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A majority of internal medicine physicians report feeling underpaid, but approximately half say that potential pay was not a factor in their decision to choose the specialty, based on data from Medscape’s annual Internist Compensation Report.
Data from the Mercer consulting firm cited in the Medscape report showed an increase of 3% in 2023 over 2022 earnings for physicians in the United States overall. However, on a list of 29 specialties included in the report, internal medicine ranked near the bottom for annual compensation.
The report, based on data from 7000 physicians across the United States, showed that 58% of internal medicine physicians think physicians in general are underpaid, while 33% said that “most physicians are paid about right,” and 8% said that physicians are overpaid. Similarly, when asked about their personal compensation, 55% said that internists are not fairly paid, given their work demands.
Despite concerns about pay, 65% of the internists surveyed said that they were not taking on extra work to boost their incomes. Although less than half (45%) reported being happy with their current pay, 49% said that pay was not a factor in their choice of internal medicine.
Among internists, 60% reported opportunities for bonuses, but the average primary care provider bonus in 2023 was $27,000, compared with an average of $51,000 for bonus pay among specialists.
Money was relatively low on the list as being the most rewarding part of the job for an internist, according to the report. While 34% of respondents cited being good at their jobs and finding answers and diagnoses as the most rewarding part of their jobs, only 9% said “making good money at a job I like” was the most rewarding. The most commonly cited most challenging part of the job was “having so many rules and regulations (22%).”
In addition, approximately two thirds of respondents said other medical businesses (such as telemedicine, retailer clinics, and nonphysician healthcare providers) had no impact on their income, nor did competing physician practices.
More than half (58%) of the respondents were women and the most common age group (based on 5-year increments) was 50-54 years (15%).
Regular Pay Assessment Increases Awareness
Assessing physician compensation annually or at regular intervals allows organizations and physicians to know their financial situation and compensation/benefits compared with other professionals, said Noel Deep, MD, an internal medicine physician in group practice in Antigo, Wisconsin, in an interview. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individual practices and employed physicians saw a decline in their revenue due to decrease in routine patient visits to the clinician offices, and decrease in routine and preventative procedures,” he noted.
“The findings from the current report were not unexpected, as certain specialties are more lucrative than primary care,” Dr. Deep said. “Specialties such as orthopedics, plastic surgery, and cardiology have the potential not only to generate more income for those specialist physicians, but also for the healthcare organizations that employ them,” he said.
Job Satisfaction Remains Important
As a practicing internist, Dr. Deep agreed that many internal medicine physicians would state that the satisfaction that their job and caring for patients brings to them is more important than the financial aspect of their practice.
“I am asked on occasion if I had an opportunity to go back to medical school and make a choice, whether I would have picked a different specialty. My answer is no,” Dr. Deep said.
“I would have picked internal medicine because of the satisfaction that it brings me,” he said.
Dr. Deep shared some potential strategies for employers to recruit and retain internal medicine physicians. If employers could incentivize internal medicine and other primary care specialties with higher signing bonuses and try to make their annual bonuses comparable to surgical specialties, that would help ensure that internal medicine specialists feel they are being paid fairly for their work, he said. “Decreasing the bureaucratic burden and involving physicians in decision-making and determination of compensation would also help,” he said.
Dr. Deep had no financial conflicts to disclose, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Internal Medicine News.
A majority of internal medicine physicians report feeling underpaid, but approximately half say that potential pay was not a factor in their decision to choose the specialty, based on data from Medscape’s annual Internist Compensation Report.
Data from the Mercer consulting firm cited in the Medscape report showed an increase of 3% in 2023 over 2022 earnings for physicians in the United States overall. However, on a list of 29 specialties included in the report, internal medicine ranked near the bottom for annual compensation.
The report, based on data from 7000 physicians across the United States, showed that 58% of internal medicine physicians think physicians in general are underpaid, while 33% said that “most physicians are paid about right,” and 8% said that physicians are overpaid. Similarly, when asked about their personal compensation, 55% said that internists are not fairly paid, given their work demands.
Despite concerns about pay, 65% of the internists surveyed said that they were not taking on extra work to boost their incomes. Although less than half (45%) reported being happy with their current pay, 49% said that pay was not a factor in their choice of internal medicine.
Among internists, 60% reported opportunities for bonuses, but the average primary care provider bonus in 2023 was $27,000, compared with an average of $51,000 for bonus pay among specialists.
Money was relatively low on the list as being the most rewarding part of the job for an internist, according to the report. While 34% of respondents cited being good at their jobs and finding answers and diagnoses as the most rewarding part of their jobs, only 9% said “making good money at a job I like” was the most rewarding. The most commonly cited most challenging part of the job was “having so many rules and regulations (22%).”
In addition, approximately two thirds of respondents said other medical businesses (such as telemedicine, retailer clinics, and nonphysician healthcare providers) had no impact on their income, nor did competing physician practices.
More than half (58%) of the respondents were women and the most common age group (based on 5-year increments) was 50-54 years (15%).
Regular Pay Assessment Increases Awareness
Assessing physician compensation annually or at regular intervals allows organizations and physicians to know their financial situation and compensation/benefits compared with other professionals, said Noel Deep, MD, an internal medicine physician in group practice in Antigo, Wisconsin, in an interview. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individual practices and employed physicians saw a decline in their revenue due to decrease in routine patient visits to the clinician offices, and decrease in routine and preventative procedures,” he noted.
“The findings from the current report were not unexpected, as certain specialties are more lucrative than primary care,” Dr. Deep said. “Specialties such as orthopedics, plastic surgery, and cardiology have the potential not only to generate more income for those specialist physicians, but also for the healthcare organizations that employ them,” he said.
Job Satisfaction Remains Important
As a practicing internist, Dr. Deep agreed that many internal medicine physicians would state that the satisfaction that their job and caring for patients brings to them is more important than the financial aspect of their practice.
“I am asked on occasion if I had an opportunity to go back to medical school and make a choice, whether I would have picked a different specialty. My answer is no,” Dr. Deep said.
“I would have picked internal medicine because of the satisfaction that it brings me,” he said.
Dr. Deep shared some potential strategies for employers to recruit and retain internal medicine physicians. If employers could incentivize internal medicine and other primary care specialties with higher signing bonuses and try to make their annual bonuses comparable to surgical specialties, that would help ensure that internal medicine specialists feel they are being paid fairly for their work, he said. “Decreasing the bureaucratic burden and involving physicians in decision-making and determination of compensation would also help,” he said.
Dr. Deep had no financial conflicts to disclose, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Internal Medicine News.
A majority of internal medicine physicians report feeling underpaid, but approximately half say that potential pay was not a factor in their decision to choose the specialty, based on data from Medscape’s annual Internist Compensation Report.
Data from the Mercer consulting firm cited in the Medscape report showed an increase of 3% in 2023 over 2022 earnings for physicians in the United States overall. However, on a list of 29 specialties included in the report, internal medicine ranked near the bottom for annual compensation.
The report, based on data from 7000 physicians across the United States, showed that 58% of internal medicine physicians think physicians in general are underpaid, while 33% said that “most physicians are paid about right,” and 8% said that physicians are overpaid. Similarly, when asked about their personal compensation, 55% said that internists are not fairly paid, given their work demands.
Despite concerns about pay, 65% of the internists surveyed said that they were not taking on extra work to boost their incomes. Although less than half (45%) reported being happy with their current pay, 49% said that pay was not a factor in their choice of internal medicine.
Among internists, 60% reported opportunities for bonuses, but the average primary care provider bonus in 2023 was $27,000, compared with an average of $51,000 for bonus pay among specialists.
Money was relatively low on the list as being the most rewarding part of the job for an internist, according to the report. While 34% of respondents cited being good at their jobs and finding answers and diagnoses as the most rewarding part of their jobs, only 9% said “making good money at a job I like” was the most rewarding. The most commonly cited most challenging part of the job was “having so many rules and regulations (22%).”
In addition, approximately two thirds of respondents said other medical businesses (such as telemedicine, retailer clinics, and nonphysician healthcare providers) had no impact on their income, nor did competing physician practices.
More than half (58%) of the respondents were women and the most common age group (based on 5-year increments) was 50-54 years (15%).
Regular Pay Assessment Increases Awareness
Assessing physician compensation annually or at regular intervals allows organizations and physicians to know their financial situation and compensation/benefits compared with other professionals, said Noel Deep, MD, an internal medicine physician in group practice in Antigo, Wisconsin, in an interview. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individual practices and employed physicians saw a decline in their revenue due to decrease in routine patient visits to the clinician offices, and decrease in routine and preventative procedures,” he noted.
“The findings from the current report were not unexpected, as certain specialties are more lucrative than primary care,” Dr. Deep said. “Specialties such as orthopedics, plastic surgery, and cardiology have the potential not only to generate more income for those specialist physicians, but also for the healthcare organizations that employ them,” he said.
Job Satisfaction Remains Important
As a practicing internist, Dr. Deep agreed that many internal medicine physicians would state that the satisfaction that their job and caring for patients brings to them is more important than the financial aspect of their practice.
“I am asked on occasion if I had an opportunity to go back to medical school and make a choice, whether I would have picked a different specialty. My answer is no,” Dr. Deep said.
“I would have picked internal medicine because of the satisfaction that it brings me,” he said.
Dr. Deep shared some potential strategies for employers to recruit and retain internal medicine physicians. If employers could incentivize internal medicine and other primary care specialties with higher signing bonuses and try to make their annual bonuses comparable to surgical specialties, that would help ensure that internal medicine specialists feel they are being paid fairly for their work, he said. “Decreasing the bureaucratic burden and involving physicians in decision-making and determination of compensation would also help,” he said.
Dr. Deep had no financial conflicts to disclose, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Internal Medicine News.