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Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021
| Contributor Information
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Physician compensation was atypical during the first year of the COVID-19 crisis, as many physicians' offices closed temporarily and most physicians saw fewer patients for an extended time. Young physicians — those under age 40 years — fared slightly better with compensation than did their older peers.
Nearly 2500 young physicians responded to this year's survey to weigh in on everything from their salary and financial challenges in 2020 to their satisfaction in practicing medicine. The data for this year's report were collected October 6, 2020, through February 11, 2021.
(Note: Some chart data in this presentation do not sum to 100% owing to rounding. Calculations and rankings are based on raw data to avoid errors due to rounding.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Survey respondents reported their compensation for patient care. For employed physicians, that includes salary, bonus, and profit-sharing contributions. For self-employed physicians, it includes earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses, before income tax. Only full-time salaries are included in our results. Despite the hardships of the pandemic, 2020 ended with overall physician income similar to the prior year's.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Physicians under the age of 40 saw very modest gains in average compensation in 2020, slightly narrowing the pay gap with their older peers, who lost a bit of ground. In our Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2020, older specialists earned around $62,000 more than younger specialists annually; older primary care physicians (PCPs) earned $64,000 more than younger PCPs.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Among young physicians, 46% are women, a higher percentage than among older physicians. The percentage of women in each age group has been fairly similar for 5 consecutive years.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Our 2021 Physician Compensation Report showed that, on average, male physicians continue to earn more than their female counterparts, both in primary care and in specialties. When looking at specific age groups, the largest income differences for men vs women occur among those 35-54 years old.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Some racial and ethnic groups are more often represented among younger physicians, whereas a larger percentage of older physicians are Caucasian/White. This year's results are similar to last year's. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Employment continues to be a more popular work situation among younger physicians, with the proportions unchanged from our prior year's report. The percentages of employed and self-employed older physicians are similar to the prior year's.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
In any practice model, physicians aged 40 years or older earn more than younger physicians — as is the case in virtually all occupations where years of experience is factored into compensation. The largest pay difference between younger and older physicians exists in outpatient clinics, followed by healthcare organizations and hospitals, the same as in last year's report. Physicians younger than 40 years earn the most in office-based single-specialty group practices.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Emergency medicine, psychiatry, and radiology were among the specialties in which young physicians were most satisfied with their compensation. Among physicians overall, oncologists (79%), psychiatrists (69%), plastic surgeons (68%) and dermatologists (67%) were among the most satisfied.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
In the first year of the pandemic, around 6 in 10 employed male physicians under age 40 were seeking promotion within their current practice setting, similar to their female counterparts in that age group. Among employed physicians age 40 or older, women were somewhat more likely to aim for promotion than men.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Physicians younger than 40 years were somewhat less likely than their older peers to have faced a temporary period of no earnings in 2020. Notably, about half of younger physicians said they did not suffer financial or practice-related ill effects due to the pandemic. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Far higher percentages of younger physicians have college or medical school loans either for themselves or for their spouses. However, as might be expected, older physicians are more likely to have college expenses for their own kids. Younger doctors more so than their older peers (27% vs 10%) note childcare as a major expense. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
About 6 in 10 young primary care physicians are paying off their own college or medical school loans. Among younger specialists, physiatrists are among the most likely to carry such debt, along with family physicians and pediatricians. Young radiologists are the least likely to be paying off student loans. (Results are shown only for specialties with sufficient sample sizes.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Despite widespread financial uncertainty, most physicians of all ages were able to pay their mortgages and other bills during the first year of the pandemic.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
About two thirds of both younger and older physicians didn't take any particular actions to reduce major expenses in 2020. Among those who did, young physicians were somewhat more likely to have deferred or refinanced loans to reduce their short-term burden than were those aged 40 or older. (Respondents could choose more than one answer.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Most physicians' work includes a combination of time with patients and time spent on paperwork, meetings and reporting. About 6 in 10 physicians, whether young or older, spent between 30 and 45 hours weekly seeing patients. Close to one tenth spent 56 hours or more per week.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
The majority of doctors, regardless of age, spent 16 minutes or less with each of their patients. A somewhat larger percentage of older than younger physicians spent 17 minutes or more with each patient.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Time devoted to bureaucratic tasks — paperwork, EHR documentation, administrative and managerial work, participation in professional organizations, and clinical reading — continues to take a toll on younger and older physicians alike. Close to three quarters of both age groups spent 10 or more hours each week on such duties.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
The large majority of physicians overall discuss treatment costs with their patients, although a slightly higher percentage of older (32%) than younger (27%) physicians said they do so regularly.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
About one quarter of younger physicians cited gratitude from and relationships with patients as their main source of career satisfaction, with an equal proportion pointing to making the world a better place. One fifth said being very good at what they do is most rewarding. The responses among this age group align closely with those of their peers overall.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Rules and regulations continue to bog down young physicians' daily work, but unlike their peers overall, these doctors find dealing with difficult patients to be as big a challenge. Having to work long hours is high on the list of difficulties for all physicians.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Despite the upheaval wrought by the pandemic, about three quarters of physicians younger than 40 would choose medicine again if they could redo their careers, about the same proportion as among older physicians.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
Young intensivists, ophthalmologists, and gastroenterologists would be most likely to pursue medicine again. Young physiatrists would be least likely to pick medicine again as a profession. (Results are shown only for specialties with sufficient sample sizes.)
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
A large majority of young physicians would pick the same specialty if they had to choose a career path again. As in last year's report, internists and family physicians were among the least likely to say they would choose the same specialty.
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
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Medscape Young Physician Compensation Report 2021
Leslie Kane, MA | September 24, 2021 | Contributor Information
'Death by 1000 Cuts': Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2021
Burnout and depression are still serious problems among physicians, especially amid COVID-19. More than 12,000 physicians told us how burnout has affected their relationships, career, and happiness. Medscape Features Slideshow, Jan 2021
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Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.
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Leslie Kane, MA
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Medscape Business of Medicine
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