According to Medscape’s 2018 Physician Compensation Report, doctor salaries have been seeing a steady increase over the past few years. The biggest gains are seen in plastic surgery, psychiatry and physical medicine & rehabilitation.
How has your specialty fared? Just as supply-and-demand is calling for more doctors, it’s also favoring certain specialties over others.
In this article, we compare doctor salaries by specialty in 2017 vs. 2018. We also created a doctor salary calculator to help you estimate how your salary might change in 2018 based on your specialty.
Scroll down to use the calculator! 🙂
Doctor Average Salary Trends and Changes
The mean salary of an physician in the United States across all specialties is $299,000/year according to a Medscape Report.
In the table below, we compare the average 2017 salary by specialty and how that might change in 2018 based on industry trends.
| Specialty | Average 2017 Salary¹ | Average % Change² | Estimated 2018 Salary³ |
| Allergy & Immunology | $272,000 | +6% | $288,320 |
| Anesthesiology | $386,000 | +6% | $409,160 |
| Cardiology | $423,000 | +3% | $435,690 |
| Critical Care | $354,000 | +9% | $385,860 |
| Dermatology | $392,000 | +2% | $399,840 |
| Emergency Medicine | $350,000 | +3% | $360,500 |
| Endocrinology | $212,000 | -4% | $203,520 |
| Family Medicine | $219,000 | +5% | $229,950 |
| Gastroenterology | $408,000 | +4% | $424,320 |
| General Surgery | $322,000 | -9% | $293,020 |
| Infectious Disease | $231,000 | +1% | $233,310 |
| Internal Medicine | $230,000 | +2% | $234,600 |
| Nephrology | $294,000 | +5% | $308,700 |
| Neurology | $244,000 | -2% | $239,120 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | $300,000 | +5% | $315,000 |
| Oncology | $363,000 | +10% | $399,300 |
| Ophthalmology | $357,000 | +3% | $367,710 |
| Orthopedics | $497,000 | +2% | $506,940 |
| Otolaryngology (ENT) | $383,000 | -4% | $367,680 |
| Pathology | $286,000 | -2% | $280,280 |
| Pediatrics | $212,000 | +5% | $222,600 |
| Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | $269,000 | +13% | $303,970 |
| Plastic Surgery | $501,000 | +14% | $571,140 |
| Psychiatry | $273,000 | +16% | $316,680 |
| Pulmonology | $321,000 | +3% | $330,630 |
| Radiology | $401,000 | +1% | $405,010 |
| Rheumatology | $257,000 | +9% | $280,130 |
| Urology | $373,000 | -7% | $346,890 |
1. Data from Medscape Physician Compensation Report
2. Data from Medscape Physician Compensation Report
3. Calculation estimation based on data from previous columns.
Doctor Salary Calculator
To help you estimate how your clinical salary might change in 2018, we’ve put together this calculator below.
Simply choose your specialty and input your salary from 2017 and the calculator will show your estimated salary in 2018 based on industry trends and averages. (Note: may take a few seconds to load.)
Remember, these numbers are purely estimates by industry trends. Your actual salary may vary greatly based on a large number of factors.
As we mentioned in our article on average doctor salaries by specialty, one of the best ways to give your salary a leg up is by working locum tenens jobs.
On average, locum tenens medical professionals can expect to make 30-50% more than a permanent position.
If this chart has inspired you to look for a locum tenens job, you can start your search here!
If you’re interested in searching for a full-time position, simply click here!
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our Nomad Navigators team.
Good luck!
The Nomad Team
nomadhealth.com
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