Academic Orthopaedic Surgeon Financial Compensation in the United States: Trends and Distribution

The overall trends in academic orthopaedic surgery compensation are not well studied. The aim of this study was to assess trends and distribution of academic orthopaedic surgery financial compensation and consider in relation to academic rank, sex, and race/ethnicity.

The 2017 to 2023 American Association of Medical Colleges Faculty Salary Surveys were used, which collect information for full-time faculty at US medical schools. Financial compensation data for orthopaedic faculty, across subspecialities, were stratified by year, academic rank, sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic region. Trends in median, 25th, and 75th percentile compensation were assessed.

Responses for 2,601 faculty members across orthopaedic departments were available, including 82 instructors, 1,176 assistant professors, 668 associate professors, 487 full professors, 104 chiefs (lead a division within the larger department), and 84 chairs (head an entire academic department). Median faculty compensation increased on an average of 1.80% to 6.93%, with the greatest increase at the chief and chair levels and smaller increases for instructors and professors of varying rank. From 2017 to 2013, women were consistently compensated less than men at all ranks except chairs. In 2023, women in academic orthopaedic surgery made less cents-on-the-dollar relative to men of equal rank across all ranks. Asian assistant professors made 0.90 cents-on-the-dollar, and Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American assistant professors made 0.87 cents-on-the-dollar compared with White faculty of equal rank. However, among professors, these groups had higher median compensation (1.06 to 1.1 cents-on-the-dollar) compared with White professors. The geographic variations of compensation were within the range of 15k for assistant professors, 32k for associate professors, 196k for chiefs, 95k for professors, and 83k for chairs.

This study summarizes trends of academic orthopaedic faculty compensation and shows salaries barely keeping pace with inflation and persistent compensation inequities, which highlights the need for fair, transparent compensation models and additional studies of factors impacting physician compensation.