This topic is personal to me because my fiancé is a resident physician so I do
believe physicians are not overpaid and if anything, I would scale on the side of
undercompensated. I could write an entire essay on this but will try to keep this
short. First, is the amount of loans which are accrued from undergrad and
medical school. The average four-year debt for a bachelor’s degree is $28,800
(Hanson & Checked, 2021). While the average medical school debt is $215,900
(Hanson, 2021). In addition to the loans, medical school is full time and there
are regulations that don’t allow medical students to have part-time jobs.
Therefore, the loans don’t just cover medical school tuition but also used to
help pay for an apartment, food, etc. Second, during resident in 2021 was
$55,036 (Salary.com). The standard residency is 3-4 years depending on
specialty. With an additional one to two years for fellowship. This means that
most medical students will not make an attendings salary until six years after
medical school or 10-14 years from year one of undergrad and over $250k in
debt. Second, is the supply and demand for physicians in America. The
American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2020 projected a physician
shortage within the U.S. between 54,100 and 139,000 physicians by 2033
(Beattie, 2021). The demand will continue to grow faster, and hospitals will
need to pay physicians a competitive salary to match the high demand.
Becoming a physician is extremely hard and 2018-2019 medical schools only
had a 41 percent acceptance rate. Applicants must have the correct GPA and a
competitive MCAT score which is one of the toughest tests in the country
(Princetonreview). The old saying “if it was so easily everyone would do it.”
Physicians should be paid to match the level of difficulty it is to become an
attending in a very competitive industry. Lastly, according to Definitive
Healthcare data, the average net patient revenue (NPR) at U.S. hospitals was
$334.5 million in 2018. Physicians play a critical role in bringing in revenue from
patient visits and hospitals have the finances to pay physicians more than other
industries.
References
Beattie, L. (2021, March 16).Home. Merritt Hawkins. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from
https://www.merritthawkins.com/news-and-insights/blog/healthcare-news-and-
trends/physician-shortages-in-medical-specialties-in-2021-an-inside-look/
Hanson, M., (2021, December 3).Average student loan debt for a bachelor's degree: 2022
analysis. Education Data Initiative. Retrieved March 7, 2022,
fromhttps://educationdata.org/average-debt-for-a-bachelors-degree
Hanson, M., (2021, December 9).Average medical school debt [2022]: Student loan
statistics. Education Data Initiative. Retrieved March 7, 2022,
fromhttps://educationdata.org/average-medical-school-debt
How many MED schools should you apply to?The Princeton Review. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 7, 2022, fromhttps://www.princetonreview.com/med-school-advice/how-
many-med-schools-should-you-apply-to
Revenue trends at U.S. hospitals. Definitive Healthcare. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2022,
from https://www.definitivehc.com/blog/revenue-trends-at-u.s.-hospitals
Salary.com, S. built by: (n.d.).Medical resident salary. Salary.com. Retrieved March 7,
2022, from https://www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/medical-resident-salary
