GENDER PAY GAP IN PRIMARY CARE NARROWING: MEDSCAPE REPORT

Plastic Surgeons Among Highest Paid Specialties In 2022

The gender pay gap among physicians has narrowed for the first time in five years, with primary care seeing the most significant change, according to the 2023 Medscape Physician Compensation Report. While physician salaries overall continued to rise, women in primary care earned an average of $239,000 compared to $286,000 for male physicians, resulting in a 19% pay difference, compared to 25% in 2018. Disparities also decreased within specialties, from a 36% difference in 2018 to 31% in 2022. For specialists, men earned an average of $415,000, while women earned an average of $327,000. The racial disparity gap, however, remained unchanged, with African American and Black physicians earning 13% less than white physicians, as seen in previous reports.

Highest and lowest salaries, by specialty and region

The report surveyed over 10,000 U.S.-based physicians across 29 specialties and found that the highest paid specialties were plastic surgery ($619,000), orthopedics ($573,000), cardiology ($507,000), and urology ($506,000), while the lowest paid specialties were infectious disease ($262,000), family medicine ($255,000), pediatrics ($251,000), and public health and preventive medicine ($249,000). The highestearning physicians were located in Wisconsin, Indiana, Georgia, Connecticut, and New Jersey, while the lowest salaries were in Maryland, Colorado, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Arizona.

The average physician salary was $352,000, up about 4% from the previous year and over 17% higher than in 2018. Specialty salaries also increased, from $368,000 in 2021 to $382,000 in this year’s report. The rise in physician incomes is partly due to a physician

40% OF BRITS SUNBURNT IN 2022’S HEATWAVE

shortage exacerbated by retirements and burnout, leading more physicians to make career shifts, including reduced shifts, shift work, and a move to virtual care.

Satisfaction, challenges, competition

While 52% of physicians are satisfied with their salary, the report showed growing concern with reduced insurance reimbursements, notably from Medicare and Medicaid, and competition from allied health professionals. Additionally, 27% of doctors said they would not choose medicine as a career if they could do it all over again, citing industry issues (rules and regulations, long hours), frustrating patients, and insurance reimbursement. One in four physicians reported that the most significant competition for patients came from allied healthcare professionals, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as well as alternative practitioners such as chiropractors and naturopaths.

The report’s Senior Director, Leslie Kane, stated, ‘While there is more work to be done, the progress on gender pay disparities was a positive development in this year’s report. That said, the issue of physician burnout, fueled by long hours and bureaucratic burdens, continues to have an impact on how physicians view their careers, their satisfaction with pay, and other aspects of medicine.’ The survey was conducted from October 7, 2022, to January 14, 2023, and the margin of error was +/0.98% at a 95% confidence interval. To view the full report, click here: www.medscape. com/2023-compensationoverview.

40% of people in Great Britain reported a least one case of sunburn in 2022, with this percentage rising to more than half (56%) of young people (aged 18-34), according to a survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD).

2022 saw the UK’s highest recorded temperature, but also many consistently sunny days. Data supplied by the UK Health Security Agency shows that, with the exception of the most northern parts of Scotland, between a third and half of days in the UK in 2022 had a maximum UV index** of at least 3, the level at which sun protection is recommended for people with lighter skin tones (see notes below for more information). The data also shows that the summer isn’t the only time that people should be using sun protection, with the BAD recommending that people should be aware of the risk of sun damage between April and September.

People in Great Britain are quick to take advantage of sunny days, with 76% of people saying that they would spend at least some time in the sun on a sunny day if they were not working. 29% would aim to sunbathe at least some of the time, with 7% saying that they would sunbathe as much as possible.

Sunbeds are only used by a small minority of people (3%) and usage remains low even in younger age groups (18-24-year-olds: 5%). Artificial tanning products are more popular (7%), particularly among women (11%).

The UV index is the best measure available to show the risk of sun damage on any given day, however, 57% of people said they would either rarely or never check the UV index if in the UK during April–September, with only 19% of people often or always checking it.

The latest skin cancer figures show that there are 16,700 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year and more than 200,000 keratinocyte skin cancers (also known as non-melanoma skin cancers). The BAD recommends people regularly check themselves for signs of skin cancer.