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Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Over 7600 female physicians responded to this year's Medscape compensation survey, the results of which are seen in our 2018 Physician Compensation Report. Physicians disclosed their compensation, hours worked, minutes spent with patients, debt, net worth, and satisfaction with their career and specialty. (Note: Values in graphs have been rounded.)
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Plastic surgeons, gastroenterologists, and radiologists were among the most highly compensated female physicians. Among the lowest were female public health & preventive medicine (PH/PM) physicians, infectious disease physicians, and endocrinologists.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Women are prevalent in obstetrics & gynecology and pediatrics, and they comprise half of plastic surgeons and nearly half of PH/PMs and family physicians. Among the specialties with women comprising less than 20% are orthopedics, cardiology, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, radiology, pulmonary medicine, nephrology, and urology.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
This year, male primary care physician respondents reported average annual earnings of $239,000, compared with $203,000 for female respondents. The wage gap between men and women who choose primary care is similar to that of last year, when men's earnings were $225,000 and women's were $192,000.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Overall, male specialists earned more in average annual earnings than women who chose specialties ($358,000 and $263,000, respectively). This result may be influenced by the smaller percentage of women in some of the higher-paying specialties. In addition, more women than men have chosen employment (75% vs 66%), which could also contribute to the disparity. The difference in compensation is about similar to last year's.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
There is a larger percentage difference in income between men and women who are in the two older age groups of practicing physicians compared with both the youngest and oldest groups. For those aged 34 years or under, the disparity is 25%, which is only slightly less than the percentage difference in the oldest group.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Among female primary care physicians, there is little difference in compensation between those who are employed or self-employed. Among those who specialize, however, self-employed women earn more than those who are employed.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
About two thirds of younger women chose a primary care profession, which is a higher percentage than among their older peers. The percentages of younger women compared with the older group are almost identical in family medicine, pediatrics, and ob/gyn. Of interest, however, more younger than older women are in internal medicine.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Disparities exist not only between genders but also among various racial and ethnic groups. In all racial and ethnic groups, women physicians earned less than men.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Over half of women of mixed race are in primary care compared with only 30% of their male peers. No matter the racial/ethnic group, more women than men go into primary care, with the least gender difference observed among Hispanic/Latino physicians.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Women who are based in a hospital or healthcare organization setting have among the highest full-time compensation. Women in academia or government settings and those in outpatient clinics are among the lowest paid.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Types of debt and expenses between female and male physician respondents are very similar, with the exception that a higher percentage of women are still paying off college debts. This may correlate with women earning less.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
More than half of female endocrinologists, urologists, pathologists, family physicians, and allergists are still paying off their school loans. Among those least burdened by school loans are gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, nephrologists, and dermatologists. Even so, more than a quarter of female physicians are still paying off their school loans.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
About 12% of men and 22% of women reported this year that they work part-time (less than 40 hours per week). These percentages have shown almost no change over the past 4 years.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Given that male physicians earn more than women overall, and that there are fewer women in many of the higher-paying specialties, it's of no surprise that women's net worth is also lower. In this year's report, nearly half of male physicians report a net worth of more than $1 million, compared with less than a third of female physicians.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
According to this year's report, men and women hardly differ in their spending habits. Physicians in general have a financially conservative lifestyle. The majority of female and male physicians report either living at or below their means.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
The female physicians most likely to believe that they are fairly compensated include pulmonologists, endocrinologists, pediatricians, and emergency medicine physicians. Among the least satisfied are allergists, infectious disease physicians, and nephrologists. There does not appear to be a correlation between amount of compensation and level of satisfaction.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Given the disparity in compensation, it's hardly surprising that more men than women are satisfied with their income, although the difference is not great.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Male and female physicians are about equally likely to take new and current Medicare and Medicaid patients or to stop treating these patients. About three quarters of both men and women say they will take new and current patients, which is higher among women than the 67% reported last year.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
This year, one third of all female physicians report that they will participate in the exchanges. Slightly less than one half are still undecided. This has not changed since last year's report.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
When female physicians were asked whether their income was affected by health insurance exchanges, 44% reported no change and only 4% said it had increased. Eleven percent reported a decrease, and 41% did not participate. These numbers are similar to those of the previous year.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
A third of male physicians spend 46 hours or more per week with patients, compared with about one quarter of their female peers. About two thirds of men and over three quarters of women spend less time than that. Men's longer hours may help explain the compensation disparity between the genders.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Previous Medscape research found that female physicians spent more time with patients on average. This year's report shows similar findings, with slightly over half of women taking 17 or more minutes with patients compared with about two fifths of men. (This report finds that women spend fewer hours per week with patients but more minutes with them. This suggests that women see fewer patients, which might help account for their lower compensation.)
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Bureaucratic tasks have consistently been reported in Medscape's Lifestyle Reports through the years as the prime cause of burnout among all physicians. And it only gets worse, particularly for women. This year, nearly three quarters of female physicians spent 10 hours or more per week on paperwork compared with about three fifths last year. Men spend less time than women do, but compared with last year, their burden also increased, from 54% to 69% of men spending 10 or more hours on paperwork.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
No real difference exists in the percentage of women and men who discuss costs with patients. This year, 86% of female physicians say they regularly or occasionally discuss the cost of treatment with patients, which is basically the same for men.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Despite complaints about red tape, work requirements, and changes in the healthcare field, nearly all female respondents found some reward in being a physician and treating patients. This year, among both men and women, relationships with patients was named most frequently, with slightly more women citing this. More women than men thought knowing that they are making the world a better place was rewarding, while more men than women cited being very good at what they do.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
There were some differences in how male and female physicians rated the challenging parts of their job. More men tended to consider having so many rules and regulations challenging, while more women were burdened by working long hours and dealing with difficult patients. Women also appeared to find dealing with electronic health records less difficult than men did.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Of female physicians who reported on whether they would choose medicine again, among those most likely to were plastic surgeons, psychiatrists, and anesthesiologists. Among those least likely to choose this profession were allergists, PH/PM physicians, and pathologists. Compensation levels might have some correlation with this choice.
Carol Peckham | July 5, 2018 | Contributor Information
Of female physicians who would go into medicine again, almost all orthopedists, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists would also choose the same specialty. Among those least likely to go into their same specialty were rheumatologists, nephrologists, and PH/PM physicians.
Medscape's 2018 Physician Compensation Report provides the most recent physician salary data from nearly 20,000 physicians across 29 specialties.Medscape Features Slideshows, April 2018
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Carol Peckham
Director, Editorial Services
Art Science Code LLC
New York, New York
Disclosure: Carol Peckham has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
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