January 27, 2015 -- Doximity, the leading medical professional network with more than half of US physicians as members, today announced the launch of Career Navigator - the first-ever local level look at physician compensation trends. With a mission of bringing transparency to medical careers, more than 18,000 verified practicing physicians began sharing anonymous compensation data over the past four months. The resulting interactive map is available free to any US physician through Doximity and includes compensation trends for 48 specialties down to the county level, updated continuously.
Career Navigator aims to help physicians be better equipped for salary negotiations and career moves - both increasingly important challenges in medical careers given the sharp rise in hospital employment. The map also highlights career opportunities in areas of rural shortages. For example, an anesthesiologist in Massachusetts would on average increase their salary 61 percent by relocating to Wisconsin. Awareness of these opportunities could benefit both physicians and patient communities.
"Healthcare is incredibly local. And pay trends in medicine are inverse that of most industries -- high cost areas actually pay less,” said Jeff Tangney, CEO and founder of Doximity. “Medical school teaches the science of medicine, but not the business of medicine. Our hope is that this up-to-date, local market data helps physicians level the playing field with HR departments in evaluating their opportunities."
Key findings from Career Navigator include:
- It pays to leave the city: Physicians in rural areas see an average of $1,500 more in salary each year compared to those in urban areas.
- Supply and demand matters: On average, when a new specialist comes to a town of 100,000 people, the other specialists in that town make $1,500 less per year in salary.
- Positive salary correlation with obesity: Physicians in areas with high rates of obesity get paid slightly more than those in healthier areas.
- Where physicians practice matters: Internists working in private practice make an estimated 12 percent (or $28,000) more than those working in academic or government institutions.
- Texas is the place for emergency medicine physicians: Texas, Florida and Minnesota reported the highest compensation for emergency medicine, while physicians in Massachusetts, New York and California reported the lowest salaries in the specialty.
- Most in-demand specialties: The number of job listings for emergency medicine, family medicine, occupational medicine and psychiatry indicates major shortages in those specialties.
The map also includes current career opportunities for physicians by specialty. Doximity works with more than 300 hospitals and health systems to connect doctors with new career and consulting opportunities through the Talent Finder service. Rather than rely on traditional sources such as journals ads, career fairs and mail campaigns, members can opt to receive targeted career opportunities, specifying their preference for location, schedule and compensation requirements. To date, over 215,000 job opportunities have been extended to Doximity physicians.
Physicians can access Career Navigator and view the interactive compensation map by logging into www.doximity.com/careers/salary_map, and first contributing their anonymous salary report.