Pay scales suggest that Mom was right

MANAGED CARE October 2001. ©MediMedia USA

Isn't this what your mother told you? Go to medical school, specialize, and make a lot of money. Managed care dented her wisdom, but didn't sweep it away; in fact, the loosening of traditional managed care restrictions in recent years has come largely at the expense of primary care disciplines. The renewed demand for some medical/surgical and hospital-based specialties is evident when comparing compensation growth during the past four years. The figures below indicate median gross direct compensation, compiled from data submitted by 220 medical groups. Amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand.

SOURCE: 2001 MEDICAL GROUP COMPENSATION & PRODUCTIVITY SURVEY, AMERICAN MEDICAL GROUP ASSOCIATION, ALEXANDRIA, VA.