2024 Review: Weighing Physician and APP Supply, Demand, and Compensation Metrics
The 31st annual Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives analyzes data collected from a representative sample of the 2,138 permanent physician and advanced practitioner search engagements that AMN Healthcare’s Physician Solutions division had ongoing or conducted during the 12-month period from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
Key findings from the 2024 Review help shed light on current talent acquisition insights, including which types of physicians and advanced practitioners are in the greatest demand, as well as key compensation metrics to monitor from the past year.
Nurse Practitioners Headline 2024 Review Findings
For the fourth consecutive year, AMN Healthcare conducted more search engagements for nurse practitioners (NPs) than for any other type of physician or APP. Demand for NPs has been rising sharply in recent years with 426 search engagements in 2024, compared to 205 in 2018.
“Convenient care” providers such as retail clinics, urgent care centers and telehealth platforms built their delivery models around NPs and physician assistants (PAs) before expanding into physician-based services. These venues continue to add NPs and PAs to their staffs.
In addition, a growing number of specialty medical practices are adding NPs. From 2008 to 2016 there was a 22% increase in the number of specialty practices that employed NPs, who are mentored by specialty physicians to help provide specialty services and patient education in dermatology, orthopedic surgery, gastroenterology, cardiology and many other specialty areas.
NPs Making Waves in Rural Care and Mental Health
Nearly 100 million people live in federally designated Healthcare Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for primary care. Primary care shortages are most pronounced in rural areas, where 130 hospitals have closed in the last decade.
A 2022 study noted that NPs represent more than 25% of primary care providers in rural areas, up 17.6% since 2008. The percentage is higher in those 26 states allowing NPs Full Practice Authority (FPA). By contrast, the percentage of physicians practicing in rural areas declined by 12.8% over the same period.
In addition, NPs are taking a larger role in addressing demand for mental health services. Close to 100 new psychiatric NP programs have been added to U.S. schools of nursing in the past 10 years, producing more than 13,000 new providers, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Enrollment and Graduation Reports 2012-2022.
Demand Trends: Specialists Continue Dominance
Close to two-thirds (63%) of AMN Healthcare’s search engagements during the 2023/24 Review period were for specialist physicians, virtually the same as the prior two years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients 65 and older account for close to 40% of medical tests and procedures though they represent only 15% of the population.
It is older patients who continue to drive the need for specialists, such as cardiologists, urologists, orthopedic surgeons, hematologists-oncologists, neurologists, and otolaryngologists, all of whom focus much of their practices treating various components of the body that decline as they age.
OB/GYN Supply Struggles to Keep Pace with Demand
Obstetrician/Gynecologists ranked 3rd on the list of AMN Healthcare’s most requested search
engagements this year, up from 4th the previous year and 5th the year prior to that.
As demand for OB/GYNs increases, supply may be curtailing as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. States with abortion bans saw a 10.5% decrease in OB/GYN residency applicants in 2023, while there was a 5.2% decrease in applicants nationwide, according to the AAMC.
Compensation Trends: Average Starting Salaries Trending Upward
Average starting salaries represent the base only and are not inclusive of bonuses or other incentives. AMN Healthcare’s salary ranges are therefore indicators of the financial incentives needed to attract physicians and APPs who are already established in a practice, or those coming out of training, to a practice opportunity, rather than indicators of physician and APP average incomes.
Renewed Growth in Primary Care Salaries
The 2024 Review indicates starting salary offers in primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics) were up year-over-year, after being flat in previous years. Average starting salaries in family medicine grew from $255,000 last year to $271,000 this year, a 6.7% increase.
Similarly, the average starting salary for internal medicine physicians grew from $255,000 last year to $271,000 this year, also an increase of 6.7%. General internists play an important role in managing the care of older patients, many of whom have multiple chronic conditions, and demand for their services will grow as the population ages. They also are the most numerous physician specialty, but the supply of general internists is likely to diminish as more of them are choosing to subspecialize.
Specialist Salary Overview
Over the last several years, starting salaries for medical specialists as tracked by the Review have generally increased, though not always on a year-over-year basis. These increases have reflected the growing demand for specialty services driven by population aging and other factors.
Physician Specialties Experiencing Salary Growth
|
Specialty |
2023-2024 |
2022-2023 |
Growth (%) |
|
Dermatology |
$486,000 |
$427,000 |
+13.8% |
|
Orthopedic Surgery |
$686,000 |
$633,000 |
+8.37% |
|
Neurology |
$383,000 |
$354,000 |
+8.19% |
|
OB/GYN |
$389,000 |
$367,000 |
+5.99% |
|
Anesthesiology |
$460,000 |
$450,000 |
+5.99% |
|
Gastroenterology |
$531,000 |
$506,000 |
+4.94% |
|
Radiology |
$495,000 |
$472,000 |
+4.87% |
|
Hematology-Oncology |
$444,000 |
$440,000 |
+0.91% |
Advanced Practitioner Salary Overview
The average starting salary for NPs during the 2024 Review period was $164,000, up from $152,000 the previous year, an 6.6% increase. Though starting salaries for NPs continue to climb, they still earn considerably less than physicians. As was referenced above, NPs generate revenue and continue to represent a good return on investment in an era when many
healthcare organizations are focusing on cost control.
The average starting salary for CRNAs tracked in the 2024 Review was $279,000, up from $218,000 last year, a 31.6% increase. Demand for CRNAs is accelerating, underscoring the growing number of medical procedures being generated by an aging population. Adding CRNAs allows healthcare facilities to increase the number of procedures they perform while controlling costs, as CRNA average starting salaries remain less than those of anesthesiologists.
Access the Full 2024 Review
In its 31st year of publication, the Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives has become a standard benchmarking resource used by hospitals, medical groups and other healthcare facilities to determine which incentives are customary and competitive in physician and APP recruitment.
Read the full 2024 report to uncover the most significant engagement and compensation metrics currently shaping the physician and advanced practitioner recruiting landscape.
As a thought leader in our industry, AMN Healthcare produces a series of surveys, white papers, books, and webinar presentations internally and produces research and thought leadership for third parties. For more information on how AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions can help you navigate your talent needs, visit our website.
