It is common knowledge to seek out what typical starting salaries in your field are when you are looking for employment. Knowing what median salary for those 5+ years in you field is also helpful especially if you are seeking out long term employment.
In my experience, open discussion about income (no matter if you’re a doctor, lawyer, or IT guy) also seems to be taboo as well. I suppose that not having open listings of salaries reduces price fixing, but it also prevents adequate knowledge of how much a specialty is “worth”. In order to know what is fair, you have to know how much you’re worth in order to negotiate. Thus it helps to understand how you bring in revenue for your employer. For a physician, that means understanding how you are paid (prior post) and RVUs (post).
A good starting reference for physicians also includes MGMA and AMGA, which release median data on your expected salaries given a certain amount of production. There is a hefty cost to these publications, although you could potential pitch in with several of your colleagues to pick up a copy, or check with a local academic institution that might have a copy in its libraries.
In most places of the country, physicians can still earn more for working harder (fee-for-service), but be aware if your market includes capitated contracts. That will limit the potential revenue you can bring into a practice.
Questions? Comments? See below!
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