Neurosurgeons had the highest average base salary or guaranteed income out of the top 20 specialties recruited by Merritt Hawkins in 2013-14, including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
The average income offered to neurosurgeons was $591,000, according to Merritt Hawkins' 2014 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives. This is down from the average salary offer in 2011-12, which was $701,000. Data was not available for 2012-13.
The following are the average base salary offers for Merritt Hawkins' top 20 most-requested physician and advanced practitioner searches by specialty, from highest salary to lowest.
Neurosurgery: $591,000
Urology: $504,000
Orthopedic surgery: $488,000
Cardiology (invasive): $454,000
Gastroenterology: $454,000
Cardiology (non-invasive): $442,000
Hematology/Oncology: $377,000
Otolaryngology: $372,000
Pulmonology: $358,000
General surgery: $354,000
Emergency medicine: $311,000
Obstetrics/Gynecology: $288,000
Neurology: $262,000
Hospitalist: $229,000
Psychiatry: $217,000
Family medicine: $199,000
Internal medicine: $198,000
Pediatrics: $188,000
Nurse practitioner: $106,000
Physician assistant: $105,000
The report is based on the 3,158 physician and advanced practitioner search assignments conducted by Merritt Hawkins and AMN Healthcare's staffing companies between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014.