M. Baimas-George1, B. Fleischer1, J. R. Korndorffer1, D. Slakey1, C. DuCoin1 1Tulane University School Of Medicine,Surgery,New Orleans, LA, USA
Introduction: In the surgical field, residents often make career decisions regarding future practice without adequate knowledge or exposure to the realities of professional life, particularly private practice. Currently there is a paucity of comparable data regarding the economic differences between practice models. This study seeks to illuminate the financial disparities of surgical sub-specialties between academic and private surgical practice.
Methods: Data was collected from the Association of American Medical College (AAMC) and the Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA) 2015 reports of average annual salaries. Salaries were analyzed for eight comparative surgical sub-specializations, and regional data was combined for a national average. Fixed time of practice was set at 30 years. Assumptions for the calculation of lifetime revenue in academia included 5 years as assistant professor, 10 years as associate professor, and 15 years as full professor. The formula utilized is as follows: (average yearly salary) x [years of practice (30 yrs – fellowship/research yrs)] + ($50,000 x yrs of fellowship/research) = total adjusted lifetime revenue.
Results: As a full professor, academic surgeons in all sub-specialties make significantly less than their private practice counterparts. The largest discrepancy is in vascular and cardiothoracic surgery, with full professors earning 16% and 14% less than private practitioners respectively. Plastic surgery and general surgery are the only two disciplines that have similar lifetime revenues to private practitioners, earning only 2% and 6% less than their counterparts’ lifetime revenue respectively. Surgical oncology is the only sub-specialty that regardless of practice model (academic vs private) or academic status (assistant, associate, or professor) grossed less lifetime revenue than general surgery.
Conclusion: Academic surgeons in all surgical sub-specialties examined earn less lifetime revenue compared to those in private practice. This difference in earnings decreases but remains substantial as an academic surgeon advances from assistant to associate to full professor. With limited exposure to the diversity of possible professional arenas, residents must be aware of this considerable discrepancy.
