report here)

If you have not seen it already, the newest physician compensation report was recently released by Medscape.  Each year Medscape surveys thousands of physicians and reports the results in graphical form.  In order to access the report, you have to be a medscape member.  Don’t let this stop you, by joining medscape you will also have access to some of the best software and portable medical apps for free (see my previous post regarding these apps).  It is a win-win situation.

The main report can be found here,
http://www.medscape.com/sites/public/physician-comp/2011

The report includes salary and compensation information on 23 specialties.  Medscape also publishes a specialty-specific report for each specialty which outlines geographical and practice specific factors that affect compensation.  The specialties are listed below with links to specialty specific reports (only available with Medscape account).