Faculty Collaboration Database

Surgeon compensation in academic medicine. Surgery 2024 Jun;175(6):1611-1618

Date

03/07/2024

Pubmed ID

38448278

DOI

10.1016/j.surg.2024.01.022

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85186660567 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   12 Citations

Abstract

Academic surgery is the best career one could ever aspire to have; however, given the long duration of training and the anticipated education debt, surgeon compensation has not kept pace with the compensation of other comparable careers. As surgeon compensation has experienced increased downward pressure, it has become of growing importance to those in academic medicine/surgery. Competitive compensation is necessary, even if not sufficient, for successful faculty recruitment and retention. The optimal compensation system should encourage the best possible patient care, inspire teamwork, maximize the department's or physician practice's ability to recruit and retain faculty, support all missions, and be viewed as equitable and transparent. The goal of an optimal compensation system is to have faculty minds focused on things other than compensation-those elements of their job that are most important, such as career development, multidisciplinary clinical programs, research, and education. One way to ensure that compensation stays in the background for academic surgeons is for leadership to keep this front and center. Compensation plans can influence behavior and time management and affect the clinical, academic, and educational contributions of surgeons and physicians of all specialties. As we strive to optimize the productivity and engagement of a health system's most valuable resource-those who deliver surgical care and create new knowledge-compensation is an important variable in need of constant attention.

Author List

Evans DB, Mayer JB

Author

Douglas B. Evans MD Chair, Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Academic Medical Centers
Faculty, Medical
General Surgery
Humans
Salaries and Fringe Benefits
Surgeons