Average nephrologist income was down 5% year over year.
The latest compensation report from Medscape looked at salary, outside income, and how satisfied nephrologists feel with their total compensation. Here are the main takeaways about trends in nephrologist compensation.
1. Average compensation for nephrologists is down 5%.
The average compensation for a nephrologist is $312,000, down from $329,000 in the last report. Nephrologists rank just below the middle tier of all 29 specialties included in the survey. This is lower than the study’s top-ranking specialties of plastic surgery, orthopedics and cardiology. However, nephrologists rank higher than other specialists, including allergy and immunology, rheumatology and psychiatry.
The figure reported by Medscape is higher than the median annual salary of $270,600 posted by job site salary.com.
2. Two out of three nephrologists do not feel their income is affected by competition.
When asked if their income was affected by various forms of competition, 66% of all nephrologists indicated this is not the case. One in four respondents indicate their income is affected by non-physician practitioners such as PAs and NPs. Only 12% feel their income is affected by other forms of competition such as retail clinics or telemedicine providers.
3. One in three nephrologists take on extra work to supplement their income.
Most nephrologists who report taking on additional work to supplement their income are doing so by adding responsibilities to their medical workload. A small percentage have a side gig outside of medicine.
4. Nephrologists spend more hours per week on paperwork and administration than most physicians.
Nephrologists are spending 18 hours per week on paperwork and administration, on average. Across all specialties, the average is 15.5 hours per week. Only physical medicine and rehab physicians spend more time on non-clinical work than nephrologists. This burden likely takes time away from patient care, which in turn reduces ability to generate income.
5. Less than half of nephrologists are satisfied with their compensation.
Nephrologists land toward the bottom of all specialties surveyed when it comes to feeling that their compensation is fair. Only 43% of nephrologists report feeling satisfied with their income. By comparison, 68% of psychiatrists and 65% of dermatologists are satisfied with their earnings.
6. The majority of nephrologists would choose their careers again.
At a time when many doctors are considering leaving medicine, 69% of nephrologists said they would choose medicine as their career path again and 72% would still go into nephrology. However, this number ranks at the bottom among the general population of specialists, among whom 90% say they would make the same choices.
7. Job satisfaction is about more than money for nephrologists.
What do most nephrologists find rewarding about their job? Their relationships with patients (31%), making diagnoses, finding answers, and being good at what they do (28%), and making the world a better place (14%) topped the list. Only 11% of nephrologists ranked making money as a key reward.
