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Orthopedic surgery, internal medicine, and family medicine providers vacillated between the top three most sought-after posts with recruiters this year, with cardiologists and general surgeons holding steady in the fourth and fifth positions, according to the January 2006 Delta Medical Consulting (DMC) Physician Recruiting Standard Survey, a recruiter survey that reported quarterly data from the previous 12 months. Cardiologists pay climbed 21% from the $327,925 reported in the December 2004 quarterly report to the current salary of $396,171. With cardiology wages increasing minimally the past few years, the recruiter increases may portend better compensation ahead for cardiologists nationwide, which is a welcome change.