HOW MUCH DO PHYSICIANS EARN?If you’ve ever wondered what doctors make, your curiosity will be satisfied with this post.
In general, physicians earn the most of any occupation. The occupation covers a broad range of specialties and the average compensation of a physician depends heavily on his or her area of specialization.
These 2008 figures came from the American Board of Medical Specialties (1). Seventy specialties are listed. Alphabetically the list starts with Allergy & Immunology and ends with Vascular Surgery. Dollar-wise, the specialists who earn the most money are Orthopedic Surgeons (spine specialists) who averaged $612,000. The “paupers” are Pediatricians who specialize in pulmonary diseases. They only averaged $173,000.
The “n.a.” means that the data was “not available.” Also, you can click on the charts to enlarge them. To return to this window, click on the [back arrow] key of your keyboard.
Before you send your kid to medical school, realize that doctors do earn their keep, i.e., they work hard and, before that, they trained hard, for a long time, to get to their position. And the education doesn’t stop. Make sure your kid realizes that also! Still, in the context of today’s compensation for some business executives (mostly CEOs of large US corporations, I think doctors are more deserving of their compensation than many of these executives.
FORMAL EDUCATION
Nearly all students that enter medical school have a bachelor’s degree. In fact, many of them have graduate degrees. Their first two years are spent in classrooms and laboratories. Their last two are spent working “hands-on” with patients under supervision. After four years of medical school, graduates begin their “residency.” This is on-the-job training at a hospital. During residency, students begin their post-graduate education in a specialty of their choosing. Residency can range from three to five years depending upon the chosen specialization. For those seeking to specialize even further, there are “fellowships” that take more years. Internal medicine, pediatrics, and general family practice require three years of residency. If the doctor chooses to specialize further—for example, gastroenterology, which is a subspecialty of internal medicine—another one to three years will be required (2).
So let’s add that up. The least specialized doctors have a bachelor’s degree (four years), a graduate degree (four years), and several years of residency (at least three years). Incidentally, the first year of residency is typically called “internship.” Compare this to an academician. A college professor must have a graduate degree—a master’s or a doctorate. That means that s/he spent four years earning a bachelor’s degree and another two to four or even five years earning a graduate degree. Comparing the two, the least specialized doctors have at least 11 years of formal education while the least specialized college professors have at least six years of formal education (seven years is more realistic). These same doctors, on the other hand, make at least $170,000 on average, while college professors earn about $75,000 on average (3). All things being equal, those extra four years earn the doctor almost an extra $100,000 a year on average! Consider, however, that many college professors work only ten months of the year and many doctors work 50 to 60 hours a week (and 12 months a year)! At a minimum, I think someone thinking of becoming a physician should look beyond the money and consider the lifestyle choice as well.
SPECIALIZATION — AND YOU, SIR, ARE YOU A PROCTOLOGIST?
Like any technical discipline, medicine has a vocabulary of its own. There are a couple of obscure terms for specialties. One is “Intensivist.” This is the term for a physician who specializes in the care of critically ill patients, usually in an intensive care unit (4). “Perinatology” is another one. According to John Hopkins Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world, “perinatology is a subspecialty of obstetrics. Physicians specializing in this area are called Perinatologists, these are doctors who have had extensive training in the field of high risk obstetrics. Perinatologists are concerned with the care of the mother and fetus at higher-than-normal risk for complications” (5).
You should also know that Intensivists make an average of $296,000 and Perinatologists, $357,000. Now you know...
The average (i.e., mean) compensation of these 70 specialties is $301,000. The starting compensation for physicians is usually significantly lower than their average compensation. For example, the group whose average compensation is closest to $301,000 is the specialist in Hematology & Medical Oncology. Their average starting compensation was $222,000. These doctors work with disorders related to the blood and cancer. Laymen will recognize anemia, blood transfusions, bone marrow transplantation (ouch!), hemophilia, and leukemia. Hemophilia, incidentally, has a nickname. It's called “the royal disease” because it altered European history beginning with Great Britain’s Queen Victoria (6).
Finally, what are Proctologists? Well, Proctologists are surgeons. Specifically, Proctologists are surgeons that specialize in the colon and rectum. The colon and rectum are serious body parts. According to the Mayo Clinic, over 150,000 cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed every year (7). “Colorectal” refers to cancer of the two organs: the colon and rectum. Worldwide, colorectal cancer is the third leading cancer among men and the fourth, among women (8). There is a sub-specialty of medicine devoted to them. Proctologists belong to either the American Board of Colon & Rectal Surgery or the American Osteopathic College of Proctology.
REFERENCES
(1) - “Setting the Standard for Medical Care.” Retrieved December 8, 2008 from http://www.abms.org. (The exact webpage is available to subscribers only.)
(2) - Your Doctor’s Education. (2000). Journal of the American Medical Association. JAMA Patient Page, 284 (9).
(3) - [Type “Professor” in the keyword field] Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://swz.salary.com.
(4) - “Definition of Intensivist.” Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23392.
(5) - “What Is Perinatology?” Retrieved December 5, 2008 from http://womenshealth.jhmi.edu/perinatology/index.html.
(6) - Hemophilia: “The Royal Disease.” Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://www.sciencecases.org/hemo/hemo.asp.
(7) - “Colon Cancer” Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-cancer/DS00035.
(8) - “What is cancer of the colon and rectum?” Retrieved December 11, 2008 from http://www.medicinenet.com/colon_cancer/article.htm.
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