Medscape’s Physician Compensation Report 2021, released today, provides a revealing glimpse into how physicians in the U.S. are compensated relative to each other. If it’s any reflection of what we value in our society — and it surely is — the facts are anything but reassuring: Plastic Surgery ranks #1 with an average annual salary of $526,000, whereas Pediatricians earn less than half that, coming in last place with an average annual salary of $221,000.
Women have not yet achieved income parity in medicine. Among specialists they earn on average only 75% of what their male counterparts do. Even in primary care, where they represent nearly half the MD workforce, they earn on average more than 20% less than male physicians. And sadly, while Pediatrics ranks last on income, it is one of only two disciplines where more than 50% of physicians are female; the other, not surprisingly, is OB-GYN.
The study was conducted across 29 specialties with over 18,000 physicians.
