Of the 20 most-recruited physician and advanced practitioner specialties, 13 had higher average base salary offers in 2012-13 compared with the year before, according to a report from physician staffing firm Merritt Hawkins.
Merritt Hawkins based its data on nearly 3,100 physician and advanced practitioner search assignments from April 2012 through March 2013.
Hospitals, health systems, accountable care organizations and other healthcare organizations heavily recruited primary care physicians — like those in family medicine or internal medicine — the most in the past year. However, their salary offers only increased marginally, and for some, such as family physicians and pediatricians, their starting salary offers were actually down year-over-year.
Orthopedic surgeons continue to command the highest salary offers, though their average salary offer dropped 7 percent in 2012-13 to $483,000 compared with the year prior.
Here are 42 statistics on average base salary offers to the 20 most heavily recruited physician specialties and advanced practitioners over the past year. Note: Figures only represent base salaries or guaranteed income. They do not include production bonuses or benefits. Data is sorted by highest average salary offer from last year.
Orthopedic surgery
2012-13: $483,000
2011-12: $519,000
Cardiology
Invasive cardiology
2012-13: $461,000
2011-12: $512,000
Noninvasive cardiology
2012-13: $447,000
2011-12: $396,000
Gastroenterology
2012-13: $441,000
2011-12: $433,000
Urology
2012-13: $424,000
2011-12: $461,000
Otolaryngology
2012-13: $398,000
2011-12: $412,000
Hematology/oncology
2012-13: $382,000
2011-12: $360,000
Dermatology
2012-13: $371,000
2011-12: $364,000
Pulmonology
2012-13: $351,000
2011-12: $321,000
General surgery
2012-13: $336,000
2011-12: $343,000
Neurology
2012-13: $300,000
2011-12: $280,000
Emergency medicine
2012-13: $288,000
2011-12: $264,000
Obstetrics/gynecology
2012-13: $286,000
2011-12: $268,000
Geriatrics
2012-13: $240,000
2011-12: $205,000
Hospitalist
2012-13: $227,000
2011-12: $221,000
Psychiatry
2012-13: $218,000
2011-12: $224,000
Internal medicine
2012-13: $208,000
2011-12: $203,000
Family medicine
2012-13: $185,000
2011-12: $189,000
Pediatrics
2012-13: $179,000
2011-12: $189,000
Physician assistant
2012-13: $118,000
2011-12: $99,000
Nurse practitioner
2012-13: $105,000
2011-12: $95,000
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