Physician Job Search Tips: Remember that MGMA Salary Numbers are Averages!
2012/2013 MGMA Survey Reports Are Available – Understand Local Market Factors Before Evaluating Compensation Offers
The 2012/2013 MGMA survey reports are available, and a new flood of information on physician compensation in every possible configuration has been released to the medical industry. As this post is being typed, physician job seekers are arming themselves with this information as a tool to use in their searches.
For physician job seekers, it’s important to view these surveys from the correct point of view, to understand the significance of the job market you would like to enter, and be aware of the guaranteed income that will be available within that specific market. Having realistic expectations regarding compensation is critically important to finding an ideal job. The MGMA compensation surveys indicate average physician salaries within large geographic areas, but that does not necessarily mean that a completely average compensation package is coming from a completely average hospital or being offered to an average quality physician. A more likely situation is that the average compensation is coming from and average job market, which means you can expect an average amount of competition from peers, average patient demand, and an average payor mix. These local market factors are really what will determine guaranteed income within a specific community where you wish to practice, rather than the large geographic areas that the MGMA provides data for.
So where can I find the highest paying physician jobs?
Typically the highest paying physician jobs are located in medium to small sized communities with a reasonable payor mix. If physician candidates want to stack up major metro areas against each other to find the highest paying metro markets, they will likely find those in the Midwest and Southeast where payor mixes are good and physician density is lower. There are plenty of resources available which offer objective facts to help evaluate job markets. Physician job seekers can identify Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) through information released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. There are several resources that recommend a correct physician to population ratio. City-Data.com provides employment and unemployment statistics for nearly every city in the United States and is full of other unbiased and useful information for the purpose of evaluating job markets. There are many other resources available which a small amount of time and research will help you to uncover.
To wrap up this post, our final piece of advice is take time for your job search and really evaluate all of the potential situations, employers, and communities. If possible, try to de-emphasize the financial piece of your search until all the other factors are well understood, and you are sure to find a great fit!
HospitalRecruiting.com offers a free service to assist physician job seekers in locating their next practice opportunity. We have jobs available for all medical specialties including; family practice physician jobs, internal medicine physician jobs, pediatrician jobs, and emergency medicine physician jobs.