Hospitalist Salary

Hospitalist Salary

Overview

Hospitalists are said to have one of the best lifestyle jobs.  Mainly because these kinds of physicians do shift-work and don’t take call.  At my residency program, the hospitalists there would work 7 days in a row, and then be off for 7 days.  So essentially, they only worked half the year!

What is a hospitalist?  A hospitalist is a physician who cares for patients once they are admitted into a hospital.  It’s a growing trend for hospitals to have a hospitalist team and many primary care physicians are benefitting because they no longer have to admit their own patients.  It’s a win-win.

Salary

A hospitalist salary is on par with other primary care physician salaries.  But what you have to keep in mind is that the benefits are much better.  No call plus half of the year off.  That is awesome!

Hospitalist Salary

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The median salary for hospitalists is $178,632 with the majority making $163,358 to $200,715.  In one survey, the average salary is $215,000.  However, this number is for adult medicine.  Pediatric hospitalists report an average of $160,000 per year.

Training

You can become an adult medicine hospitalist by doing a residency in one of two fields :

Both specialties require a 3 year residency.  The current market favors internal medicine for hospitalists because their training spends more time in the hospital.  For example, all internal medicine residencies have dedicated time to ICU training whereas only some family medicine residencies do.  Other family medicine residencies train in the ICU on an “as they come” circumstance.

With that said, there are 8 fellowships available to family medicine doctors where you can specialize in hospitalist medicine.  This will make you a more competitive job applicant.  Internal medicine doctors also have hospitalist fellowships for those who want more training before working as a hospitalist.

Hospitalist SalaryHospitalist SalaryIf you want to know what it’s like to be a hospitalist, I found this book on amazon that received good reviews : The Devil Who Walked The Earth: My Life as a HospitalistHospitalist Salary

 

Conclusion

Hospitalists earn a good living while having great benefits.  It’s a job that really keeps your clinical skills up-to-date and on your toes.  Literally, because people’s lives depend on it.  If you like the intensity of hospital medicine and prefer not bringing work at home, you might like being a hospitalist.

 

Sources
Salary.com, Physician – Hospitalist Physician Salary
Allied Physicians – Physician Salary Survey
Society of Hospital Medicine – MGMA/SHM Survey Report…

Image Credit
Crossgates River Oaks Hospital, Hospitalist Program

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