Physician jobs have a positive growth rate

Physician jobs are estimated to have a much higher growth rate till 2014 in comparison to all other professions owing to continued development of health care industries. The number of physician jobs was about 567,000 jobs in 2004; approximately 1 out of 7 physicians were self-employed. Physician jobs will be in high demand also due to the growing and aging population of the United States and an increasing demand for superior quality health care services which incorporate recent diagnostic tests, medical technologies and therapies.

Physician job opportunities will also be created to fill in positions left open by physicians and surgeons who have retired during the 2004-14 period. Requirements for physicians’ services fluctuate widely with consumer preferences, government laws and health care reimbursement regulations. Their demand may also decline with more patients opting for other health care providers. Physician productivity will also improve with the advent of new technologies such as telemedicine, electronic medical records, billing software etc., in medicine. To meet short term demands senior physicians may have to work overtime and more productively and postpone retirement.

Physician job prospects are likely to be very bright in the future. Scarcity of physicians in some geographic areas or specialties is likely to interest new comers and also persuade schools to develop new programs and hospitals. Physician job opportunities will be in high demand, particularly in rural and low-income areas.

Physician jobs require working long, irregular hours; over one-third of full-time physicians worked 60 or more hours a week in 2004. Several physician jobs (mainly pediatricians, general and family practitioners, ob/gyns, general internists, and psychiatrists) require working in small clinics or private offices, frequently supported by a small team of nurses and other administrative personnel. The working environment for newly trained physicians would be very different from physicians of the past. New physicians will increasingly opt for clinics, group medical practices and health networks rather than practice independently.

Physicians and surgeons have the highest income in comparison to any other profession.

Median total compensation of physicians by specialty, 2004
	Less than two years in specialty	Over one year in specialty
Anesthesiology	$259,948	$321,686
Surgery: General	228,839	282,504
Obstetrics/gynecology: General	203,270	247,348
Psychiatry: General	173,922	180,000
Internal medicine: General	141,912	166,420
Pediatrics: General	132,953	161,331
Family practice (without obstetrics)	137,119	156,010
Source: Medical Group Management Association, Physician Compensation and Production Report, 2005.

* Total compensation includes salary, research stipends, bonus and/or incentive payments, distribution of profits and honoraria. Total compensation is taken as the sum declared as direct compensation for tax reasons, inclusive of voluntary salary reductions.

Physicians who are self-employed owning complete or part of a practice, on an average have a greater median income than salaried physicians. Physician earnings differ according to location, experience, skill, professional respect and personality.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor-Bureau of Labor Statistics.