Pay Dirt

The Hospitalist. 2006 December;2006(12):

December 1, 2006 | The Hospitalist

In other words, there’s no easy way to tell if what you make is exactly on the mark for other hospitalists in your area—unless you ask those other hospitalists. But the SHM survey information should provide enough information to give you an idea. You can view an executive summary of the survey or purchase a complete copy at www.hospitalmedicine.org. TH

Jane Jerrard is the monthly writer for “Career Development.”

Benefits of working the night shift

Working nights is hard on the body and the social life and can mean a lack of communication with your hospital medicine group and other colleagues. But the benefits, according to national recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins and Associates, could be a heftier paycheck. According to MH&A’s latest survey, the average nocturnist salary is around $200,000, significantly higher than the $175,000 average of hospitalists who work daytime shifts.

Quality of care tied to doc’s job satisfaction

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine examined the associations between physician job satisfaction and the quality of primary care. Researchers looked for links between physician job satisfaction and health outcomes among their patients with pain and depressive symptoms. The results: For patients with pain or depressive symptoms, primary physician job satisfaction is associated with some measures of patient-rated quality of care, but not health outcomes.

Source: Grembwoski D, Paschane D, Diehr P, et al. Managed care, physician job satisfaction, and the quality of primary care. J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20(3):271-277.