Financial Implications of Physician Specialty Choice

To examine the approximated financial outcomes of physicians by specialty and to determine whether these correlate with mean USMLE Step 1 scores.

Specialty-specific data from the Association of American Medical Colleges Careers in Medicine website were analyzed for total length of training, mean USMLE Step 1 scores, average hours worked per week, and median clinical practice salary for physicians. Hourly wage and estimated net worth at retirement were calculated. Coefficients of determination (R2) were calculated to evaluate the relationships between hourly wage, annual salary, and estimated net worth at retirement with competitiveness as measured by USMLE Step 1 scores of matched residents.

Across all 37 specialties studied, the mean hourly wage was $136 ± $40, ranging from $78 (Geriatrics) to $249 (Neurosurgery). Mean weekly hours worked across all specialties was 54.6 ± 6.4, ranging from 43.4 (Pediatric Emergency Medicine) to 71.1 (Vascular Surgery). At retirement, the mean estimated net worth for all physicians was $4,517,600 ± $1,793,095, ranging from $1,927,779 (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) to $8,947,885 (Neurosurgery). Step 1 scores, as a marker of specialty competiveness, correlate with specialty compensation - the strongest association was with hourly wage (R2 = 0.6678), then annual salary (R2 = 0.6424), and finally by estimated net worth at retirement (R2 = 0.6158).

In this study, mean Step 1 scores for each medical specialty were positively correlated with compensation, including absolute salary, hourly wage and estimated net worth at retirement.