Healthcare News and Trends
Physician Starting Salaries by Specialty: 2019 vs. 2018
August 06, 2019
Are
physician salary offers going up or down? The ever-changing job market is
showing a little of both, depending on your medical specialty.
Merritt
Hawkins tracks recruiting trends including salaries, bonuses and other incentives
offered to physicians and advanced practitioner candidates on an annual basis.
Our latest report shows that 13 of the top 20 recruited specialties saw an
increase in their average starting salaries compared to the previous year,
while the other seven saw a decrease. This in itself is a positive trend, as last
year’s report found just nine out of the top 20 specialties experienced
year-over-year salary increases.
Now in
its 26th year, the 2019
Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives analyzed
3,131 recruiting assignments from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.
This
national sample shows that invasive cardiologists were once again offered the highest
average physician salaries, at $648,000 for 2018/2019, which was an increase
from the previous year. The lowest average physician salaries among the most-requested
searches were paid to family medicine physicians, with an average salary of
$239,000, down just slightly from the previous year. (Family physicians were
the most requested specialty among all of those tracked, for the 13th
year in a row.)
The five
specialties that saw the largest increase in physicians’ starting salaries from
the previous year included:
1.
Urologists – up 20.2%
2.
Invasive Cardiologists – up 9.8%
3.
Anesthesiologists – up 8.9%
4.
Emergency Medicine Physicians – up 8.5%
5.
Neurologists – up 5.3%
The most
widely recruited advanced practitioners saw mixed results: the average salary
offered to nurse practitioners (NPs) for 2018/2019 was $125,000, which was a
decrease over the previous year, while the average salary offered to certified
registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) was $197,000, up slightly from 2017/2018.
Average Physician Salaries: The Top
20 Recruited Specialties
This year-to-year comparison for the top 20
specialty searches conducted by Merritt Hawkins and their associated staffing
companies represent physician starting salaries or guaranteed income only;
these amounts do not include bonuses or benefits.
| Medical Specialty | 2018/2019 Average Salary
Offer | 2017/2018 Average Salary
Offer | Year over Year
Change (YOY) |
|
1. Cardiologist (Invasive)
|
$648,000
|
$590,000
|
9.8%
|
|
2. Orthopedic Surgeon
|
$536,000
|
$533,000
|
0.6%
|
|
3. Gastroenterologist
|
$495,000
|
$487,000
|
1.6%
|
|
4. Urologist
|
$464,000
|
$386,000
|
20.2%
|
|
Cardiologist (Non-invasive); counted with #1
above
|
$441,000
|
$427,000
|
3.3%
|
|
5. Dermatologist
|
$420,000
|
$425,000
|
-1.2%
|
|
6. Anesthesiologist
|
$404,000
|
$371,000
|
8.9%
|
|
7. Otolaryngologist
|
$402,000
|
$405,000
|
-0.7%
|
|
8. Pulmonologist
|
$399,000
|
$418,000
|
-4.6%
|
|
9. Hematologist/Oncologist
|
$393,000
|
$391,000
|
0.5%
|
|
10. Radiologist
|
$387,000
|
$371,000
|
4.3%
|
|
11. Emergency Medicine Physician
|
$382,000
|
$358,000
|
8.5%
|
|
12. OB/GYN
|
$318,000
|
$324,000
|
-1.9%
|
|
13. Neurologist
|
$317,000
|
$301,000
|
5.3%
|
|
14. Psychiatrist
|
$273,000
|
$261,220
|
4.5%
|
|
15. Hospitalist
|
$268,000
|
$269,000
|
-0.4%
|
|
16. Internal Medicine (Internist)
|
$264,000
|
$261,000
|
1.2%
|
|
17. Pediatrician
|
$242,000
|
$230,000
|
5.2%
|
|
18. Family Medicine Physician
|
$239,000
|
$241,000
|
-0.8%
|
|
19. CRNA
|
$197,000
|
$194,000
|
1.6%
|
|
20. Nurse Practitioner
|
$124,000
|
$129,000
|
-3.8%
|
To learn more about the salary and incentive packages offered
to all specialties of physicians and advanced practitioners in various
workplace settings—including bonuses, relocation packages, student loan
repayment and other elements of compensation—download a copy of the 2019 Review. This comprehensive report also looks at the
current demand for various medical specialties, and a number of trends that are
impacting the healthcare workforce.
RELATED:
Physician
Starting Salaries by Specialty: 2018 vs. 2017
8
Top Incentives Offered to Physicians and Advanced Practitioners
MERRITT HAWKINS’ experienced recruitment consultants can help
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with a recruiter today.
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