Neonatologist salary: factors, equity and gender

Abstract

Objective: Physician compensation has been found to be influenced by gender, academic affiliation, specialty, productivity, and time in practice. This study explores their impact in the field of neonatology to inform institutional strategic planning and decisions by current and future practitioners.

Study design: A voluntary anonymous survey was distributed to members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine with a 15% response rate. The survey contained questions assessing clinician characteristics, work environment, and professional productivity. Statistical analysis was done using JMP Pro 14.0.0 by SAS.

Results: Median salary was $256,000 (interquartile range, $213,608-315,000). Generalized linear model found that years post fellowship, academic affiliation, gender, practice location, professional duties, and clinical team member types independently influenced expected salary.

Conclusion: Several factors influence the expected compensation of this cohort of neonatologists, even after adjustments for differences in clinician characteristics, work environment, and productivity.