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Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2022: Incomes Gain, Pay Gaps Remain
Leslie Kane, MA | April 15, 2022 | Contributor Information
Last year was a welcome reprieve for many physicians; practices reopened, patients ventured out, and elective procedures ramped up. Still, many physicians struggled with a tougher workload, having to see more patients, taking pay cuts, and having less staff to work with.
Over 13,000 physicians in more than 29 specialties told us how their compensation fared, how they now feel about being physicians, how they've been supplementing their income, and how they've been paying for their own healthcare.
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Income took a jump from the prior year, but some of that was compensating for stagnant or declining income in 2020, when practices were closed and patients were staying home.
"Compensation for most physicians is trending back up as demand for physicians accelerates," says James Taylor, chief operating officer of AMN Healthcare's Leadership Solutions Division. "At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Merritt Hawkins saw a 30% decrease in client physician recruiting engagements year-over-year. But in the 4th quarter of 2021, physician recruitment engagements hit an all-time high. The market for physicians has done a complete 180 over just 7 or 8 months."
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The highest-earning specialties are virtually unchanged this year from 5 years ago, in 2017. For employed physicians, these figures include salary, bonus, and profit-sharing contributions. For self-employed physicians, they include earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses before income tax. Only full-time salaries were included in our results.
Leslie Kane, MA | April 15, 2022 | Contributor Information
Last year was a welcome reprieve for many physicians; practices reopened, patients ventured out, and elective procedures ramped up. Still, many physicians struggled with a tougher workload, having to see more patients, taking pay cuts, and having less staff to work with.
Over 13,000 physicians in more than 29 specialties told us how their compensation fared, how they now feel about being physicians, how they've been supplementing their income, and how they've been paying for their own healthcare.
2 of 32
Income took a jump from the prior year, but some of that was compensating for stagnant or declining income in 2020, when practices were closed and patients were staying home.
"Compensation for most physicians is trending back up as demand for physicians accelerates," says James Taylor, chief operating officer of AMN Healthcare's Leadership Solutions Division. "At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Merritt Hawkins saw a 30% decrease in client physician recruiting engagements year-over-year. But in the 4th quarter of 2021, physician recruitment engagements hit an all-time high. The market for physicians has done a complete 180 over just 7 or 8 months."
3 of 32
The highest-earning specialties are virtually unchanged this year from 5 years ago, in 2017. For employed physicians, these figures include salary, bonus, and profit-sharing contributions. For self-employed physicians, they include earnings after taxes and deductible business expenses before income tax. Only full-time salaries were included in our results.
