The 2016 Medscape Physician Compensation Report indicates emergency physicians earned an average of $322,000 in 2015, slightly higher than 2014's earnings of $306,000.
As part of the survey, nearly 20,000 physicians across 26 specialties were asked about earnings, job satisfaction and how much he or she works. In the survey, physicians provided their annual compensation for patient care.
For employed physicians, compensation included salary, bonus as well as any profit-sharing contributions. Partners' reported compensation included earnings after taxes and deducible business expenses but before income tax.
Emergency medicine physicians' compensation ranked roughly in the middle of pack when compared to other specialties' compensation. Orthopedists and cardiologists ranked highest $443,000 and $410,000, respectively. Endocrinology and pediatrics were compensated the least at $206,000 and $204,000. Only two physician specialties reported making less this year — allergy/immunology and pulmonology.
Emergency department physicians in the South Central region earned the most compensation. In that region, which includes Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, the average compensation was $371,000. Physicians in the Southeast were next in line at $360,000. The lowest emergency medicine physician compensation was in the Northeast at $278,000.
The reason for the disparity has its roots in governmental policies aimed at expanding access to physicians in rural and poor communities. Physicians are sometimes eligible for additional compensation from the federal government for working in medically underserved communities, and that fact is reflected in surveys like this.
Even so, an executive with Merritt Hawkins, a national physician recruitment firm, says the playing field has started to level in recent years.
"While government programs certainly influence compensation, it is largely socioeconomics and competition that drive compensation on a macro scale," said Travis Singleton, senior vice president of Merritt Hawkins. "We are seeing the compensation gap between rural and urban areas diminish. Where it was once routine to see salaries 10-15 percent higher two-three hours outside of the metropolitan market, now you see urban markets with large delivery systems raise salaries to level the playing field. In turn, that has caused smaller, more rural markets to add more compensation via salary, signing bonuses and loan forgiveness."
Male emergency room physicians continued to earn more than their female counterparts — 19 percent higher salaries, in fact. Male emergency physicians earned $332,000 while females earned $279,000. According to Singleton, there is no clear-cut reason for the $53,000 difference.
"The persistence of these disparities is puzzling because we see no contractual bias from our clients against female candidates," Singleton said. He indicated a difference may exist in work schedules, particularly among younger female physicians who seek a more flexible schedule. However, the compensation reported in the Medscape Physician Compensation Report is based on full-time positions, not part-time positions.
Even so, 60 percent of emergency medicine physicians who responded say they feel fairly compensated. This represented the third-highest physician specialty group to say they feel their compensation is fair.
But while most emergency medicine physicians would still go in to medicine if they had it to do over, a lesser percentage would go into the same specialty. Two-thirds of emergency medicine physicians would again choose medicine as a profession, but only 44 percent would select emergency medicine as a specialty.
Most (67 percent) emergency medicine physicians spend 30-45 hours a week seeing patients, while 20 percent spend more than 45 hours weekly with patients. But the biggest cause of physician burnout is bureaucratic work. According to this year's Medscape Lifestyle Report, paperwork and administrative tasks accounted for 10 or more hours per week among 49 percent of employed physicians.
