Resident salaries mirror physician compensation in that those in family and internal medicine earn the least, while residents in specialties such as critical care, radiology and pulmonary medicine get paid the most, according to the Medscape Residents Salary & Debt Report 2014.
Medscape surveyed more than 1,200 residents from June 20 through July 7. All participants were enrolled in U.S. medical resident programs. In addition to the low salaries reported among family and internal medicine residents, the survey found only half of the residents in either of those types of programs planned to go into primary care, while the other half intended to subspecialize. Survey participants identified lower salaries and less respect as key factors influencing their plans.
According to the report, here are the average resident salaries for 24 specialties, ranging from critical care to family medicine.
1. Critical care — $65,000
2. Radiology — $63,000
3. Pulmonary medicine —$60,000
4. Gastroenterology —$60,000
5. Oncology — $59,000
6. Plastic surgery — $58,000
7. Ophthalmology — $58,000
8. Cardiology — $58,000
9. Orthopedics — $57,000
10. Nephrology — $57,000
11. Diabetes and endocrinology — $57,000
12. Urology — $56,000
13. Psychiatry and mental health — $56,000
14. Pediatrics — $56,000
15. Neurology — $56,000
16. General surgery — $56,000
17. Anesthesiology — $56,000
18. Pathology — $55,000
19, Ob/Gyn and women's health — $55,000
20. Emergency medicine — $54,000
21. Dermatology — $54,000
22. Rheumatology — $53,000
23. Internal medicine — $53,000
24. Family medicine — $52,000