A lack of physicians in rural areas means those doctors often take on more patients, but they also earn more than their urban counterparts, according to the Medscape Physician Compensation Report. "Less competition among physicians in smaller communities and rural areas is a factor in boosting that region's income," Mark Crane writes for Medscape. "Smaller communities have to pay more to attract physicians. Also, with fewer specialists in rural areas, primary care physicians often perform more services than in the rest of the country." (Medscape map)
The report was created from a February 2012 survey of 24,216 physicians in 25 specialty areas. The highest salaries are in the North Central region ( Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota) where physicians average $234,000 a year. The lowest average earners are in the Northeast, where doctors in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island average $204,000. Despite the high salaries, only 54 percent of doctors say they would
chose medicine again as a career, down from 69 percent the previous
report, Crane writes. (Read more)
In the Southeast—Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky—the average salary is $226,000. Baptist Health Vice President Julia Henig, who helps recruit physicians to Montgomery, Ala., said rural and smaller town in-demand specialists make more because they have crowded schedules and are required to work long hours, Brad Harper reports for the Montgomery Advertiser. Henig told him, "Our physicians work harder. If you were to look at a per-patient basis, the compensation is actually not as high."
But cost of living, something not accounted for in comparing salaries, is a major draw in many rural areas, Harper writes. Henig told Harper, "When you drive physicians around the community and show them nice neighborhoods, they're shocked by the (low) price of homes. We have a lot of amenities." (Read more)
In the Southeast—Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky—the average salary is $226,000. Baptist Health Vice President Julia Henig, who helps recruit physicians to Montgomery, Ala., said rural and smaller town in-demand specialists make more because they have crowded schedules and are required to work long hours, Brad Harper reports for the Montgomery Advertiser. Henig told him, "Our physicians work harder. If you were to look at a per-patient basis, the compensation is actually not as high."
But cost of living, something not accounted for in comparing salaries, is a major draw in many rural areas, Harper writes. Henig told Harper, "When you drive physicians around the community and show them nice neighborhoods, they're shocked by the (low) price of homes. We have a lot of amenities." (Read more)
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