Starting salaries in cardiology are down, but ‘demand is still strong’
Starting salaries for U.S. cardiologists have decreased considerably in the last year, according to new data published by AMN Healthcare, a Texas-based staffing and recruiting firm. Such a drop would normally suggest demand is down for cardiologists. In this instance, however, that does not appear to be the case.
The 2024 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives is based on a representative sample more than 2,000 physicians and advanced practitioners. Data were collected from April 2023 to March 2024. The report, now in its 31st year, looks at demand by tracking how often AMN Healthcare’s clients search for applicants to fill specific positions.
Starting salaries are down in cardiology
Overall, cardiology’s average starting salary for 2023/2024 was $396,000, down 8.6% compared to 2022/2023. Average starting salaries for psychiatrists, urologists and hospitalists also fell during the same time period. For all other specialties tracked in the report—including dermatology, orthopedic surgery and radiology, to name a few—average starting salaries increased by up to 13.8% from 2022/2023 to 2023/2024.
For primary care physicians, meanwhile, starting salaries are consistently on the rise.
Seeking an explanation
Why did starting salaries stumble for cardiologists? According to Leah Grant, president of AMN Healthcare’s physician solutions division, the drop is likely the result of more job searches looking for academic cardiologists in 2023/2024 than previous years.
“For non-academic settings, we now are commonly seeing starting salaries for cardiology in the $500,000 range,” Grant told Cardiovascular Business. “Demand is still strong for cardiology, and I expect the numbers will probably go up next year.”
Tracking physician demand
Speaking of strong demand—according to the new report, cardiology is the No. 4 most in-demand healthcare specialty. Demand was only higher in three specialties: hematology/oncology, gastroenterology and urology.
Another key takeaway from the new report is the fact that 63% of AMN Healthcare’s search engagements in 2023/2024 were for specialists such as obstetrician/gynecologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists and cardiologists as opposed to primary care providers. This statistic, according to the report, reflects the “needs of an aging population that is reliant on specialty care.”
The full report is available here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.