For years, fewer and fewer medical school students have chosen to pursue a career in family medicine. This decline, combined with an additional 30 million Americans soon to be insured by the Affordable Care Act, has caused many to worry that the U.S. is facing a major physician shortage.
So what is dissuading students from choosing primary care? Many young doctors cite pay as a primary reason. Medscape recently released the
2013 Family Practice Compensation Report, showing how much family medicine doctors earn across the U.S.
Here are a few highlights:
Compensation
- At an annual average of $175,000, family medicine is the third-lowest earning specialty
- About 7 percent of family physicians earn $300,000 or more; about 13 percent earn $100,000 or less
- 47 percent of respondents said their compensation remained flat from the previous year
- The average male family practice doctor earns $184,000; women in the same field earn $157,000
Earning by region
- The North Central region of the U.S. has the highest annual compensation (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa) at $186,000
- The Northwest region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming) has the lowest annual pay at $162,000
Hours worked
- The largest percentage of family physicians (39 percent) spend 30-40 hours a week seeing patients
- 23 percent spend fewer than 30 hours with patients
- 16 percent spend 41-45 hours with patients
Administrative Activity
- 26 percent of family physicians spend 5-9 hours per week on administrative work
- 28 percent spend 10-14 hours on administrative work
To see how family practice salaries compare to other physician specialties,
click here.
